What Is Brain Fog? | Ways to Improve Your Mental Clarity

“I just feel like I can’t focus. I’m all over the place!”

If this sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. Many people report symptoms of brain fog, which is characterized by the inability to think clearly. Though it’s not technically a medical condition, you may feel mentally fuzzy and struggle to complete your thoughts, remember things, or pay attention.

Reports of brain fog have increased dramatically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the condition is often listed as a symptom of long COVID, it’s more common for it to result from lifestyle factors. Below, we’ll outline what causes brain fog, what brain fog feels like, and how it can be treated to help you feel more energetic, alert, and engaged.

What Causes Brain Fog?

Almost everyone experiences brain fog at some point in their lives. For some, it can occur after taking certain medications, like antihistamines. For others, it stems from a bad night’s sleep.

Although everyone experiences it differently, slowed mental function is a shared symptom. Some people describe it as feeling “spaced out” or disconnected from everything around them. What makes it different from simply being overtired, though, is that the symptoms become chronic and disruptive. As a result, persistent brain fog can negatively impact your quality of life.

The symptoms are typically associated with other underlying health conditions. A head injury or infection that affects the prefrontal cortex, for example, can cause inflammation that leads to symptoms of brain fog. If the symptoms occur following a COVID-19 infection, rapid gray matter loss may be the culprit. Researchers believe the virus contributes to gray matter loss and affects cognitive function.

Other conditions associated with brain fog include inflammatory diseases, like Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis, and lupus. Hormonal conditions and perimenopause can also increase brain fog symptoms, as can anxiety and depression, pregnancy, and adult ADHD.

But for the majority of people, brain fog is associated with lifestyle factors, including:

• Inadequate sleep

• Excessive stress

• Nutrient deficiencies, especially B vitamins

• Medications

Identifying ways to manage these lifestyle factors can help reduce symptoms.

Improving Your Mental Clarity

Brain fog feels like a lack of mental clarity. Thankfully, it’s treatable to the point where you may be able to eliminate most, if not all, symptoms through lifestyle changes. If you’re struggling to focus, try implementing these techniques to improve cognitive health.

Make Sleep a Priority

Adequate rest is crucial for your overall health. It also helps clear toxins from your brain that can cause brain fog. The quality of your sleep is just as important as the quantity, so consider cognitive therapy to evaluate your sleep and learn strategies for improvement.

Follow a Healthy Diet

A diet rich in nutrient-dense foods, like the Mediterranean diet, can help improve your brain health. Increasing your consumption of dark leafy greens, berries, and raw vegetables can have both emotional and cognitive benefits. Consider eliminating or reducing your alcohol consumption, too, as drinking can affect brain function.

Exercise

Working out regularly—especially outdoors—is strongly associated with mental clarity and well-being.

Manage Underlying Health Conditions

If you have health issues like inflammatory disease or anxiety and depression, work with your doctor to manage these conditions. This may mean introducing different medications or therapies, as well as treatments like vitamin IV drip therapy, to reduce the symptoms of stress that can worsen brain fog and other symptoms.

Integrate Mental Clarity Treatments

As you get older, levels of certain enzymes drop, which can impact your mental clarity and brain power. One coenzyme, NAD+, is closely associated with your cognitive function, and IV therapy or injection treatments can increase your levels and give you the boost you need to clear your mind.

We hope this guide helped you better understand what brain fog is. If you feel it’s keeping you from being your best self, make an appointment at Modern Age for a comprehensive Aging Wellness Assessment. Through cutting-edge treatments and therapies, we can help you regain focus and cut through the fog to give you a clearer mind. Schedule a free general consultation to meet with a Modern Age clinician and discuss your wellness goals.