A small clinical trial suggests that limiting eating hours may help reduce the risk of dementia by improving cognitive function in older adults. The pilot study, which involved a weight-loss program for 47 overweight or obese women aged 50 to 79, indicated that those who restricted their daily eating time experienced modest cognitive improvements compared to those who did not.
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Participants were advised to reduce their calorie intake by 500 calories per day. Twenty-six of them limited their eating to a window of less than 9 hours, typically between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., while the remaining participants maintained a standard eating window of about 12 hours. After six months, both groups lost approximately 15 pounds. However, the time-restricted group showed significant improvements in spatial planning and problem-solving tests, as well as a trend toward fewer memory and learning errors.
Sue Shapses, PhD, RD, DFASN, the study’s Principal Investigator and a professor at Rutgers University, noted that while weight loss alone can combat some aging-related cognitive decline, eating within a limited time frame could offer additional cognitive benefits. She remarked that the results suggest an enhanced ability to remember information and reduced mistakes related to memory and attention.
The research will be presented at NUTRITION 2026, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, taking place from July 25 to 28 in National Harbor, Maryland. The study's findings are considered preliminary and will require further investigation in larger participant groups to validate the results and explore the underlying mechanisms of time-restricted eating's effects on cognitive function.