What Is Brain Fog?

Brain fog is a mild neurocognitive impairment that involves slow or sluggish thinking. It is a type of cognitive problem that involves a lack of mental clarity, difficulty concentrating, memory problems, and/or difficulty focusing on a task. People often describe it as mentally fatiguing, feeling scattered, or not feeling mentally sharp. While we all have days where we are not at our optimal functioning, brain fog can get to the point where it disrupts school, work, or daily tasks.

The term comes up frequently in medical research literature, where it is used to capture experiences of cognitive difficulties (i.e., thinking, planning, organizing, etc.) described by a variety of different groups of patients, ranging from those suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, to patients who are receiving chemotherapy (for whom it is sometimes called chemotherapy brain) and women who are pregnant or transitioning into menopause. Recently there has been research noting that brain fog is a common symptom of Covid-19 and long Covid. Understanding brain fog, its causes, and how brain fog is related to mental illnesses can help you to better understand the relationships between brain health, mental function, and emotional wellbeing.

If you’re experiencing brain fog, you may notice changes in how you think and remember. These changes may include:

· Difficulty focusing on a task

· Difficulty remembering words

· Stumbling through conversations or losing your train of thought

· Lacking mental clarity

· Fatigue or mental tiredness

What Causes Brain Fog?

• Brain fog is a symptom that can be caused by stress, changes in sleep, hormones, medications, and other factors. In addition to people living with an illness, brain fog can occur in anyone, and it can be caused by a lack of sleep, high stress, specific foods in the diet, hormonal changes, or, in some cases, medications or a medical condition.

• Brain fog has been reported in medical conditions such as Covid, Anemia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Diabetes, Sjogren Syndrome, Migraines, Hypothyroidism, and autoimmune diseases, like lupus, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.

• It may be caused by vitamin deficiencies, such as low levels of

vitamin B12 or vitamin D. Without the right levels of nutrients, your

brain can't process information optimally.

• Hormonal changes, such as those that occur with menopause,

pregnancy and thyroid disorders can lead to brain fog. Hormones are

involved in many bodily processes, including cognition. As hormone

levels shift throughout life, that can impact how the brain functions.

• Brain fog can be a side effect of many medications too, such as: Chemotherapy for cancer, which is often referred to as chemo-brain, blood pressure medications, anti-nausea medications, antihistamines, anti-anxiety medications, and some sleep aids

• Brain fog is also commonly reported in depression. Depressed people often report a poor memory or difficulty thinking through problems. It is unclear if this is linked to the loss of energy and motivation that comes with depression, or if depression affects your brain in a way that causes the fog.

• Other mental health conditions where brain fog is reported include anxiety and ADHD. Even if you don’t actively focus on anxious thoughts, they often still run in the background of your brain and might contribute to physical symptoms. This in turn may increase your anxiety even more. Many of the symptoms of inattentive ADHD are the same as those experienced when you have brain fog. Forgetfulness, trouble concentrating, and difficulty following instructions are some examples of these shared symptoms. In addition, some ADHD medications cause side effects that feel like brain fog such as drowsiness.

• Brain fog often co-occurs with stress. Stress increases blood pressure and can lead to exhaustion, and these are key factors that can lead to brain fog. Sometimes there is an acute stressor and once it is gone, so is the fog. However, sometimes stress becomes chronic, which results in a persistent mental fog.

Brain fog is actually not a medical condition, but instead is a term used to describe a feeling of mental slowness and disorganization. However, it is a symptom that is often indicative of an underlying issue.

Blood work can help your doctor identify the cause of brain fog if it is medical in nature. A blood test can detect the following:

• Inflammation

• Irregular glucose levels

• Poor liver, kidney, and thyroid function

• Nutritional deficiencies

• Infections

• Hormonal imbalances

Brain fog can happen because of health issues, pregnancy, and due to lifestyle factors, like stress, sleep deprivation, or unhealthy eating. Brain fog may be a symptom of nutrient deficiencies, sleep disorders, overgrowth of bacteria due to excessive sugar consumption or depression.

How Can I Treat Brain Fog?

Fortunately, many of brain fog causes can be reduced through lifestyle changes, medications, or professional counseling. Strategies that can help memory and focus may make things easier to handle in cases when brain fog is a long-term condition.

While there is no single, universal therapy to treat these cognitive difficulties, certain rehabilitation strategies can retrain the brain to focus on areas where it is more difficult. A 2018 review concluded that physical exercise may be beneficial for the brain, both physically and psychologically.

When your physical activity slows down, brain activity also slows down, leading to symptoms associated with brain fog. This is what causes your brain to slow, causing forgetfulness, a lack of focus, and a sluggish mindset. Cognitive disruptions may include difficulties with multitasking, paying attention, understanding conversations, and remembering memories. Short-term memory loss, confusion, and difficulties with concentration are all things that people suffering from brain fog may have to deal with once they have recovered from an infection with COVID-19.

Brain fog treatment depends on the cause. For example, if you are diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, a doctor may recommend a corticosteroid or other medication to reduce inflammation or suppress the immune system. If you’re anemic a doctor might recommend iron supplements to increase your production of red blood cells and reduce your brain fog.

Brain fog can also be due to mental health issues like depression or anxiety. Even if you are sure this is what is causing it, it is always helpful to see a doctor to rule out medical issues. Next, it is beneficial to find a therapist. The causes of depression and anxiety are often multi-layered and require a safe space to process them. The support of a therapist can help alleviate brain fog. Therapy can be used in conjunction with lifestyle strategies. Sometimes, relieving brain fog is a matter of making changes such as changing your diet, switching medications, or improving the quality of your sleep.

Holistic strategies to improve brain fog include:

• Prioritizing quality sleep. Most people need 7 to 9 hours per night

• Managing stress by knowing your limitations and setting boundaries

• Avoiding excessive alcohol and caffeine

• Physical activities

• Intellectual stimulation (try volunteering or solving brain puzzles)

• Finding enjoyable or meaningful activities

• Increasing your intake of protein, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats

• Cultivating a mindfulness practice

Compensatory Strategies

Compensatory strategies are environmental modifications that help to work around the problem. They are adaptive aids often used to compensate for memory impairment, and are equally helpful for brain fog. Examples of compensatory strategies are:

· Writing down things you want to remember in a notebook

· Setting alerts and reminders on your phone

· Keeping a calendar and reviewing it first thing in the morning

· Blocking distracting website/apps (or setting time limits)

· Having visual reminders of things to do such as colorful post it notes

· Energy conservation. Do your most important work when you are most alert and build in breaks

· Following a structured schedule

· Creating systems and routines

· Reducing clutter

· Using internal memory strategies such as mnemonic devices

· Reducing the memory load of large tasks by breaking tasks down into chunks and referring back to written directions

Summary

Brain fog describes the feeling that you are lacking complete mental clarity - perhaps having problems recalling things, or having difficulty paying attention to a thought or idea. Brain fog feels like a lack of mental clarity or “cloudy thinking.” Brain fog can impact your ability to concentrate and make things hard to remember. While not a medical term, brain fog is often a symptom of an underlying medical or mental health issue. If left untreated, brain fog may affect your quality of life and contribute to other conditions. Brain fog may come from a variety of different causes, but they all cause you to not feel your best self, affect your work and relationships, and leave you feeling scattered.

It is important to discuss your symptoms with your healthcare provider; he or she can likely identify the causes of brain fog and recommend a treatment plan accordingly. It is important to rule out medical conditions that may cause brain fog such as inflammation or infection. Brain fog may be due to a mental health issue such as depression. Ways to treat brain fog include seeing a therapist, engaging in physical activity, eating regular meals, getting quality sleep, intellectual stimulation, and limiting alcohol and drugs. Stress management is also an important part of recovery and may include setting boundaries and working within your capacity.

Finally, consider using compensatory strategies to reduce the mental load you carry. Strategies include writing down things instead of assuming you’ll remember something, minimizing distractions, reducing clutter, using mnemonic devices, and creating systems and routines.