How intermittent fasting may shield the brain from chronic stress

by Ingrid Fadelli, Medical Xpress

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Chronic stress, the prolonged exposure to psychological and/or physical strain, is known to be a risk factor for depression, anxiety and some other psychiatric disorders. Past studies suggest that chronic stress disrupts the integrity of myelin, a fatty insulating layer that surrounds nerve fibers and helps electrical signals travel efficiently between brain cells.

Identifying lifestyle changes that can reverse or diminish the adverse effects of chronic stress on the brain could be advantageous, as they could potentially help prevent or delay the onset of various psychiatric conditions. Recently, some researchers have been exploring the potential brain benefits of intermittent fasting (IF), a dietary pattern that entails alternating between set periods of eating and fasting.

Past findings suggest that IF can improve people's metabolism and help reduce inflammation, the body's natural response to disease or injury. Yet its effects on people's mental health and well-being have not yet been clearly determined.

Researchers at Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health and the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University recently looked at how IF influenced the mood, energy levels, behaviors and brains of mice that were exposed to stressors for a prolonged time. Their findings, published in Translational Psychiatry, suggest that this dietary intervention could reverse stress-induced myelin damage and reduce depression-like behaviors by boosting the diversity of bacteria in the gut.

"Although IF improves metabolic and inflammatory states, its effects on stress-induced depression and demyelination remain unclear," wrote Xin Ding, Rumi Murayama and their colleagues in their paper. "We investigated whether IF alleviates depression-like behaviors and myelin deficits in mice exposed to chronic restraint stress (CRS) and whether these effects involve modulation of the gut microbiota."

The effects of IF on chronically stressed mice

As part of their study, the researchers exposed adult male mice to prolonged periods of psychological stress. They then divided the mice into two groups. Those in the first group had unrestricted access to food, while those in the second were fed only during specific time windows, following an intermittent fasting schedule.

"Adult male C57BL/6 J mice underwent 14 days of CRS while maintained on either an ad libitum (AL) diet or an IF regimen," wrote Ding, Murayama and their colleagues. "CRS induced robust depression-like phenotypes—characterized by increased immobility in the forced swimming test and reduced sucrose preference—without affecting locomotor activity, whereas IF significantly attenuated these behavioral abnormalities."

Overall, the researchers found that mice that could eat throughout the day were more adversely affected by chronic stress than those following an IF regimen. Specifically, they appeared to take greater pleasure in feeding, have higher energy levels and exhibit fewer depression-like behaviors.

The team also assessed the state of myelin in the animals' brains using two techniques called Black-Gold II staining and myelin basic protein (MBP) immunofluorescence. They found that mice on the CRS diet (i.e., feeding freely) exhibited damage to myelin in various brain regions associated with emotional regulation, decision-making and memory, including the corpus callosum, medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Notably, the IF dietary regimen appeared to reverse these effects.

Ding, Murayama and their colleagues also carried out further analyses aimed at better understanding the processes through which IF reversed the adverse effects of chronic stress on myelin. Their findings suggest that IF reshaped the gut microbiome, increasing beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract that appeared to restore or protect myelin in the brain.

"16S rRNA sequencing demonstrated that IF reshaped gut microbial diversity and community composition under stress," wrote the authors.

"Species-level analyses identified Prevotellamassilia timonensis and Muricoprocola aceti as positively associated with myelin integrity and behavioral improvement, whereas Anaeroplasma abactoclasticum showed negative associations. Functional pathway prediction further indicated that IF partially normalized stress-induced alterations in microbial metabolic functions."

Informing more studies assessing the benefits of IF

While the results of this study are preliminary and have not yet been validated in humans, they hint at the potential of IF to reduce or reverse the adverse effects of chronic stress on the brain. Other research groups could soon build on these findings and try to replicate them in other rodents, primates or even humans.

"Collectively, these findings demonstrate that IF mitigates depression-like behaviors and preserves myelin integrity in CRS-exposed mice, potentially through gut microbiota-mediated mechanisms," wrote Ding, Murayama and their colleagues. "It may therefore represent a promising non-pharmacological strategy for alleviating stress-related neurobiological dysfunction."

If the team's results are replicated in human studies, they could eventually inform the creation of new IF-based dietary interventions aimed at reducing the risk of depression or other mental health disorders among chronically stressed individuals.

Written for you by our author Ingrid Fadelli, edited by Gaby Clark, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive. If this reporting matters to you, please consider a donation (especially monthly). You'll get an ad-free account as a thank-you.

Publication details

Xin Ding et al, Intermittent fasting protects against stress-induced depression and demyelination via the gut microbiota–brain axis, Translational Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41398-026-04117-z.

Journal information: Translational Psychiatry

Key medical concepts

Intermittent FastingMyelin SheathFlora, Intestinal

Clinical categories

PsychiatryPsychology & Mental healthNeurologyNutrition & Healthy eatingHealthy living Who's behind this story?

Ingrid Fadelli

Freelance journalist with BSc Psychology and MA International Journalism. Covers AI, robotics, neuroscience, and astrophysics since 2018. Full profile →

Gaby Clark

MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content. Dedicated to trustworthy science news. Full profile →

Robert Egan

Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Full profile →

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