Hey there, viewers! Do you keep forgetting where you kept your car keys?
Do you keep mixing up people’s names? Brain fog is real and can be dangerous if left unchecked.
Your thinking process and memory take a hit when brain fog happens.
In today’s video, we’ll be talking about brain fog symptoms, causes, and tips to deal with it.
Can multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia be responsible for your brain fog?
How does chronic fatigue syndrome affect it? What does exercise do to your brain fog?
We’ll be talking about all of this AND more...
Symptoms Now before we start,
brain fog is not a medical diagnosis. It’s a general term used to describe the feeling of being
mentally slow or spaced out. It’s normal to get brain fog occasionally. When you’re under stress,
you could feel fuzzy or sluggish. A night of poor sleep could also give you brain fog the
next day. Your brain isn’t alert enough, leaving you to feel slow.
But if you get brain fog often, it’s a sign of concern. You should get a checkup done.
Symptoms of brain fog include having problems with remembering and recalling things,
lack of mental clarity, and feeling “out of it”. Lack of concentration,
poor cognitive skills, headaches, and confusion are some other signs and symptoms of brain fog.
Have you ever gotten brain fog? Did you ever get to the bottom of why? Share your experiences with
the Bestie community in the comments below. Causes
1. Multiple sclerosis
If you have MS, your central nervous system, consisting of the brain, spinal cord and
optic nerves, gets affected. The nerves connecting the brain to the body get damaged,
which means communications are disrupted. People with MS tend to have trouble making
decisions. You would also see some changes in your ability to process information and retain it.
The changes you experience are more or less moderate, and do not necessarily affect your
day-to-day life. But you will tend to feel frustrated over your inability to complete
tasks as simple as finding your keys or shopping. 2. Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome
Fibromyalgia is where you feel muscle pains, as well as tenderness throughout your body.
If you suffer from this, you’ll find that your concentration is affected.
You will also have memory lapses. Another condition that causes brain
fog is chronic fatigue syndrome. As the name suggests, you face a lot of fatigue as well
as abnormalities in your sleep cycle. This can also stop you from thinking straight.
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3. Depression and stress If you’re suffering from depression, not only will
it affect how you feel, but also how you think. It can cause problems related to memory and focus.
Together, they combine to increase brain fog. Depression can also impact your reaction time.
If you’re completing tasks a lot slower than you used to,
or you feel that your brain is blocked while doing those tasks, it could be because of brain fog.
Another casualty of this condition is your inability to make decisions.
You also tend to worry a lot about all the likely outcomes of making a decision,
which can impair your ability to make a choice. You may also not be able to multitask. Stress
and anxiety have the same effect. 4. Iron deficiency anemia
This is the most common type of anemia. You have anemia when there aren’t enough red blood cells in
your body. This causes tiredness, as the red blood cells carry oxygen to all your body’s tissues.
Iron deficiency anemia is caused when there’s very little iron in your body. You will feel
both mentally and physically tired due to this condition. As a result, you tend to feel shortness
of breath and experience brain fog as well. 5. Hormonal changes
If there are changes in your hormonal levels, it can affect how your brain
functions. This is especially true for women during pregnancy or menopause.
A study showed that women found it more difficult to process new information
while they’re going through menopause. The results
also showed they had problems focusing their attention on challenging tasks.
Conditions such as hypothyroidism can cause an imbalance in your hormones. People suffering from
thyroid disorders will often face memory issues and problems related to thinking.
Before we move ahead, here’s another video you might like. Watch and learn more about the 7
symptoms of dangerous diseases mostly ignored by women. Now back to our discussion on brain fog...
6. Postural tachycardia (tacky-cardia) syndrome
You’ve probably never heard of this, but it needs to be mentioned nonetheless. When you stand up
after lying down, you may feel an unusual change in your heart rate. This comes with a change in
your blood pressure as well. Such a condition is called postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS).
A study among adolescents showed those with POTS had symptoms similar to brain fog.
The participants tended to suffer from confusion and were forgetful. They also had cloudy thinking,
and even problems focusing and communicating. 7. Alzheimer’s disease
If you have Alzheimer’s disease, you will have symptoms similar to that of
brain fog. This is also the case in many other forms of dementia.
You get Alzheimer’s disease when there’s a lot of protein buildup in your brain.
While protein is normally good for your body, this build up actually
affects your brain’s functioning. You also lose connections between the neurons in the brain.
This disease completely destroys your memory and other mental functions.
Although the condition mainly affects people over the age of 65, about 10% of patients are younger
than that. There are about 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease. This number is expected
to triple by 2060. 8. Sleep apnea
When you go to sleep, the muscles in the back of your throat relax. This can sometimes
cause you to have trouble breathing while asleep. This is where sleep apnea occurs.
For people with this condition, quality of sleep declines rapidly. You tend not to get enough rest,
and you're cranky throughout the day. This is where brain fog comes in. Of course,
there is treatment for this. 9. Medication
Sometimes, the meds you take for other conditions are the reason you’re having
symptoms related to brain fog. While medication is necessary for whatever
condition you’re being treated for, you should talk to your doctor about the side effects.
Chemotherapy drugs certainly have a reputation for making a person weak. It causes brain fog as well,
with cancer survivors referring to it as chemo brain. Sleeping pills also have the same effect.
While they give you a restful sleep, you end up groggy and have brain fog.
Other pain relief medications seem to cause similar symptoms. If you’re taking drugs for
anxiety, one of the side effects is brain fog. There may be alternative meds that don’t make
you feel like this. But you’ll need to speak to a doctor before you take them.
Tips 1. Eat Better
Making changes to your diet can go a long way in improving your energy level.
Dietary changes can also help improve your focus.
If you’re always eating processed foods packed with unhealthy fats and sugar,
you’re actively contributing to your brain fog. But if you’re eating fresh veggies and fruits
on a regular basis, it can clear your thinking. You should also include foods that are high in
vitamins and omega-3 oils. These foods will help increase your brain function and performance.
At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s important that you drink a lot of fluids so that you don’t
experience dehydration. This can cause tiredness and result in brain fog. You should also lower
your intake of caffeine and alcohol, as they can affect your sleep cycle and energy levels.
2. Exercise Research has shown that exercise
not only positively impacts you physically, but also helps your brain psychologically. Regular
exercise helps improve not only your ability to think but also your ability to think positively.
It’s recommended that you do at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise with moderate
intensity every week. If you’re looking to do high intensity workouts, limit it to just 75 minutes.
This will not only help your brain activity but also improve your strength and flexibility.
Your diet plays a key role in your health. Not just physically, but mentally as well. The best
way to avoid brain food is to exercise daily and eat foods that boost brain health. But do you know
which foods you should eat and which ones you should avoid? There are foods that can actually
boost your brain function and memory. Let’s take a look at a couple more videos, shall we?
Here are the 9 Best Foods To Boost Your Brain Function and Memory.
You can also try The 11 Worst Foods For Your Brain According To Doctors.
Go ahead, click one. Or better yet, watch both, and learn more about how to become
a healthier person. Have you ever experienced brain fog? Let us know in the comments below!