During fasting the senses become acute. Even a little smell of food can assail your nostrils. During a fast, a person can see better, hear better and think better. The taste buds on the tongue become extra sensitive after the fast. Even simple food tastes good.
You may sleep less, during the fast. But if you have been suffering from insomnia you are likely to have better sleep, for as many as 20 hours a day. Fasting helps the heart, arteries and blood. The cholesterol level in the blood goes down. In the case of people with high fat levels (cholesterol of and triglycerides) the risk of a heart attack is the greatest no matter what kind of fat it is.
The report of a study published in “The Times”, London (April 2, 1986) said that for 10 years, doctors around the world have believed that people with high proportion of one type of cholesterol (high density lipoproteins) in the blood would enjoy protection. Fasting helps to bring down the low density lipoproteins in the blood which are bad for the heart and raise the high density lipoproteins which are good for the heart.
Blood engorgement in the blood vessels is reduced and so is blood pressure. The congestion of lungs is brought down by fasting. You can breathe in more air and much easily after a fast. The eyes become brighter and more youthful and the sight improves by fasting. The kidney and the liver function better after a fast. Now a word of caution. If you are suffering from a severe liver and kidney ailment, better be careful. As these organs help in the excretion of body’s morbid matter during a fast, their load of work increases.
The skin becomes fresh and youthful. Wrinkles, blotches, dicolouration and pimples disappear during fasting. At the initial stage of a fast, the pulse rate may rise. Slowly it comes down and settles at approx. 40 beats per minute. It rises again to about 60 beats at the end of the fast. The pulse rate may come down even as low as 20 beats per minute. If the pulse rate remains either too low or too high for a ling period calls for the breaking of the fast.
Those suffering from a heart condition may notice that the variation in their pulse rate is much more and it can become erratic. If it remains erratic for a long time the patient should discontinue fasting.