What does it mean to have brain fog? Brain fog can leave you feeling unstable and lost, which can affect your job and relationships. Our free quiz will help you learn more about how brain fog can hurt your health. Click on the link below to learn how to feel more like yourself after COVID-19.
Mental health is just as important as brain health regarding how well the brain works. Because your thoughts and feelings are closely linked, you must think strongly if you want to feel good. Many users come to us to improve their mental focus, attention, and Brain fog symptoms because we’re all about getting things done quickly.
What is Brain fog?
Some people may not feel as smart as they normally would when they have brain fog. Daily tasks may seem more difficult, and thoughts and feelings may numb. Some say it’s like a hazy mist, and it can be not easy to reach your thoughts or goals.
If someone has brain fog COVID, they could do these things:
- Forgetting to do something, taking much longer than normal to finish simple chores, getting easily distracted, and getting tired while working
- Explain what brain fog feels like.
- There are various ways that brain fog may manifest.
- Often, it feels like cotton candy is where the thick nerve tissue used to be in your brain.
- Even though the lights are on, nobody is inside.
You might need help to focus on events, work, or even the words you’re reading for long enough. Also You may find it difficult to make decisions; even the smallest decisions are important; you may need more coffee to concentrate, more food to stay alive, and more drinks at night to clear the fog for a while.
You may experience headaches, eye problems, or even illness in the worst cases. Figuring out what brain fog does COVID
What causes Brain Fog COVID?
A lack of vitamins can bring on brain fog, a lack of sleep, bugs getting too big from eating too much sugar, depression, or even a thyroid disease. Brain fog is typically brought on by:
- Eating too much and too frequently.
- Being idle.
- Not getting enough sleep.
- Being under a lot of stress.
- Eating poorly.
According to Parsley Health, these are some of the most typical reasons why people get brain fog.
Hormonal adjustments and brain fog
Hormone changes are typical throughout your life, whether during pregnancy, after birth, during menopause, or simply because your surroundings and lifestyle have changed. Also, these steps can leave your brain feeling foggy and lost; one study found that 60% of women have trouble focusing after menopause.
As your body tries to return to normal, your foggy head symptoms may occasionally be brought on by changes in your mood or sleep habits, but they may also be brought on by changing hormone levels.
Food Sensitivities and Dietary Deficits
The nervous system and the process of making red blood cells are both helped by vitamin B12. Lack of B12 will lower your energy levels and make you feel tired. A vitamin D deficiency may also cause brain fog, as low vitamin D levels are linked to memory loss.
An unidentified food problem may also bring on your confusion. For instance, inflammation pathways may alter brain function due to gluten resistance. To find out if any of these are causing your brain fog, you can get advanced blood work that checks your nutritional levels, go on an elimination diet, or get checked for food allergies or sensitivities.
Stress
Being stressed out for a long time can be very bad for your health, even though “stress” may seem normal and not dangerous. The sympathetic nerve system (SNS), also called the “fight-or-flight” reaction, is activated by your body during stress.
Your body releases epinephrine, also known as adrenaline and norepinephrine when it responds to something that makes it feel stressed. The body then shifts energy from normal processes to what is stressing you out. Your brain may get tired, making it difficult to concentrate and think straight. If your brain feels foggy, learn to control your stress over time with techniques like exercise, meditation, or food changes.
Thyroid conditions
A thyroid problem may cause your symptoms if you have mood swings, are always tired, have trouble focusing, or can’t think straight. This butterfly-shaped gland at the bottom of your neck, typically linked to brain fog, makes and releases hormones that control your metabolism, heart rate, breathing, and periods.
This is especially true for people who have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system floods the thyroid and causes it to stop making enough thyroid hormones, resulting in inflammation.
Disturbed Sleep
Your inner body clock, or circadian rhythm, can become out of whack if you have bad sleep habits like sleeping and waking up at odd times, not getting seven to eight hours of sleep each night, or being exposed to blue light before bed.
This makes brain fog worse in several ways. Light exposure just before bed lowers the hormone melatonin, necessary for a long, deep REM night of sleep.
To process and store memories while awake, you need REM and non-REM sleep. Your body and brain clean out the most between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Staying awake can obstruct this process and make you feel sleepy.
Medication
People are aware that some prescription and over-the-counter medicines can lead to brain fog. It may seem normal for your head to feel foggy after taking medicine, but it’s not. Before taking drugs, we at Parsley Health think that you should change your lifestyle to get to the root of your problems.
If medication is necessary, however, your doctor can assist you in determining whether your drug is hurting your brain health and will work with you to find the best answer, which may involve switching drugs or lowering your dose.
Anxiety and Depression
Executive function, attention, and memory are all things that depression and worry make worse. According to the study, this may be because of physical changes to the brain that make it challenging to work properly or because of the loss of energy and drive brought on by mental health problems.
If you suffer from depression or worry, discuss your treatment choices with a healthcare provider.
Exposure to heavy Metal
Heavy metals are everywhere in our everyday lives. They are in food, makeup, and even tooth implants. The most typical sources of exposure to heavy metals are arsenic, mercury, aluminum, lead, thallium, and cesium. Long-term exposure to these metals can build up and lead to immune system issues, hormonal changes, tiredness, brain fog, and high blood pressure, even though small amounts of exposure to them won’t necessarily be harmful.
Check the heavy metal levels in your blood to ensure your body is toxins-free. Regular cleaning methods, like doing heart-pumping exercises or going to the sauna once a week, are a great way to keep your levels in check and eliminate any symptoms.
Treatment for brain fog: How to eliminate it
Here at Parsley Health, we work with our patients to get to the bottom of their problems and get rid of brain fog for good. Your doctor will work with you for brain fog treatment to understand your medical background and present symptoms. Then, they will ask for the blood tests to check your heavy metal levels and how well your thyroid works.
Your doctor can make a treatment plan for your symptoms, including brain fog, using the information you provide. To assist you in beating brain fog, our medical professionals and health coaches could provide the following ideas.
1. Rest to Gastrointestinal System
There is a ton of talk about intermittent fasting these days in the health and weight loss world. But, restricting calories and eating more frequently can also improve brain health and lower the chance of neurodegenerative diseases, making them useful for more than just weight loss.
As a first step in treating your brain fog and returning some mental focus, try to increase the time between your last meal of the day and your first meal of the following day. Give yourself 12 hours. This helps a process called ketogenesis happen, which can help the brain grow again.
2. Move the object or lose it
People who don’t move around much are more likely to get neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive decline. Higher levels of exercise are linked to better happiness, memory, and mental clarity.
Endorphins, hormones that make you feel good, and cytokines, which are good chemical signals, are released due to exercise. These things clean the brain and make it feel better. Try to do something fun every day to move your body. Walk, jog, or dance. You will always be happy if you do what makes you happy.
3. Have sound sleeping habits
The typical mistake people make is trying to make the most of their time by staying late or getting up early, whether they have a project due for work, school, or another commitment.
This normally backfires because not getting enough sleep makes you less smart. Get at least seven hours of sleep every night, and eight or nine if you can. You will get better at what you do, and it will take you less time to do work of this quality.
4. Strike a balance between vigorous exercises
Many kinds of exercise turn on the sympathetic nerve system, which controls “fight or flight” responses. Your body can’t distinguish between walking on a machine and running away from danger, so it sees both as stressful.
Brain fog happens when you’re stressed. When you rest and relax, your parasympathetic nervous system helps calm your body and mind. Flexing it will help you feel less stressed. More yoga and meditation in your daily routine may help you achieve this.
5. Give your brain food
Your brain has a lot of fat and protein. Does the fact that we eat less of these two types of food make sense? No, not really. Sugary foods that have been made are bad for your brain.
Be sure to stick to a Paleo diet, mostly plants (a lot of veggies, enough protein, and always some good fats). Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and coenzyme Q10 can all help lower inflammation, so make sure you get a lot of them. To help your body naturally make more energy, you should also increase your diet of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants
