Hey, pass me that thingie, yes, that, the one that does that!
Ever done THAT?
These little distinctive incidents of this/that, inability to focus, or forgetting a word that you were about to utter — is called Brain Fog.
Fog, but in the brain. The fog doesn’t just appear in winter and vanishes in summer. It can last for a while, like a guest who just overstays.
Brain Fog
Brain Fog refers to trouble in concentrating, remembering, and reasoning. Brain fog itself is not regarded as a medical condition but can sometimes indicate an underlying problem. You must have experienced brain fog while trying to remember the name of a place you visited, a friend’s name, a question you were about to ask, and other similar things. Brain fog also called Mental Fog clouds the ability to think and process. It is commonly seen among older people. While mild symptoms are overlooked, they can elevate to give rise to new diseases. If not treated well on time it can affect the quality of life.
How is Brain Fog caused?
Brain fog can be caused due to reasons like sleep deprivation and fatigue, or more severe reasons like medicinal side-effects, after-effects of brain injury, or chemotherapy. It can be an indicator of other health conditions. The identification of the root problem can help fix the brain fog. Some of the causes of brain fog can be :
Mental Stress: Mental stress can trigger many unwanted diseases. Stress is responsible for hypertension, headache, heartburn, fatigue, sleeplessness, and muscle tension among others. In response to stress, stress hormones are released increasing heart rate. Chronic stress brings about regular stress responses leading to many serious illnesses.
Sleeplessness: Good sleep relaxes the body and helps to resume smooth brain function. Lack of sleep can breed loss of concentration and fatigue. An average sleep of 7–9 hours is essential to maintain good brain health.
Regular diet: A poor diet can bring about a loss in brain function. A diet with a balance of antioxidants, vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, and minerals must be included in your meals. Brain fog may also erupt due to allergy-causing food items like gluten, nuts, and dairy.
Hormones: Fluctuation in hormone levels can impact memory and concentration. It is more commonly found among women, as they undergo a lot of hormonal changes during a lifetime.
Medicines: Some cancer treatments like chemotherapy can make the brain fuzzy and bring a decline in cognitive health among the patients. Over-the-counter drugs like anticholinergic, analgesics, anti-histamines interrupt brain function by obstructing the activities of neurotransmitters and hormones. If OTCs create such cognitive dysfunction the medications should be taken in moderation or under medical supervision.
Health disorders: Many health conditions can also cause mental sluggishness. Some of the conditions like diabetes, cancer, anemia, migraine, dementia, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and hormonal imbalance can result in brain fog.
Can Brain Fog be prevented?
Many elements influencing brain fog are well under your control. Some of the habits that you can practice for good cognitive health are :
Sleeping enough: A good sleep leaves you refreshed and energized. It is important to have a sleep schedule for optimal brain function. A power nap in between work has also proved to increase brain activity. For better sleep, reduce your screen time before sleeping, do not eat a heavy meal for dinner, and keep the lights off for optimum melatonin production, which aids in sleep.
Eating healthy food: A healthy transformation in your diet can save you from poor brain function. A good diet favors gut health. Processed food, whereas, make you feel sleepy and lazy which affects both physical and mental health. A fresh, clean, and healthy diet remove most of life’s unnecessary issues. Time for a good change!
Waving off stress: With today’s hyperconnected world full of information all the time, it is too much to process for the brain. Stress can come in any and many forms — a delay in the meeting, a spat with the spouse, a missed bill, or hot weather. You can alleviate this stress by organizing your time, making a daily planner, doing meditation, handling a situation with creative responses, caring for self, and getting physically active.
Games: Both indoor and outdoor games can help to maintain good cognitive function. Outdoor games like swimming, tennis, badminton, basketball can be good for improving body-mind coordination and boosting the immune system. Indoor games like sudoku, chess, scrabble, and puzzles can help to stimulate your brain and enhance attention, language, memory, and spatial skills. It also reduces the chances of neurological diseases. Most of all it is fun and refreshing.
An evening walk: When you are in no mood to hit the gym or twist your body with yoga poses you can go for a nice breezy walk in the evening. Put on your favorite song or just observe the surroundings. It can help you to unwind and bring clarity to your daily life.
If you ever feel lost and confused, do not live with it, find a solution to treat it. In many cases, the treatment is to change the lifestyle. For other severe conditions, a medical intervention must be sought.
