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n the environments of our distant ancestors, food was often scarce, and energy expenditure high. Three factors have all been powerful selective pressures in human evolution:

• Caloric (energy) restriction (CR) in times of food scarcity
• Physical energy expenditure ( e.g. for running, hunting, fighting, artifact making)
• Mental energy expenditure (e.g. for learning, reasoning, strategizing) – known as mental effort.

As our species evolved, individuals that were mentally sharp,  physically fit, and disease or illness-free during periods of limited resource availability and could deal effectively with these energy stressors had an adaptive advantage.

Fasting, Exercise and Mental Effort for Health & Cognition | CogPsyLab.