Time-restricted feeding and cognitive function in sedentary and physically active elderly individuals: Ramadan diurnal intermittent fasting as a model

Mohamed Ali Boujelbane; Khaled Trabelsi; Haitham A Jahrami; Liwa Masmoudi; Achraf Ammar; Aïmen Khacharem; Omar Boukhris; Luca Puce; Sergio Garbarino; Egeria Scoditti; Saber Khanfir; Aymen Msaad; Amine Msaad; Soulaimane Akrout; Ahmed Hakim; Nicola Luigi Bragazzi; Kelsey Bryk; Jordan M Glenn; Hamdi Chtourou

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1041216

Time-restricted feeding and cognitive function in sedentary and physically active elderly individuals: Ramadan diurnal intermittent fasting as a model

Front Nutr. 2022 Nov 9:9:1041216. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1041216. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Mohamed Ali Boujelbane¹, Khaled Trabelsi^{1

2}, Haitham A Jahrami^{3

4}, Liwa Masmoudi^{1

2}, Achraf Ammar^{5

6}, Aïmen Khacharem^{7

8}, Omar Boukhris^{1

9}, Luca Puce¹⁰, Sergio Garbarino¹⁰, Egeria Scoditti¹¹, Saber Khanfir¹², Aymen Msaad¹, Amine Msaad¹, Soulaimane Akrout¹, Ahmed Hakim¹³, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi¹⁴, Kelsey Bryk¹⁵, Jordan M Glenn^{15

16}, Hamdi Chtourou^{1

9}

Affiliations

¹ High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.
² Research Laboratory: Education, Motricité, Sport et Santé, EM2S, LR19JS01, High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.
³ Ministry of Health, Manama, Bahrain.
⁴ College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain.
⁵ Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
⁶ Interdisciplinary Laboratory in Neurosciences, Physiology and Psychology, Physical Activity, Health and Learning (LINP2), UPL, UFR STAPS (Faculty of Sport Sciences), Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre, France.
⁷ UVHC, DeVisu, Valenciennes, France.
⁸ LIRTES-EA 7313, Université Paris Est Créteil Val De Marne, Créteil, France.
⁹ Physical Activity, Sport, and Health, UR18JS01, National Observatory of Sport, Tunis, Tunisia.
¹⁰ Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
¹¹ National Research Council (CNR)-Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC), Lecce, Italy.
¹² Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
¹³ Laboratory of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.
¹⁴ Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁵ Neurotrack Technologies, Redwood City, CA, United States.
¹⁶ Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, Exercise Science Research Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effects of Ramadan diurnal intermittent fasting (RDIF) on cognitive performance, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and insomnia in physically active and sedentary elderly individuals.

Methods: A total of 58 participants (62.93 ± 3.99 years) were assigned to one of the following two groups: a sedentary group (control group) who observed Ramadan (n = 32) and a physically active group (n = 26) who continued to train while observing Ramadan. Participants were assessed 2 weeks before Ramadan and during the fourth week of Ramadan. On each occasion, participants completed a digital assessment of their cognitive performance and responded to the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), the insomnia severity index (ISI) and the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) questionnaires to assess sleep parameters.

Results: Compared to before Ramadan, performance in executive function (p = 0.035), attention (p = 0.005), inhibition (p = 0.02), associative memory (p = 0.041), and recognition memory (p = 0.025) increased significantly during Ramadan in the physically active group. For the sedentary group, associative learning performance decreased (p = 0.041), whilst performances in the remaining domains remained unchanged during Ramadan. Global PSQI, ISI, and ESS scores indicated both groups suffered from poor sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness, with significantly higher negative effects of RDIF observed in the sedentary group.

Conclusion: Older adults who continue to train at least three times per week during Ramadan may improve their cognitive performance, despite the impairment of sleep quality. Future studies in older adults during Ramadan including objective measures of sleep (e.g., polysomnography, actigraphy) and brain function (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging) are warranted.

Keywords: cognitive performance; elderly; exercise; religious fasting; sleep quality; time-restricted eating.