Did you know that, apart from the health side, there are also psychological fasting benefits you can get? Yes, beyond helping you lose weight and maintain the immune system, fasting can also give you some psychological advantages.
There are various psychological fasting benefits, such as helping you improve concentration, reducing stress levels, boosting your creativity, and many others. Let's find out more about the benefits of fasting for mental health in the following article!
Psychological Fasting Benefits
In fact, fasting is more than just enduring hunger and thirst. It has a lot of meaning and benefits that are good for your health, physiologically and psychologically.
Physiologically, fasting can help you prevent various diseases, control blood sugar levels, and support weight loss.
Meanwhile, on the psychological side, there are also various fasting benefits you can get, such as:
1. Improves Self-Control Ability
One of the main psychological fasting benefits is helping you to strengthen your self-control.
By following the principles of fasting in accordance with religious teachings, you will learn to manage negative emotions and lust.
Hence, you will be more likely to avoid negative speech, anger, gossip, and other undesirable behaviors.
That is why fasting not only helps you refrain from eating and drinking but also improves your ability to control your lust and emotional resilience.
2. Encourages Creativity
Another psychological benefit of fasting is its ability to encourage creativity since fasting is known to improve brain function.
During fasting, the body produces ketones, which is a more efficient energy source than glucose.
These ketones then help increase energy production, which has a positive impact on clarity of thought and sharper cognitive function.
As a result, fasting can stimulate creative thinking and enhance problem-solving abilities.
3. Improves Concentration
Fasting is known to be very beneficial in improving concentration by helping regulate blood sugar levels. In other words, fasting can help the brain to focus more effectively.
Additionally, research also suggests that fasting for a certain period can stimulate the growth of new nerve cells.
Furthermore, it also strengthens connections between brain cells, which enhances concentration and memory so you can remember things better.
4. Strengthen Social Values
Apart from its religious significance, another fasting benefit is it can strengthen social values.
When fasting, you are encouraged to do various activities, including those related to building social relationships, such as by doing charity or sharing acts of kindness.
These positive actions will leave a lasting impact, strengthening someone’s social bonds, and reinforcing the value of empathy and community.
5. Deepens Religious Values and Experience
The next psychological fasting benefit is increasing someone’s religious values and spiritual experiences.
As stated above, during fasting, there are various religious activities organized, which provide an opportunity for someone to deepen their faith.
Usually, these religious activities are carried out in various ways, such as tadarus, iktikaf, and attending religious lectures at the mosque or watching it on the television during Ramadan.
Through these meaningful experiences, individuals can strengthen their religious values and gain a deeper sense of spirituality compared to the usual day.
6. Reduce Stress or Anxiety
Another fasting benefit for mental health is it can reduce stress and anxiety. There are at least three reasons for this.
First, during fasting, spiritual practices can increase social interaction, which consequently impacts peace of mind.
Second, fasting is known to help the body release good hormones, such as endorphins, serotonin, NGF, and also BDNF, all of which help improve overall well-being and moods.
Third, fasting can also encourage a person to think and behave better than usual.
In fact, some studies have also shown that spiritual practices, such as fasting, can trigger structural brain changes in areas that are associated with depression.
7. Enhances Physical Endurance
As explained earlier, one of the health benefits of fasting is to help increase physical endurance.
When it comes to physical endurance, fasting can help the body to avoid various risks of disease.
According to various sources and studies, fasting can maintain blood sugar levels in the body, thus reducing the risk of diabetes and other metabolic disorders.
Moreover, fasting also allows internal organs to rest and function more properly so they can work better to fight the causes of infection and reduce damage from free radicals.
Over time, this process not only boosts immunity but may also help prevent the formation of cancer cells.
That was all the explanation about the various psychological benefits of fasting that you can get.
To sum it up, there are numerous fasting benefits for both physical and mental health.
However, to fully reap these benefits, it is essential to fast correctly by maintaining proper nutrition and hydration.
For instance, you need to ensure adequate fluid intake and are advised to drink at least 2 liters of water or the equivalent of 8 glasses per day.
To stay properly hydrated, you need to choose high-quality mineral water like AQUA. Sourced directly from protected mountain springs and untouched by human hands, AQUA guarantees purity and natural minerals.
So, remember to #AQUADULU. Make sure you drink AQUA first at suhoor and iftar to keep your body refreshed and nourished throughout your fast. Created by nature, AQUA is 100% PURE mineral water for the holy month.
