The Effects of Ramadan Fasting on the Cognitive Function of Medical Students

Adult Muslims have a religious obligation to fast every day for 29 or 30 days in the month of Ramadan. During the fast the level of cognition is considered to be affected and therefore the performance of an individual could be affected. The present study assesses the effect of fasting during the month of Ramadan on cognitive functions in a group of 41 male Muslim students of medicine. These students underwent a neuropsychological test one week before Ramadan, during (the second and third week of Ramadan) and after Ramadan. The participants were also assessed for their sleep patterns, work hours and meals. Fasting decreased weight and body mass indexes. The tests were performed using a CogState computerized cognitive tasks battery, which examined  psychomotor function (processing speed), attention, visual learning and memory, working memory (executive function), verbal learning and memory. There were no significant changes (p <0.05) at four test periods. Despite the disturbances observed in meals, working time and in the duration of sleep, these results showed that fasting during Ramadan has no impact on the cognitive functions of the medical students in Morocco.