Hi everyone,
I’m starting a 21 day water fast but I have one of my final high school exam blocks in \~2 weeks. I don’t fast a lot (the most I’ve done was 48hrs about a year ago) but I wanted to challenge myself this time.
However I’m concerned about the impact of fasting on memory, cognitive function, etc on my test performance. I’ll probably be consuming a lot of caffeine and staying up late during this period as well, and I don’t know how my body will react if I’m fasting.
I really want to finish this fast though, any advice on what I should do?
I’ve taken multiple university exams fasted and actually prefer it now. However I’ve only been at most 2 days into a fast when I had to take them so I couldn’t speak to how you would function at 21 days.
I don’t know for that long a fast but I took a 4 hour cognitive test on day four of a fast, it had 0 impact and that thing included a full blown IQ test.
There are games that test your memory and other mental functions. play them now, then do them again in two weeks to see if you are equally sharp.
The brightest minds in Silicon Valley fast for the mental advantage and it makes evolutionary sense.
When prehistoric men hadn’t eaten in several days/weeks they had to get smarter about how to kill prey that had avoided them.
I feel that my IQ and ability to understand new material jumps 10-15% when in a deep fast.
The best exam scores I’ve ever gotten in my life were a product of extended fasting while studying+test taking. Ideally after the first 48 hours. I’ve never had more focus or felt so sharp. Make sure you’re properly hydrated and make sure you’re well rested before your exam.