Eating within 8 hours may help keep the aging brain sharp — SkimNews
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- Rutgers University researcher Sue Shapses, PhD, RD, DFASN, led a six-month pilot trial of 47 women aged 50-79 with overweight or obesity, finding that participants who limited eating to roughly 8-9 hours per day scored significantly better on spatial planning and problem-solving tests than those eating across about 12 hours.
- Both groups lost an average of approximately 15 pounds after cutting 500 daily calories, and both received the same weight-loss counseling, indicating the cognitive edge came from meal timing rather than weight loss alone.
- The time-restricted group generally ate between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., with an average eating window of 8.2 hours compared with 12.3 hours in the control group.
- The time-restricted group also tended to make fewer errors on memory and learning tests, though that difference did not reach statistical significance; no significant differences emerged on reaction time or multitasking.
- Shapses said stopping eating four hours before bed and narrowing intake to 8-9 hours may add cognitive benefit beyond weight loss, and the team noted possible mechanisms involving circadian rhythm, inflammation, metabolic health, and nutrient-sensing pathways.
- The findings were presented July 26 at NUTRITION 2026, the American Society for Nutrition's annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, and have not yet completed full peer review, which the researchers flagged as a limitation given the small sample.
Why it matters: Women aged 50-79 with overweight or obesity face elevated dementia risk, and this trial points to meal timing — not just calorie cutting — as a potentially modifiable behavior for protecting thinking skills, since the cognitive gains appeared despite equivalent weight loss across groups.
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