Additionally, chronic fatigue syndrome, which can cause a person to feel mush brain frequently exhausted, may cause anxiety and brain fog. It is normal to experience occasional brain fog and anxiety, especially during high stress. However, people who find that anxiety and brain fog regularly interfere with their everyday activities should seek medical attention. If you feel chronically drained and have trouble reducing stress on your own, consider getting help from your healthcare provider. If your symptoms seem more physical than emotional, it may help to start by talking to your primary healthcare provider, who can help you narrow down a possible cause.
Clearing the haze: A brighter cognitive future
Her approach is grounded in her research and experience with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, neuroplasticity, and Positive Psychology. You’ll want to drink up during the morning and afternoon, though, so you don’t have to wake up during the night to use the bathroom. But when anxiety operates underground—when it’s the soup you’re swimming around in—it’s easy to confuse the signs and symptoms of anxiety with your essential YOU. I headed toward the school sick to my stomach, searching unsuccessfully for any medical explanation less disastrous than the ones I had come up with.
Medications
If your brain fog is persistent and might be linked to other symptoms you’re experiencing, talk to your doctor to find out if they might be connected. We all get that drained, overly tired, and kind of fuzzy feeling once in a while after a long day. Brain fog is similar, but it typically feels a lot more pervasive.
- They can also have slower reaction times and lapses of attention.
- For me, that looked like leaving my wallet at the bank, missing doctor’s appointments, and occasionally mixing up my twins.
- Lowering your dosage or switching to another drug may improve your symptoms.
- “Now, more data is coming to suggest that the pandemic may linger on for some time,” says Dr. Khandelwal.
- “The hormonal changes from pregnancy and menopause can cloud thinking as well,” Dr. Small explains.
Exercise
If the fog doesn’t lift after making those changes, it’s time to talk to your doctor. They can assess the situation, rule out medical conditions, and suggest a treatment plan that can help. Check with your doctor for further assessment, as depression and other mental health conditions can be contributing to brain fog. If you always feel spaced out, making it hard to function at work, school, and daily life, that’s your cue to seek a professional opinion. If your brain fog is happening with other symptoms like headaches, fatigue, or mood changes, don’t ignore it. Have you ever experienced the feeling of brain fog, where you could barely remember anything, or you found it hard to concentrate on a task?
When to see a doctor
- You’re already mentally exhausted, so a new project may seem too daunting for you to even make a start.
- Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia can involve symptoms of brain fog.
- Ever since then, I’ve been trying to get my brain working to the way it did before so I could start living a productive lifestyle, but I’ve been having a lot of trouble regaining my mental focus.
- Brain fog feels like being slowed down unwillingly or being unable to clear your mind even though you really want to.
- In addition, people living with many of the conditions that can cause brain fog may benefit from probiotic supplements.
In many cases, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can co-occur with anxiety, which can worsen brain fog. The virus is thought to activate certain immune cells in the brain, which cause inflammation, making it difficult for the brain to perform day-to-day cognitive tasks. Brain fog can be a symptom of an inflammatory infection that attacks the brain. For example, bacterial diseases such as Lyme disease can cause brain fog.
Be an efficient sleeper.
- It might not seem like a big deal, but your brain definitely notices.
- If you can only manage a 15-minute walk on your lunch break, you’re still benefiting by giving your brain a break, improving your mental clarity and possibly even relieving some stress.
- This includes things like staying active, getting enough sleep, and eating well.
Sleep became a distant memory after I had twins—three non-consecutive hours on a good night. Balancing two newborns, a preschooler, and a full-time job had me running on fumes, way too much caffeine, and sheer willpower. But it was the constant brain fog that left me feeling disconnected and scattered. Caffeine directly impacts dopamine levels and other neurotransmitters contributing to your overall brain functioning, sleep, appetite, and mood. Various factors, such as stress and lack of sleep, can cause cognitive fatigue.
Simply telling a loved one about the things stressing you out can help you feel less alone. Plus, they might be able to offer some advice that’ll make the task at hand easier to face. MacCutcheon also recommends mindfulness practices to help decrease stress. You can’t always eliminate every stressful thing from your life, but these tips can help you keep your stress from completely wiping you out.