Cloudy with a chance of brain fog.

Struggling to remember, overwhelmed thoughts, lowered concentration, losing track of thoughts, feeling distracted?

You might be suffering from brain fog.

What is brain fog?

Brain fog is a general, non-medical term used to describe a sense of cognitive impairment that can manifest in different ways such as, difficulties with concentrating, memory recall, thinking, being distracted easily and feeling mentally clouded.

Symptoms of brain fog:

• Forgetting general things more often, such as why you walked into this room.

• Difficulty focusing 

• Difficulty thinking clearly

• Struggling to find the exact word you wanted to use

• Having trouble multitasking

• Losing track of thoughts

• Difficulty understanding new information

• Finding it hard to plan activities

• Finding it hard to solve problems

Brain fog is generally, instead of feeling as cognitively sharp and clear as you normally do, you feel cognitively sluggish.

What is the difference between dementia and brain fog?

Dementia is a general term that describes prominent loss of memory with deterioration in language, problem solving and other abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life.

A key difference between dementia and brain fog is the extent that it affects someone’s life. People with dementia, for example, can struggle with functional aspects of daily activities such as doing basic household tasks, household finances or social activities.

Brain fog is not a condition but a cluster of symptoms that is only temporary, whereas dementia points to permanent and progressive damage in the brain.

Causes of brain fog?

There is not one singular cause of brain fog, there are many possible reasons and causes for experiencing brain fog.

Stress:

Unmanaged stress can cause havoc on one’s mind and daily life in various ways. Stress can often cause a reduction in the brain’s ability to process information and make decisions.

Research shows that stress has a profound effect on the nervous system and can lead to structural changes to the brain, causing changes in memory and cognition. Thus, intense stress can cause cognitive disorders particularly in memory and judgement.

Sleep:

If you ever spent a night tossing and turning and ended up feeling sluggish the next day, you clearly understand the intense connection between sleep and cognitive function.

Just how sleeping too little can cause cognitive impairment, just so can sleeping too much cause the same symptoms. Research shows that people sleeping too little or too much displayed impaired cognitive function.

Notably, the research also found that sleeping only 4 hours a night was equivalent to aging about 8 years, and that sleeping more than usual (closer to optimal amount of sleep) before cognitive testing was associated with better performance.

Poor nutrition:

Foods rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants support cognitive function and protect your brain from oxidative stress, however low-quality foods such as processed and refined foods can negatively impact your brain.

Refined sugars promote inflammation and oxidative stress and saturated fatty acids and simple sugars contribute to decline in cognitive health, particularly progressive learning and memory.

Other causes of brain fog:

• Menopause

• Certain medication

How to improve brain fog:

The treatment of brain fog mainly depends on the underlying cause of the brain fog.

General ways to improve brain fog includes:

Getting enough sleep. This includes avoiding stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and screen time before bed.

Managing stress. Reducing stress in whatever capacity is crucial for improving brain fog.

Eating a healthy and balanced meal.

Ensure a proper diet by including high quality, vitamin and mineral rich foods in your meals every day.

Exercising. Regular movement and physical activity can improve blood circulation and oxygen delivery to the brain and body. It helps with stress management as well.

Stimulating the brain. Keeping your brain stimulated, challenged and active can help activate your mind and reduce brain slur.

Yet again we are highlighting the importance of good sleep, a good diet and proper stress management. 

If you are currently experiencing or often experiencing symptoms of brain fog, it is time to start with treating and improving the root causes.

Keep well.