BRAIN HEALTH
Clearing the Brain Fog to Focus Better
What is brain fog? How can you make it better?
‘Brain fog’ is something we all experience from time to time, some of us more frequently than others. Fuzzy thinking can disrupt your life on a multitude of levels — difficulty focusing on your tasks at home or work, and it can increase your stress levels.
What can be done to improve mental clarity? Can you improve your brain health, reduce stress, or improve your sleep to improve brain function? What about your diet? Let’s take a look.
What Is Brain Fog?
Brain fog is a condition that’s related to your brain health and mental health. It involves a feeling in the body and mind of mental fatigue and difficulty thinking clearly. It can be caused by underlying health conditions, stress, and lack of sleep.
Symptoms of Brain Fog
- Low mental clarity | poor cognitive function
- Low mental energy | high mental fatigue
- A feeling of “fuzzy thinking”
- Confusion
- Forgetfulness | short-term memory loss
- Lack of concentration | wandering attention
- Increased anxiety
- Stress
- A struggle to communicate with others
Disorder, Disease, & Other Factors Commonly Associated with Brain Fog
- Fibromyalgia
- Sleep disorders or lack of sleep
- ADHD, PTSD and other conditions
- Stress
- Eye disorders
- Gastrointestinal dysfunction
- Headaches
- Age
- Coronavirus and other communicable diseases
- Hormonal shifts
What Causes Brain Fog?
I consulted with Dr. Rosmy Barrios, medical advisor for Health Reporter about what causes brain fog and exactly what that term means.
Barrios said:
“There is no single answer that explains what causes brain fog. More likely, it is the result of many negative habits in life. An unhealthy diet, smoking, lack of quality sleep, and overwork wear out the body and mental health, making you feel tired and forgetful. Stress also has much influence, which, as you know, damages not only the brain but also the body. Finally, it has already been found that about a quarter of people infected with the coronavirus experience brain fog.”
Because of the way brain fog manifests and feels, you may confuse the symptoms with other conditions such as dissociation, depression or anxiety, or ADHD. Though the causes of brain fog are myriad and may be tied to underlying medical conditions, the treatment of the condition can involve some similar strategies.
How you take care of your body on the whole, as an example, can help to improve your symptoms of brain fog. Also, as you treat an underlying condition associated with your fuzzy thinking, your cognitive performance can also improve.
Is Brain Fog Dangerous?
If you’re suffering from brain fog, you may worry about your cognitive health or if your mental faculties are in decline. It’s normal to worry about these things. Can brain fog be dangerous?
Well, sure, it can be.
- What if you are a medical care person — doing surgeries or keeping charts? Mistakes here can cost lives. You need to be on your top game!
- What if you make a mistake while driving a car? Those errors can get you or someone else hurt!
- What if you’re caring for an infant or small children? You need to think clearly and be quick to respond!
Thinking quickly, making on-the-fly decisions, and having fast reflexes are all important for us to navigate our days without injury or making simple mistakes on our work.
While having brain fog can be a little scary, you can use some of these tips to help clear away the brain fog and begin feeling better.
Clearing the Mental Fog to Focus Better
Barrios also shared with me some ways you can improve your mental clarity and your ability to focus:
“To improve your focus, the most important thing is to change your lifestyle by giving up bad habits. You can start with a healthy diet and supplement it with products rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, incorporate exercise into your daily routine, or try to cope with stress. Memory and thinking tasks such as sudoku or crosswords help a lot when experiencing brain fog. These games not only train your brain but can be a great form of meditation to help you deal with stress.”
Sleep Better to Improve Your Focus
One critical component to improving your brain fog is to get more restful sleep at night. Poor sleep can lead to a variety of health issues including mental and physical fatigue, mood swings, an inability to navigate stressful situations and make decisions, as well as weight gain.
Boost your brain power by starting today to prioritize your sleep and improve your mood and your health. Sleeping well can improve many areas of your life. Go to bed at a reasonable time, cut out some blue light in those winding-down hours, and you may find your thinking patterns return to normal fairly quickly.
Note: While drinking alcohol may make you feel like you are getting better sleep, alcohol actually impedes healthy sleep. Instead of alcohol-induced sleep, try drinking chamomile tea or taking CBD.
Improve Your Diet
Eat healthy foods and drink plenty of water to keep your cells hydrated. Some foods can even reduce inflammation, which may help you to feel better.
Brain fog can also be linked to unregulated levels of sugar in the body that you consume through food or drink. Cut out excess sugar and certainly sugary soft drinks, which keep your sugar levels spiked throughout your day, and which can lead to weight gain and possibly diabetes.
While you may not want to skip your favorite goodies entirely, experts recommend incorporating more anti-inflammatory foods or brain-boosting drinks into your diet. “Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables every day, and taking prebiotics and probiotics, can introduce healthy bacteria into the gut, which helps your body better produce those brain-boosting neurotransmitters,” explains Dow. “You’ll also want to make sure you’re getting enough omega-3s, either from clean seafood or supplements, which can also remedy brain fog.”
Supplements may also help with brain fog. Vitamin D, Omega-3s, and magnesium are all well-known brain fog fighters.
Try Walking for Healthy Benefits
Walking is a great way to improve your health, clear your head, reduce stress, and make you feel better every day. If you’re sitting for long stretches of time, get up and walk around a little bit each hour to get the blood pumping.
Taking 3–5 brisk walks — only 5-minute walks! — throughout your day has HUGE health benefits. Read more: 7 Fitness Experts on Daily Short Walks to Improve Your Health
Take a Break
When brain fog attacks and you’re having trouble concentrating…taking a small break can have a big impact. There’s real truth to “clearing your head” with a short break. Change what you are doing for 5–10 minutes to allow your brain cells a bit of a break.
Play a song, get in a few pushups or squats, grab a healthy snack, or work on a craft. These shifts in mental focus can help to clear away that fog that’s got you feeling so fuzzy-headed.
Note: Talk with your doctor about what may be causing your fuzzy or slow brain function and follow their recommendations for treatment. There’s not really a test for brain fog, exactly, but your doctor may ask lots of questions, and recommend treatment and possibly therapy to help you combat what’s really got your brain function blurred.
Above all — listen to your body.
Brain fog is a symptom that’s telling you that something is wrong. Take the time to listen to what your body needs.
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Thank you for reading.
Meet your author: Christina M. Ward is a lifelong beauty and wellness enthusiast with a professional writing career in the wellness, health, and clean beauty industries. Her work has been featured in Today’s Health Science, LA Weekly, and most recently, the Village Voice out of New York and OK! Magazine.
