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Fasting during Ramadan is one of the obligations in the Pillars of Islam and is a noble worshipful worth for Muslims.
When fasting, they must refrain not only from the things that can break their fast, but also from various negative manners or actions.
Fasting is sometimes challenging, especially for workers or employees because they have to work while enduring hunger and thirst for around 12 hours.
Although challenging, fasting provides many health benefits for employees by increasing their productivity. Sounds questionable? Continue reading to find out more.
See also: Exercise Recommendations During Fasting to Keep You in Tip-Top Shape
When fasting, blood sugar and insulin levels are better regulated to help increase the production of human growth hormones (HGH) within the body.
HGH is crucial in an individual’s growth, metabolism, and weight loss. It’s also essential to strengthening the body’s muscles.
Basically, the body’s overall metabolism can increase if you balance it out by drinking enough water during suhoor (pre-dawn meal before fasting) and iftar (fast-breaking evening meal) while also getting enough sleep.
Fasting can improve cognitive abilities with two specific benefits to the brain. The first benefit is removing dead cells in the head and repairing damaged cells to optimize their function and development.
The second benefit is stimulating the growth of new brain cells, which can improve overall cognitive abilities.
Fasting can improve the body’s health by increasing its endurance if balanced with adequate food and rest.
Increased endurance occurs thanks to the body’s heightened capabilities to fight inflammations from the inside, improve blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as improve brain function and prevent neurological diseases.
See also: Pomodoro Technique: The Most Effective Time Management for Work
Many things can reduce or disrupt your focus on work when not fasting. For example, thinking about snacks, waiting to feel full or waiting for the feeling of bloating to disappear after eating, and so on.
They are all distractions that can interfere with work productivity. When fasting, however, most distractions will disappear, helping you focus more on completing work and increasing productivity.
If you still lack focus on work while fasting, maybe you need to change your suhoor menu and improve your sleeping hours. For example, increasing the amount of drinking water at dawn or when breaking the fast and using lunchtime to take a power nap.
Fasting can release the production of the BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor) protein in the brain and stabilize the production of the cortisol hormone. In simple terms, both can ease the mind of stress, especially when facing pressure at work.
Fasting can also help improve circadian rhythms or biological clocks in regulating wake and sleep cycles. Because when fasting, the body has a specific time signal to know when it’s time to eat. That way, fasting will strengthen the biological clock and improve sleep quality.
See also: 7 Suhoor Dishes to Keep You Energized at Work
A medical literature states that fasting can also improve your mood and reduce negative emotions such as anger, tension, and confusion.
Another study also shows that fasting can improve occupational health and reduce the risk of depression.
Those are the 7 benefits of fasting for workers’ health, which can be optimized with a healthy lifestyle.
Adjust your eating and resting habits to your daily activities. Don’t forget to drink lots of water and make sure you get quality sleep. With a sound mind and body, you’ll be psyched to do your job!