Ever feel like your brain’s got too many tabs open?
It’s a funny analogy, but in all seriousness– this phenomenon on a computer has some unique parallels to the phenomenon of brain fog. Brain fog, while not a specific diagnosis, is characterized as the feeling of having fuzzy, clouded thinking and the inability to feel sharp in your thoughts. Brain fog causes feelings of confusion, disorganization, challenges focusing and paying attention and inability to put your thoughts into words or express yourself.
While common, this feeling is not normal. It can be caused by a wide range of lifestyle problems, medications, vitamin B-12 deficiencies, excessive or lack of sleep, allergies, dehydration, migraines and headaches, stress, depression, diabetes, anemia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, narcotic medications, and cancer treatment. Additionally, brain fog can be caused by hormone changes due to pregnancy, menopause, or thyroid issues.
While brain fog can be totally temporary and curable, it can also be a sign of major illness, including the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. For this reason, brain fog should be taken seriously and if it is recurrent or persistent, one should consult a doctor to have it properly diagnosed alongside any other presenting symptoms.
However, infrequent or temporary brain fog is often curable via home practices and remedies such as:
- getting 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night
- managing stress
- avoiding alcohol and caffeine
- regular exercise
- learning new things and challenging your brain
- increasing your intake of protein, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats.
All of the above lifestyle medicines offer their own benefits for brain health overall, not just improving brain fog. All of the above also help to lower your risk of Alzheimer’s disease by helping to reduce inflammation and preserve health and longevity.
Try these out to help close a few of those tabs in your brain, let your hard drive cool off, and to give your brain some time to buffer!
