Anybody tried fasting or cold therapy for increased brain function?

Cold showers have numerous benefits. Tough to do right out the gate. The best way is to start out luke warm and turn down the temp as your body acclimates. They definitely wake you up, increase testosterone slightly, and can help with fat burning. I first heard about their benefits through Tim Ferriss. Though for fat burning a cold bath is really needed. Not something you want to just jump right into. Get used to cold showers, then do a cold bath. I honestly look at showers this way: the sun is still up = cool to cold shower. You stay alert. I want to fall asleep within the next 3 hours = warm shower, as it's easier to fall asleep after a warm shower.

I've done the 16:8 intermittent fasting for short periods before. It takes a ton of discipline, especially if you have a non 9-5 schedule or are self-employed. Could be just placebo effect, but I noticed after 12 hours or so (early to mid AM) I felt sharper, less likely to forget names of things, etc. An occasional fast of any kind is beneficial from time to time. The benefits outweigh cons big time.

BTW, fasting runs counter to the mainstream nutritional precepts taught here in the West. I myself am a former dietician who thought it was nonsense once upon a time. We're so concentrated on short term catabolism here, from fear of wasting we've seen in 3rd world places, multiple diseases (cancer, HIV, and so one) that western health ends up being close-minded, unwilling to accept new data that applies to healthy individuals. As with nootropics, healthy people want to optimize, fulfill more of their potential. Western medicine is about treating disease and has no pragmatism. Western medical establishment is you haven't been diagnosed with a physical or mental ailment by a clinician = you have little to no need for supplementation. Your supplementation should come in the form of pharmaceuticals. Uggghhh. Thankfully people often ignore this, especially young people.

Cold showers are awesome for relaxation for me. I remember one day I was very stressed (my teacher told me he will make me fail this year, last day of school (he didn't