system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How does fasting affect cognitive functioning over time?

I'm curious about fasting and it's affect on normal cognitive functioning? Evolutionarily wouldn't it be a disadvantage if fasting negatively affecting cognitive functioning significantly? Historically people didn't have as much access to food during winter months and I'm curious about how this affected their day to day lives.
gpt
Read up on intermittent fasting. It seems to actually improve cognition.

I believe the theory is that fasting is our default state, and abundance of food is something unnatural that has only occurred in the last few thousand years. Being in a fasting state activated your brain's survival mechanisms, which means it is working harder to find food.

Another reason why fasting can increase cognition is that digestion and metabolism of food takes energy away from the brain.