Refraining from food and water all day during Ramadan is not that bad.
That's because we still get to eat twice — just before sunrise and again after sunset.
There's "iftar," which is the breaking-of-the-fast meal at sunset. But there's also "suhoor," which is a light meal Muslims eat before sunrise to be able to withstand not eating during the day.
Right now, the fast starts at about 4:20 a.m. in Southern California. The time varies, depending on location.
In Islam, suhoor fall into the category of "sunna," which means it's recommended. Sunna in Arabic means "the way of something." In general, when Muslims say sunna, it means following the way of the prophet.
When I was little, a guy used to walk our street with a drum and a little song in the middle of the night to wake up people for suhoor. That happens throughout the Arab world.