Nothing is more frustrating than having issues with your thoughts, memory, attention span, or being able to put your thoughts into words. It can leave you feeling confused, frustrated, embarrassed, and insecure in social settings.
There are many things that can bring on brain fog. Pregnancy can affect your memory due to the release of certain chemicals. Multiple Sclerosis can cause issues with language, attention span, planning, and memory due to the effect on the central nervous system which affects the way your brain communicates with your body.
Medications can cause brain fog that brings on unclear thinking and issues with memory due to certain chemicals. Cancer treatment can lead to chemo brain or brain fog due to the use of potent drugs. Menopause, chronic fatigue, depression, lack of or too much sleep, and lupus can also cause brain fog. Now, it’s even thought that Covid-19 causes brain fog.
Thankfully, with so many people affected by this neurological disorder, there are ways to deal with this issue that can profoundly affect your quality of life, relationships, and work.
The following are some effective ways to beat brain fog:
1. Intermittent Fasting
It has been discovered that restricting calories and going for longer periods in between meals promotes neurological health and decreases neurodegenerative disease. By extending the time between the last meal of the previous day and the first meal of the next day, you can kickstart a process called ketogenesis. Ketogenesis stimulates brain rejuvenation. The timing of your meals and what you eat promotes better mental focus.
2. Exercise
Exercise causes the release of cytokines and endorphins. These chemicals rejuvenate the brain. Increased activity levels are associated with sharper mental activity, elevate your mood, and improve your memory. Run or walk, either way, it doesn’t need to be strenuous.
3. Sleep
Cognitive abilities decrease with lack of sleep. Everyone should get anywhere from seven to nine hours of sleep every night. This is why it is never beneficial to stay up late and work on a project because it cuts into the much-needed rest you should be getting.
4. Stress
Try to avoid stress. Stress manifests itself as brain fog. When you’re stressed, you don’t think clearly or rationally. Stress also affects the quality of your sleep. If you can’t avoid stress, then you need to learn to calm your body and mind. Meditation and yoga are great ways to calm your body and mind during the hours you are awake and the hours you are asleep.
5. Diet
Eating healthy will boost your cognitive abilities. Be sure your diet includes lots of vegetables, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and essential vitamins and minerals. This will provide your body with anti-inflammatory agents and increase the production of your body’s
natural energy.
For example, a deficiency of Vitamin B-12 impairs energy levels. A deficiency of Vitamin D is associated with impaired cognitive function. Therefore, you need to make sure you are consuming what your body needs to enhance not only the health of your body but your mind as well. All of these things will enhance the activity and sharpness of your brain.
6. Cannabidiol
Cannabidiol or CBD can indirectly minimize brain fog. CBD is one of the natural compounds found in the cannabis plant. Due to the fact that it does not produce a ‘high’ feeling, it is used for the medical treatment of conditions such as sleep problems and issues related to stress. CBD helps enhance some of the ways to beat brain fog such as sleep and stress. It can be taken in various forms such as lotions, CBD oil, hemp flower, and gummies.
Healthy bodies are always on everyone’s radar. Something that is often overlooked however is a healthy brain. Brain fog is often dismissed by doctors as not being a viable condition. This is extremely frustrating to patients who experience brain fog since it affects just about every aspect of their life.
A healthy brain has a direct correlation to your physical and emotional well-being. The two go hand-in-hand. A healthy body will lead to a healthy mind and vice versa. Be sure to take care of both so you can lead the best life possible.
