Brain fog

What is brain fog?

Brain fog refers to cognitive dysfunction characterized by mental confusion, impaired memory, inability to focus and lack of mental clarity. It is a highly subjective symptom that is reported by many people, but is not a clinically-defined medical condition.

Some key things to know about brain fog:

• It can be a symptom of an underlying condition like lack of sleep, stress, depression, thyroid issues, or hormonal causes.


• Causes are often multi-factorial including diet, lifestyle, environment and medical issues.


• Common contributing factors include poor sleep, nutritional deficiencies, food intolerances, hormonal changes, chronic stress and inflammation.


• Both conventional and alternative treatment approaches may help, depending on the individual. Basic steps include optimizing sleep, diet and nutrition, exercise, stress management and hormone testing.

To summarize, while frustrating and difficult to treat given its vague nature and multiple potential causes, brain fog can often be helped through a collaborative, step-wise approach with your doctor or healthcare provider to identify and address possible contributing factors through lifestyle, diet, stress relief techniques and medical evaluation and treatments as needed. Keeping a symptom journal, undergoing testing like bloodwork or sleep studies when warranted, pacing strenuous mental tasks, and allowing yourself grace on difficult brain fog days can also help you manage. Let me know if you have any other questions!