This is one of my core strategies for staying healthy year-round
Better immune function is just one benefit of overnight fasting, which I’m defining as a daily 12-14 hour fast. In this post, I’ll discuss immune system benefits, as well as the longer list of benefits associated with overnight fasting.
Many years before intermittent fasting became trendy, my aunt recommended not eating for 12 hours, every day, overnight. When she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, she sought diet change as her primary method of treatment.
Not eating for 12 hours as a daily practice makes sense to me. Long before the words intermittent fasting became popular, we didn’t have 24x7 access to food.
We weren’t eating pizza or chicken wings at 2am on our way home from the bars. Who else had terrible eating patterns in college?
Disease rates were lower. We had fewer digestive issues.
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Water
What is fasting?
12-14 hours, no food. Water is OK. Non-caloric herbal tea at night is OK. Caffeinated tea or black coffee in the morning is OK .
Benefits of fasting
Improved metabolic health
Reduced inflammation
Improved immune function
Lower cholesterol
Protection against neurodegenerative disorders
Better cognitive performance
Better mood
Better sleep
“Many things happen during intermittent fasting that can protect organs against chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, age-related neurodegenerative disorders, even inflammatory bowel disease and many cancers,” according to Mark Mattson, Johns Hopkins neuroscientist.
Fresh water in Iceland
Sleep and overnight fasting
What happens when we sleep?
“Mechanisms activated during sleep are quintessential to hormonal balance, immune function, memory formation, and much more.”
Your immune system releases proteins called cytokines. Cytokines are involved in controlling and regulating immune response, thereby strengthening your immune system and reducing inflammation.
Your heart rate and blood pressure decrease.
Your body repairs tissue and restores energy.
Your body releases critical hormones.
Your brain gets rid of toxic waste.
During sleep, the body repairs and repletes cellular components necessary for biological functions that become depleted throughout an awake day.
How does overnight fasting impact sleep?
Research suggests intermittent fasting may improve the quality of your sleep by reinforcing your circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms manage many biological functions, including metabolism.
People who practice overnight fasting also have higher levels of human growth hormone. Produced during sleep, this hormone burns fat, restores muscles, and helps the body repair itself at a cellular level. As a result, people who fast may wake up feeling more refreshed and restored after sleeping.
Fasting increases production of orexin-A, a neurotransmitter tied to alertness. Specifically, people who fast have lower orexin-A levels at night, and higher levels in the daytime, so they feel more alert during the day and enjoy more restful sleep.
People who fast before bed may spend more time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a stage of sleep responsible for emotional and mental processing.
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Photo by @city2forest on Unsplash
Timing of food
“When we eat significantly impacts our energy expenditure, appetite, and molecular pathways in adipose tissue.”
“Late eating is associated with increased obesity risk, increased body fat, and impaired weight loss success. Eating four hours later makes a significant difference for our hunger levels, the way we burn calories after we eat, and the way we store fat.”
[source]
Moon, NYC
In practice
I’m in bed for 9 hours to get 8 hours of sleep. That’s 3 waking hours where I’m not eating.
That typically looks like 1.5-2 hours before bed and 2.5 hours in the morning.
My overnight fasts are anywhere between 12 and 14 hours.
A few years ago, I experimented with a longer daily fast, more consistent with what I consider ‘intermittent fasting.’ It didn’t work for me. It felt too restrictive, like I was counting down the final hour to 12:00 pm, rather than listening to my body’s hunger signals.
I don’t have a desire to eat until I’ve been awake for 2-3 hours. That’s my natural rhythm.
You may already be fasting for 12-14 hours overnight, either naturally or on purpose. If not, give it a try. See what changes in your body.
Thanks for reading!
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