The modern way of life gives you a headache and reduced consciousness. People living in cities often feel dizzy and have a reduced ability to focus. That is the syndrome called Brain Fog since it creates a cloudy condition in your brain, where your memory and cognitive functions deteriorate.
Although brain fog is not a medical condition, it is a syndrome that can bring stress in your daily life. People who share the same symptoms of intellectual fatigue and cognitive problems should read this article. The author gives a thorough description of brain fog and how you should treat it right.
Did you know that brain fog is the number one reason for lower productivity levels in people who work in polluted city centers? The necessity to deal with it is apparent for persons who like to be energetic and competitive.
What Is Brain Fog?
Although Neurology has not identified Brain Fog as a new sickness, it describes this mental syndrome quite well. It combines cognitive fatigue problems, lack of correct judgment, and memory function impairment that have a chronic appearance.
Brain fog mental syndrome also includes:
- Chronic inability to store new information in your brain or recall the older ones
- Partial impairment in the use and understanding of language
- Problems with planning and organizing the weekly schedule as you used to
- Loss of ability to make calculations and resolve problems quickly
- Gradual deterioration of brain functions that help in recognizing shapes and plotting charts or directing into your daily destinations
- Mental confusion and lack of concentration
- Sleeping disorders that vary from oversleeping to insomnia
- Abnormal exercise sessions that may last longer than you can
These are some of the frequent mental and body problems that describe Brain Fog syndrome. The changes in your body become gradually overwhelming, until one day you feel like you need medical attention.
Symptoms of Brain Fog
Brain Fog can have various symptoms that affect both your physical and mental health.
Physical Symptoms
1 – Chronic tiredness
It is one of the most common physical symptoms of brain fog. People feel as if they have no energy to execute their daily chores.
2 – Eye Disorders
Persons who suffer from brain fog may face difficulties distinguishing items when viewing them from a longer distance
3 – Gastrointestinal dysfunction
Some people mention having intestinal or stomach pain symptoms through their brain fog situation. It can interfere with their regular nutrient body supply
4 – Metabolism Decrease
Brain fog can affect your ability to metabolize nutrients and may end to weight loss disorders
5 – Headaches
They may refer to the brain but people feel it as a physical symptom. When you have a headache caused by brain fog, you feel like you can’t work and need to stay home
Mental Symptoms
1 – Irritable behavior
Everyone that has brain fog experiences a personality change and gets irritated from social interference with other persons
2 – Sleeping disorders
Brain fog can give you symptoms of insomnia or sleepiness that also affect your personal and professional life
3 – Forgetfulness
It is common for people with brain fog to lack of memory and constantly forgets appointments and other important information
4 – Focus and concentration issues
Brain fog can also ban your concentration and impose barriers to completing any intellectual task you may have
5 – Inexistence of motivation and freshness of ideas
You may lose any motivation to go to work or hang out with your friends. Plus your creativity and ideas spectrum could get easily destroyed
Brain Fog: Causes and Risk Factors
There is a debate about the causes and risk factors of brain fog. The main reasons supporting the development of such a disorder in healthy adults are as follows.
1 – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
It is a new medical entity nominated the recent years to include people who feel tired all day even after they have a full eight-hour sleep. Usually, affects people who are working in city centers or freelancers using their hardware equipment.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome equally affects men and women, who may also suffer from distress and tempered mood when they are at work.
2 – Hormone Imbalances
Women in their perimenopause phase of life have many sex hormone turbulence. Men can also suffer from testosterone insufficiency or problems from the thyroid gland. It can bring brain fog suddenly to their lives and destroy their professional and personal relations.
For instance, pregnancy can also create alterations in the levels of estrogens. It can give brain fog to pregnant women that may limit their ability to perform their professional tasks.
Burning question answered: What is the Best Testosterone Booster?
3 – Thyroid gland insufficiency or hyperactivity
The thyroid gland is important for your metabolism. It produces the T3 and T4 hormones that are responsible for the exchange of energy between cells. In case you have a thyroid gland insufficiency your hormones can also get affected.
The altered levels of the thyroid hormones can make you have a brain fog constantly. That is why it would be better to ask your doctor to prescribe you hormones to ease the brain fog symptoms.
4 – Fibromyalgia
It’s a new disease that could give you intense pain to your muscles and joints. Lately, it got associated with the brain fog condition, as many patients experience a lack of cognitive functions and a blurry mind.
5 – Sleep Pattern Changes
People tend to work more and more hours throughout the week. Standing in front of the computer screen may give more light to your eyes and reduce the normal melatonin (the sleep hormone) secretion in your brain.
The changes in sleep pattern, either towards insomnia or the oversleeping direction, can give you a brain fog that lasts for as long as the symptoms of sleep disorders are present.
6 – Depression
Modern life can be harsh for everybody. Depression is among the common mental health conditions, with millions of people suffering around the world.
It has been apparent that depression acts to the chemical receptors in your brain, decreasing the serotonin levels to the lowest point. Brain fog is the syndrome following the depression in many people, giving them reduced cognitive function and increased mental fatigue.
7 – Stress and Anxiety
People who work in high-end companies and other competitive industries, need to outperform every single day. Competing for the best salary and the best possible project outcomes, or even the fear to get fired can increase stress and anxiety to unprecedented levels.
Stress and anxiety are also increasing the blood levels of cortisol and adrenaline, which can cause brain fog to stressed people.
8 – Migraines
Many patients come to the doctor complaining about constant migraines. Brain fog has a direct relation to the persistent migraines, especially the ones that cannot cure with the use of proper medications.
Time has shown that migraines make things worse for patients who suffer from underlying medical conditions such as asthma or ataxia. Brain fog usually refers to their inability to use their memory right in a specific time frame.
9 – Diet
Nutritionists around the world offer diets adjusted to any lifestyle. However, a difficult diet and exercise program like the Atkins one (cutting all carbs at once) could be the reason to have brain fog. The lack of carbs can reduce glucose, which is the fuel of your brain.
Blood glucose levels are important to give you cognitive clarity, better attention, and focus levels. Getting your body deprived of any type of sugar can give you memory problems and mental function issues, described as brain fog.
10 – Cancer
Patients suffering from cancer can also experience brain fog. It’s not only the tumor that needs sugar to feed itself, but the medications and radiation received that can give you a strong headache and attention deficit- the well-known brain fog.
Things may get better for people who have cancer when they decide to get less interventional treatment for their malignancies. However, brain fog keeps coming even though you remain free of cancer.
11 – Reduced oxygenation during sleep
It is a syndrome known as sleep apnea. Patients who have this kind of sleep disorder have their air tubes blocked while being asleep. That makes them wake up several times through the night when the brain has less oxygen than necessary for healthy functioning.
When you have sleep apnea you are probable to suffer from brain fog during the day. Your attention could become reduced and experience memory issues as well as stress and anxiety.
12 – Chronic Inflammation
People suffering from chronic inflammation like overweight men who accumulate cholesterol plaques in their vessels also experience brain fog symptoms.
The relation of brain fog an inflammation has been the subject of a recent study that showed how inflammatory processes always affect the visual perception and memory of participants.
13 – Head Injury
Another important cause of brain fog is head injuries. Any person that has suffered a head concussion or other minor damage could have attention deficit syndromes and a lack of memory.
A neurologist is a competent doctor to give you the best treatment for your head injury and decide if the brain fog syndrome needs further investigation.
14 – Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
It is a neurodegenerative disease affecting the motor neurons giving a permanent moving impairment to patients suffering from it. Lately, specialists have proved that MS can also be the root of mental and cognitive issues, known as brain fog.
15 – Vertigo
Any damage to the acoustic or balance nerves in your ears could be responsible for brain fog. Many recognize it as vertigo which is strong dizziness that a person feels after a particular environmental stimulus.
Brain fog can be the reason why people who feel dizzy cannot memorize things or show attention disorders and inability to focus.
16 – Substance abuse
Persons who drink much alcohol and take drugs are more vulnerable to develop brain fog. All these substances block the normal function of brain cells and give you dizziness and reduced focus on thinking important things including work changes.
17 – Poor nutrition and dehydration
The quality of your foods determines the possibility to develop brain fog. Dehydration (lack of water) can also make you feel dizzy or disoriented and unable to perform thinking.
Foods that contain many saturated fats or the quality of proteins is low, can deteriorate your condition and give you mental imbalance and distress.
Diagnosis of Brain Fog
Brain Fog could be an emergency if the symptoms begin suddenly and worsen as time passes by. It would be wise to call your family doctor and let him decide about the further diagnostic tools.
The right doctor to deal with your cognitive functions and mental health is the neurologist. He can perform some neurological tests and nerve stimulation to check your ability to perceive and react to the external environment.
The most common diagnostic tools for neurologists are:
- The electroencephalography, showing them how your brain works while you sleep and when you are awake.
- The CT-Scan and MRI, is going to show your doctor if you had a head injury. It may also exclude the presence of a brain tumor responsible for brain fog.
- Blood smears analysis to test if you have elevated cancer markers or hormone changes that lead to mental fatigue and cognitive disease.
Psychologists and therapists are competent at diagnosing Brain Fog syndrome. They can ask you questions about your life and extract useful assumptions about the possibility to suffer from stress, anxiety, or even depression.
These experts follow specific protocols to diagnose Brain Fog and give you the right mental or physical treatment for your case. It is needless to visit a hospital to diagnose brain fog. It would be better to ask your doctor any further questions relevant to this situation, especially if you are under unbearable pain.
Treatment of Brain Fog
As with any mental or physical disorder, various treatments are available to deal with Brain Fog. Some of the most common are:
Medicine Treatments
1 – Iron supplements
It will help the overproduction of red blood cells and restore the normal oxygenation to your brain tissue. These actions would relieve the symptoms of brain fog instantly.
2 – Corticosteroids
When brain fog has an inflammatory basis, the corticosteroids can help to reduce the inflammation and relieve your fatigue and cognitive symptoms.
3 – Prescription drugs
Donepezil, which is a drug used for Alzheimer’s disease can help people who suffer from memory issues and mental stress.
Diet Supplements
Lately, there are many diet supplements that improve your brain health and cure you of the pain felt by brain fog. The most promising of them are:
Onnit Alpha Brain Nootropics
It comes in a 90-capsule container and is caffeine and drug-free. With every single capsule, you get a powerful blend of L-Theanine, L-Tyrosine, Phosphatidylserine, and Oat Straw Extract.
All the ingredients have shown that Onnit Alpha Brain can support memory, promote focus, and aid mental processing. These are enough to help you get rid of your brain fog in a matter of minutes from the consumption.
Mind Lab Pro Nootropics
Mind Lab Pro is a valuable ally to fight against chronic brain fog symptoms. The basic ingredients are Citicoline, Phosphatidylserine, Bacopa Monnieri, Organic Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Maritime Pine Bark Extract, L-Tyrosine, L-Theanine, and Rhodiola Rosea.
It seems like people who suffer from brain fog can increase their memory and improve their cognitive functions. You can have your overall health enhanced and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) to simply disappear.
Home Remedies for Brain Fog
Some of the best remedies for brain fog listed in reputable websites are:
1 – Get some good sleep
Hormones in your brain stay at the right levels when you get a good night’s sleep. Remember that you cannot replace your night sleep if you choose to work during that part of the day. As an adult, you should sleep for at least seven hours per day.
2 – Include some exercise in your daily schedule
Brain fog comes as a consequence of body fatigue. That is why engaging in a mild exercise could significantly improve your health, make your thyroid gland work better, and give you less stress and anxiety.
3 – Take care of your diet
You are the sole responsible for your diet. Eating more healthy fats and proteins give you the amino acids needed for the right brain function. A good diet can fight against your depression, especially when you choose healthy foods.
4 – Reduce stress
Adopt a healthy lifestyle that promotes peacefulness to your relations with other people. Anxiety and stress can increase cortisol levels increasing your blood pressure and worsen the cognitive fatigue symptoms and the memory loss you experience with brain fog.
Therapy for Brain Fog
There are many things to do if you want to improve your health and deal with brain fog once and for all.
1 – Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine
We know that alcohol and caffeine can negatively impact the chemical balance in your brain cells. When you limit their consumption you can feel more energetic and restore all your cognitive functions to normal.
2 – Include more vegetables and fruits to your diet
Fruits and vegetables offer your body the right mixture of substances to restore the balance in your brain. They give you a healthy body that leads on to an operating mind.
3 – Meditate
Practicing yoga or other eastern meditation practices like Ayurveda, could take away your stress and release relaxing hormones to your nervous system. It makes the brain fog disappear sooner or later.
4 – Adopt the multiple sleeping sessions per day model
Successful people always have a good night’s sleep and some sleep intervals of no more than 30 minutes throughout the day. A nap at the office or home when you have the right equipment, could easily reverse the symptoms of brain fog and restore your health.
5 – Engage in mindless activities
People who like to think all the time, should take a break and have some mindless activities through their busy day. Play a game with some friends and even sing something you like. Activities that don’t require deep thinking can make you feel a lot better.
6 – Acupuncture
Since we know that acupuncture relieves pain from your body, it could also bring balance to the chemicals in your brain. A recent study has proved that people who start acupuncture sessions could improve their cognitive functions and release from stress and anxiety.
How to prevent Brain Fog?
Here you can find some useful tips to prevent Brain Fog:
1 – Spend less time in front of a screen
Even if your job requires you to look at a screen for many hours during the day, make sure you take some breaks every one or two hours. It could refresh your brain and take away all the cognitive failure symptoms.
2 – Exercise as frequently as possible
Physical exercise can make you think less and release satisfaction hormones to your blood. The chemical imbalance in your brain will never develop again.
3 – Take supplements regularly
Supplements that boost your memory and improve your brain function such as Mind Lab Pro and Onnit Alpha Brain could give your body the nutrients it needs to avoid brain fog.
4 – Avoid meeting toxic people
Persons who make you lose your temper or even worsen your depression with their behavior should better keep away from your company. Prefer to hang out with real friends that can listen to your problems and entertain you.
5 – Spend time in nature
Regular excursions in nature can give you more energy to cope up with busy daily life and remove the foggy curtain from your brain. Not to mention, that nature can better oxygenate your brain cells to work smoothly for another busy week.
Consequences of Brain Fog
Brain Fog can have some consequences for the long or mid-term. They can get separated into physical and mental ones:
Physical Consequences
1 – Weight gain
People who suffer from brain fog can eat more low-quality foods and gain weight
2 – Pain
Many people report pain felt in multiple parts of their body. Headaches are also a big thing with this syndrome.
3 – Poor skin health
Brain fog can cause poor skin health, sending inflammatory responses to various parts of your body. Pimples and discolored areas could appear to some people.
Mental Consequences
1 – Loss of focus
Persons who have the syndrome cannot concentrate enough to resolve problems required at their work
2 – Memory incompetency
Brain fog can also deteriorate your memory abilities and make you forgetful
3 – Personality change
People who suffer from brain fog can get conquered by anxiety and stress. That means their reaction to others could be rude or indifferent, altering the way their friends and family consider them.
4 – Reduced productivity
When you can’t think clearly at work, you face reduced productivity rates that can make you vulnerable to poor performance grading.
5 – Libido and satisfaction decrease
Libido and satisfaction strongly relate to your brain function. That is why people who experience brain fog cannot have a good sex life and lack of satisfaction in anything they do.
Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)
What does Brain Fog feel Like?
Brain Fog feels like being disoriented. Many refer to it as a curtain that covers their brain and they can’t think right. They have a blurred mind and their judgment is less sharp than it used to be.
Cognitive and memory failure is one of the primary symptoms, but many people also say that they feel physically tired that makes them avoid working and even going out of their home. It feels like a massive shut down of your mental abilities, mood, and competency to resolve problems at work.
What Vitamins are Good for Brain Fog?
It would be wise to get the B-12 Vitamin since it has to do with the production of serotonin in your brain and improve immune system. Other vitamins that help you deal with the situation would be vitamin C, thanks to its antioxidant actions in your brain cells.
Furthermore, vitamin E has recently proved to be efficient in oxidation reactions to the human brain, so it could help you prevent the appearance of Brain Fog.
Finally, vitamin K can induce the production of sphingolipids that are present in the cell membrane of your nerve cells. These lipids are of high importance for the right function of your brain and vitamin K can speed up their secretion rate.
Does Coffee Cause Brain Fog?
Coffee is one of the main substances that can disrupt your sleep cycle. Only 400 mg of caffeine (the regular dose in a cup of coffee) can have a direct influence on your central nervous system even six hours upon consumption.
In this way, coffee can severely affect you and cause brain fog that you may not easily anticipate. Gradually removing coffee from your life could help you find mental and physical health when you suffer from brain fog syndrome.
How Can I Improve my mental clarity?
To improve your mental clarity you need to follow a healthy life, consume many fruits and vegetables, exercise a lot, and sleep well. Mental clarity is important for people who deal with frequent brain fog episodes.
Cutting on sugar and saturated fats could also help you improve your mental clarity since they all contribute to a healthier brain.
Is Brain Fog Curable?
Brain Fog is curable since you only have to change your way of life to make it disappear. Supplements and healthy foods can also help you find the lost balance in your nervous system.
For most people, it only takes a few weeks to reactivate their body and make it function better. When Brain Fog is there for a long time, it may take you a bit longer to deal with its causes. Determination can give you the key to success for curing Brain Fog.
Does Anxiety Cause Brain Fog?
Anxiety and stress are some of the main causes of Brain Fog to healthy individuals. The modern way of life requires endless hours at work and shrinks the time you have for yourself.
Fear for the future and uncertainty are the roots of anxiety and stress for most people. That is why you should reduce your anxiety to the lowest possible level if you want to effectively deal with brain fog symptoms.
How Do You Get Rid of Brain Fog?
Brain Fog symptoms are easy to get rid of if you follow specific rules:
1) Sleep sufficient time through the day in pre-scheduled hours without making any changes to that schedule
2) Eat healthy foods having lots of proteins and vitamins
3) Keep your weight close to the normal rates
4) Don’t get stressed for tomorrow. Live your life today
5) Avoid sitting many hours in front of your computer or smartphone
6) Talk to people that you like and spend more time with family
7) Get closer to nature and go for an excursion as often as you can
What vitamin is good for brain fog?
A number of vitamins including Vitamin C, D, B12 and Magnesium are known to help with brain fog. These vitamins help improve cognition and attention levels.
How to prevent brain fog?
Brain fog is brought about by a number of factors including stress, insufficient sleep, nutrient deficiencies and medical problems.
To get rid of brain fog, you may consider taking a break from your everyday routine, following a nutritious diet, improving your sleep hygiene, exercising more and avoiding substance abuse. You can also visit your doctor for a treatment plan.
Is brain fog temporary after COVID-19?
While there are no scientific reasons as to why brain fog occurs after COVID-19, one thing is sure–the situation is temporary and will get better on its own. It’s also important to note that the symptoms will last for varying periods in different people.
Conclusion
Now you have a complete guide about Brain Fog and its consequences, as well as the therapeutic options available. Ensure that you ask your doctor about any diagnosis or treatment for this syndrome, as he is the only one who has your complete patient profile and can take decisions for your treatment.
Please feel free to share with us any possible feedback you may have on the treatments and remedies we provide for brain fog. Share this article to your social media to let your friends know about Brain Fog and help them get rid of it easily.
