If you find yourself forgetting your colleague’s name, misplacing your keys and not finding them, struggling to come up with the right words to express yourself, you may be suffering from brain fog. Change your lifestyle, eat right and move your body to clear it, says Dr Parul R. Sheth
You had your car keys in your hands and now they are gone! You must have left them on your worktable or in the drawers; they are not in your purse too. You call your sister almost every day and suddenly you are unable to remember her phone number. You struggle to focus on simple tasks, cannot think straight or are becoming very forgetful. What’s wrong with you? You haven’t had a drink; so this is no hangover. What you may be suffering from is brain fog. It’s not a clinical condition but a disturbed mental state of mind that causes clouding of consciousness. It may not be as serious as you think it is, because such memory lapses can occur even if you are healthy. However, there are several factors such as diseases, hormonal changes and many more that can affect your brain. In addition, a poor lifestyle, increasing work pressure, lack of sleep, financial pressures, etc. can have cumulative detrimental effects on your brain.
When brain fog takes over
- You have short-term memory lapses like forgetting where you left your glasses.
- You have trouble remembering a conversation or finding the right word to describe something; you mix up words, don’t remember images or a list of words.
- You are unable to concentrate and have a short attention span.
- You lose your train of thought mid-sentence; you are unable to think clearly and turn blank all of a sudden.
Why does your mind wander?
Wrong food: What you eat can have an effect on your mental clarity. Bad eating habits can put you at a risk of obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and can cause cognitive decline. Eating junk food can make you foggy. Hypoglycaemia or low blood sugar is also associated with brain fog. Experts recommend a Mediterranean diet that includes olive oil, legumes, unrefined cereals, fruits, vegetables, fish, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly cheese and yoghurt), wine and low consumption of meat. You can curtail your intake of sweets and junk food to dissipate your brain fog.
Vitamin B-12 deficiency: Lack of vitamin B-12 can cause fuzzy minds as in anaemia-related B-12 deficiency. You may consume enough B-12 in your diet but if you have Crohn’s or celiac disease, it can prevent your body from absorbing it. Include foods rich in folic acid and vitamin B-12 such as liver, shell fish, and other fish like mackerel, crab, fortified soya milk, fortified cereal, low-fat milk, cheese, yoghurt, red meat, eggs, etc. Bananas, whole grains and dairy products are great sources of B vitamins.
Vitamins C and E deficiency: Both these vitamins are important for proper brain function. A diet deficient in these nutrients can cause difficulty in thinking clearly. Citrus fruits like orange, sweet lime, lemon, etc., are filled with vitamin C. Vitamin E is abundant in sunflower seeds, almonds, avocados, carrots, spinach, olive oil, corn oil and sunflower oil. You may consider taking supplements to improve your mental health.
Food allergies: Certain foods can cause brain fog, especially if you are sensitive to them. Your gut is connected to the brain by a number of pathways. Foods such as eggs, fish, shellfish, wheat, peanuts, soya, milk, etc. are common food allergens that cause brain fog.
Seasonal allergies: An overactive immune system produces antibodies to protect you from unwanted intruders. You can be allergic to substances like pollen, dust, pet dander, etc. that are more prevalent during certain seasons and end up sneezing, coughing, having watery eyes and suffering from brain fog.
Diseases and conditions: Hypothyroidism (i.e. having low levels of thyroid hormone), hypertension, pre-diabetes, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, etc., if left untreated, can cause cognitive decline. If you have trouble focusing, memory lapses, a problem with time management, you are chronically disorganised etc., then you should get checked for Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AADHD).Cognitive behavioural therapy can help you replace the symptoms with healthier coping skills.
Electrolyte imbalance: Brain neuron or cell action depends upon electrolytes like sodium and potassium. Low potassium levels in the blood can interrupt electrical signals that drive the brain causing confusion, sluggishness and brain fog.
This happens mostly due to medications such as diuretics, certain antibiotics, loss of body fluids through diarrhoea, vomiting or excessive sweating during strenuous or too much exercise and disease. You can get potassium from bananas, milk, granola, fruits like kiwi and orange, tomato, beans and meat.
Lack of sleep: Your brain needs sleep. Lack of sleep or insomnia may cause memory lapses and fuzzy thinking. High-quality uninterrupted sleep can help cure brain fog.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS): Hormonal changes can result in lack of clarity and difficulty concentrating before the period. In addition to the usual known symptoms, PMS causes brain fog, which can affect your performance at home, school, and college or at work.
Perimenopause and menopause: Brain fog sets in during 40s and 50s as your menstrual cycles wane. Cognitive decline and memory problems associated with menopause are real and these are linked to fluctuating hormone levels. Your doctor may prescribe hormone replacement therapy, but recent studies suggest that it can increase the risk of breast cancer and stroke. A healthy lifestyle would help cope with mental fog during these years.
Medicines: Antidepressants are known to affect your mood and concentration. Anti-anxiety medicines and antihistamines cause drowsiness. These and other medications such as beta-blockers can cloud your mind. Statins prescribed for high cholesterol also cause a loss in mental clarity.
Substance abuse: Alcohol abuse, drug abuse, etc. all cause brain fog symptoms and leave you mentally frazzled.
Excessive stress: Any stress at home or at the workplace, sickness in the family, a tiff with your loved one or your boss etc. can cloud your brain and you may not be able to concentrate because of constant worries. To get rid of stress-related brain fog, try to clear your head by doing something that you enjoy like playing with your pet, going for a walk, singing, dancing, listening to music, reading a book or simply talking to a friend. Think positive and relax.
When to check with your doctor
We all experience brain fog some time or the other and mostly it is harmless. But a serious medical condition such as fibromyalgia or Alzheimer’s disease can cause brain fog; so if you feel like you have a constant brain fog, talk to your doctor. Fibromyalgia can cause joint
pain in addition to impaired mental function and is more common in women. You may need screening procedures to diagnose something more serious than occasional forgetfulness.
Effective ways to clear brain fog
Exercise: Physical activity increases endorphins and the chemicals in the brain and reaches more glucose and oxygen to it. You need to keep moving to stay sharp. Exercise increases the production of a substance called neurotrophic factor in the brain helping the brain to rewire itself and slow the formation of plaque that forms in Alzheimer’s disease. Thirty minutes of exercise every day—aerobic exercises, weight training and remaining active throughout the day—can help you keep your mind sharp.
Meditation: Yoga, deep breathing exercises, pranayama or any form of meditation helps improve concentration, helps in stress reduction, gives you better creativity and makes you happier.
Caffeine: Caffeine ingestion has an immediate stimulating effect. It can pep you up in 15 minutes and make you alert, help in better focus and concentration, improve your mood and enhance your mental performance. However, too much caffeine (more than 500 milligram a day) can cause brain fog, insomnia, irritability, restlessness, anxiety and poor concentration. According to Mayo Clinic, USA, moderation is the key—it’s best to have no more than four cups of coffee of about 150 ml per serving in a day. The most common foods that contain caffeine include coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolates, etc.
Omega-3 fatty acids: These are essential nutrients that can be had from food. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for your cognitive and behavioural functions. Lack of omega-3 can give you symptoms of brain fog. Include omega-3 in your diet to prevent brain fog. Fatty fish such as mackerel, trout, sardines, tuna, salmon, herring, flax seeds, flax oil, walnuts, dark leafy vegetables, kidney beans, broccoli, cauliflower, papaya, canola oil and fortified dairy products and beverages are all rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids. You can also take omega-3 supplements with your doctor’s advice.
Make these lifestyle changes
- Exercise regularly.
- Get enough sleep.
- Include a nutritious diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B-12, vitamins C, E and D. Vitamin D can be had from sunlight, fatty fish like mackerel, tuna and salmon, egg yolks, cheese, fortified foods such as
dairy products, orange juice, soya milk and cereals.
- Eat fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates; limit your saturated-fat intake.
- Avoid alcohol. Drink in moderation.
- Manage your stress well.
