“How did I get into this room?”
“What was I talking about?”
Everyone has these thoughts at some point in their lives. Brain fog or brain lapse happens to everyone, whether you’re unsure where you parked your car, or you’ve lost your train of thought while reading a great story.
How to Remove Brain Fog and Increase Concentration?
Here are a few general lifestyle changes that may help improve overall concentration, productivity, and energy and remove your brain fog.
1. Take Vitamins and Cannabis Supplements
Another common cause of brain fog is a lack of nutrients in our diets. Consult your doctor about testing your vitamin levels and supplementing or adjusting your diet accordingly. Additionally, you can try out focus-boosting substances like cannabis or CBD to clear the brain fog and improve concentration. Various cannabis strains can leave you happy and energized, such as a mimosa strain. Moreover, the creativity-inducing benefits of mimosa strain can help consumers focus on the task at hand. Being energized and focused on everyday things can help you retain information longer.
2. Take More Breaks at Work
Brain fog is sometimes a symptom of a lifestyle choice rather than a physical condition. If you’re experiencing an afternoon slump due to a lack of motivation, it could be because you haven’t done enough to pique your interest. Take a break from work and try doodling, cooking, or scrapbooking to get your creative juices flowing.
3. Perform Meditation
If you start to feel dizzy or tired in the middle of the day, consider meditating to reset and refocus. Meditation has many advantages, ranging from stress reduction to improved attention span. Try to incorporate at least five minutes daily to meditate, ensuring greater control over your thoughts.
4. Experiment With Different Essential Oils
You’ve probably heard that essential oils can heal everything from acne to sleep issues. But did you know that essential oils can also be used to boost focus and energy? Aromatherapy provides far more benefits than simply relaxation. For example, peppermint oil may aid in preventing fatigue, while rosemary oil may aid in the improvement of focus and memory.
5. Consume Whole Foods
The most important strategy to remove brain fog is to ensure that your diet is full of healthy whole foods from the earth. Green, leafy vegetables, berries, and omega-3 fatty acid-rich foods, such as walnuts, chia seeds, and salmon, may benefit brain health; but the key is to feed the body foods that make you feel good. Eat a well-balanced diet of natural fats, proteins, and carbohydrates (as opposed to processed foods), and get various nutrients by eating different fruits and vegetables.
6. Get Plenty of Sleep
The amount of sleep you get can contribute to brain fog in various ways. For example, poor sleep hygiene, such as irregular sleep, getting less than 7-8 hours of sleep per night, or exposure to blue light before bed, disrupts your natural circadian rhythm, contributing to brain fog. Therefore, if possible, aim for 8-9 hours for optimal brain function. For those working under a tight schedule, try getting at least seven hours of sleep per night.
What is Brain Fog and How Does it Feel?
Brain fog isn’t a disease or disorder but a collection of symptoms that include a general sense of fatigue and cognitive inefficiencies, such as reduced concentration and memory difficulty. This phenomenon is frequently described as having a ‘cloud inside the head,’ making it difficult for people to focus on their daily tasks. The common symptoms of brain fog include poor concentration, extra effort to focus on a task, difficulty managing too many tasks at once, keeping track of tasks, and retrieving a memory or information.
Common Causes of Brain Fog
- Inflammatory reaction
While we usually associate inflammation with joints, did you know that your brain can also become inflamed? While it will not harm you, it will make you feel foggy-headed and sluggish. Obesity, inflammatory diseases, and autoimmune disorders such as fibromyalgia can contribute to this.
- Allergies and asthma
Asthmatics and allergy sufferers frequently complain of fogginess, which is caused in part by an increase in histamine production.
- Anxiety, depression, and stress
Your brain is a computer, and chronic anxiety, depression, and stress can slow down your system and memory. In addition, with recent stressors like COVID-19 present everywhere, it may be difficult to relax or concentrate on daily tasks.
- Hormonal changes
Baby or mommy brain can be very real, especially for pregnant women or those experiencing menopause. Lower testosterone levels in men can also explain mental fatigue.
- Lack of sleep
Sleep deprivation can impair your brain cells’ ability to communicate with one another, resulting in a temporary lapse in memory and visual perception.
- Nutritional deficiencies
Your brain requires a wide range of essential nutrients and vitamins to function properly, and deficiencies in these nutrients are more likely to slow you down and cause brain fog.
Conclusion
If you’re feeling a little foggier lately and nothing seems to help clear your head, things appear to be getting worse, contact your doctor right away. Your doctor would prescribe you the proper medication or solutions to clear away the haziness in your thoughts and help you get better clarity.
