Why is Ramadan Good for You?

To sustain the high you get after Ramadan is over, use prevention on the onset.

Why do we feel better during Ramadan? Is giving up eating and drinking during the day the sole cause for such positive feelings?

Perhaps, but there is probably more to it. Most people abstain from more than just food and water; they also stop following other desires, out of respect for the holly days. The effect of that is a calmer mind, and an abundance of time, that would have otherwise been wasted on such desires. In addition, the charitable powers of the month does increase one's sense of happiness: As research shows, people are happier when they feel they are helping others.

Abstaining from following desires, as it is performed during Ramadan, is unlike what we do any other time. We don't occasionally alter our behavior, we sustain that for a whole month. And we don't even do a little bit of it: we abstain completely, and that's key. But as the days pass after Ramadan, we slowly go back to our old habits, and it's not long before all of it comes back in fill swing.

One thing about desires is that we never attain satisfaction, no matter how much we get. One could start following their desires just a little, thinking there is no harm in that, but it seldom stops there. We easily justify to ourselves just a little bit more, and since that is not satisfying, we do a bit more, until we are finally back to where we started.

The goodness of Ramadan is that it makes us not even take the first step. And that's how we get all the benefits aforementioned. Once we take the first step, the occupation of time and mind has already taken place, and only a reset will bring the benefits back.

So, if you are not satisfied with a yearly reset, and wish to sustain more of the benefits, for a longer term, don't even take the first step. It will rarely be the only one.

Blessed Hunger

Fasting can be inconvenient. The feeling of hunger can be distracting, and it can be amplified, because of the extra time created by the removal of the usual activities of lunch, snacking, and coffee breaks.
That is, since food is not only a hunger remedy, but also a reason to take a break, enjoy the good taste, and get one's mind off work, fasting frees more time, which can make you even more self conscious.
But let's consider the upside: fasting is very liberating. You have more time to do more useful things. And it does more than that, since it triggers a lot of positive energy.
Every time such a feeling of discomfort occurs, we are reminded of the purpose of fasting. And this discomfort, by itself, increases our benefit from the fast.
This is actually the point. This is how we are reminded of the feelings of the less fortunate. If fasting isn't inconvenient, it will not achieve this end.
Fasting, as it happens, is a great force of goodness. During the month of Ramadan, the drive for good is naturally heightened. It's hard to miss the air of positive energy, and people's increased tendency to avoid the bad, and enjoin the good.
Thus, one has to wonder, if this all stems from this feeling of blessed hunger.