Brain Fog: Causes and Cures

Summary

This video explores the multifaceted nature of brain fog, a subjective experience ranging from mental fatigue to cognitive sluggishness. It delves into potential causes like psychological overwhelm, inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction, and highlights six evidence-based strategies to mitigate its effects. These include a thorough medical evaluation, regular exercise, improved sleep quality, addressing trauma, stabilizing metabolic health, and cognitive rehabilitation. The video underscores the importance of self-compassion and the role of a multidisciplinary approach in managing brain fog.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Brain fog is a subjective experience of cognitive impairment that can range from mental fatigue to full dissociation.
• 🌐 The term 'brain fog' has been used since the 1850s but gained prominence in the 1980s with conditions like chemo brain and chronic fatigue syndrome.
• 🔍 There's no specific diagnostic criteria for brain fog, but it's generally defined as a subjective cognitive phenomenon of perceived dysfunction.
• 🔎 The core issue of brain fog is disordered attention, leading to lack of concentration, forgetfulness, and memory complaints.
• 🏥 Brain fog can be caused by various factors including decreased blood flow to the brain, inflammation, trauma, metabolic deficiency, sleep issues, and medications.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Exercise is recommended to alleviate brain fog as it increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor and supports blood flow to the brain.
• 🌙 Improving sleep quality is crucial as sleep deprivation contributes to brain fog by disrupting the waste clearance process from brain cells.
• 🌱 Addressing trauma and grief can help reduce brain fog by freeing up cognitive resources and organizing the internal mental space.
• 🍽 Stabilizing metabolic health, including blood sugar levels and dietary habits, can improve brain fog symptoms.
• 💡 Cognitive rehabilitation by professionals like neuropsychologists can help manage cognitive symptoms by teaching compensation and coping strategies.
• 🙏 Practicing self-compassion and advocating for oneself with the medical team is important for individuals experiencing brain fog.

Q & A

What is brain fog and what does it involve?

Brain fog is a subjective cognitive phenomenon characterized by perceived dysfunction such as mental fatigue, slow thinking, difficulty focusing, confusion, and haziness in the thought process. It can range from mild cognitive sluggishness to full dissociation, and it's essentially a clouding of consciousness that results in limited cognitive function.

When did the term 'brain fog' first appear, and how has its association evolved over time?

The term 'brain fog' dates back to the 1850s, but it gained more attention in the 1980s and 1990s when it became associated with specific medical conditions like chemo brain, mommy brain, autoimmune conditions, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Recently, it has been increasingly linked to long COVID.

What are the six most common causes of brain fog as discussed in the script?

The six most common causes of brain fog discussed are: 1) decreased blood flow to the brain, 2) inflammation and overactive immune response, 3) trauma and PTSD, 4) metabolic deficiency, 5) sleep deprivation, and 6) the effects of medications.

How is trauma related to brain fog, and why is it considered central to the condition for many people?

Trauma is related to brain fog because it can lead to chronic inflammation and a constant state of fight or flight response, which can trigger a cognitive retreat from reality. Up to 90% of people with a trauma history report experiencing brain fog daily, making it central to the condition for many.

What role does metabolic deficiency play in causing brain fog?

Metabolic deficiency, such as imbalances in blood sugar, hormones like thyroid, estrogen, and progesterone, can contribute to brain fog. Glucose is essential for brain cells, and imbalances can lead to symptoms of confusion and lack of concentration.

Why is sleep important in relation to brain fog, and what can disrupt sleep continuity?

Sleep is crucial for clearing waste from brain cells and maintaining optimal cognitive function. Disruptions in continuous sleep, such as sleep apnea, anxiety, or other sleep disorders, can prevent the brain from going through all the necessary sleep stages, leading to cognitive impairments like brain fog.

How can medications contribute to brain fog, and what are some examples of medications that might cause it?

Medications can contribute to brain fog by depressing signals in the brain, which can inhibit cognitive function. Examples include benzodiazepines, beta-blockers, painkillers, anti-seizure drugs, and certain antihistamines.

What are the top six evidence-based recommendations to address brain fog?

The top six recommendations are: 1) a thorough medical workup, 2) regular exercise, 3) improving sleep quality, 4) addressing trauma and mental clutter, 5) stabilizing metabolic health, and 6) cognitive rehabilitation.

Why is addressing trauma and mental clutter important in treating brain fog?

Addressing trauma and mental clutter is important because unresolved traumatic experiences can take up cognitive space, leading to a disorganized mental state. Processing these experiences with a trauma-informed therapist can free up cognitive resources and improve focus.

How can cognitive rehabilitation help with brain fog?

Cognitive rehabilitation, provided by specialists like neuropsychologists, can help by identifying cognitive deficits and offering targeted interventions. This can teach individuals how to compensate, cope, set realistic goals, and manage expectations, ultimately improving cognitive function.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Understanding Brain Fog

The paragraph introduces brain fog as a subjective experience with psychological, physiological, and metabolic roots. It ranges from mental fatigue to dissociation and is likened to a clouding of consciousness affecting cognitive function. The term's history is traced back to the 1850s, with increased attention in recent decades due to associations with conditions like chemo brain and chronic fatigue syndrome. The paragraph emphasizes the lack of diagnostic criteria and the recent scientific focus on brain fog, especially in relation to long COVID.

05:02

🩺 Exploring the Causes of Brain Fog

This paragraph delves into the potential causes of brain fog, which can vary greatly among individuals. It discusses how factors like chronic fatigue syndrome, inflammation, trauma, and metabolic deficiencies can contribute to the experience of brain fog. The paragraph also highlights the role of sleep and medication as potential contributors, emphasizing the complexity and subjectivity of brain fog's etiology.

10:03

🛑 Addressing Trauma and Its Impact on Brain Fog

The focus here is on trauma as a significant factor in brain fog, with a high percentage of individuals with trauma histories reporting daily brain fog. It discusses how trauma can lead to a constant state of fight or flight, resulting in chronic inflammation and cognitive issues. The paragraph also touches on the concept of learned coping mechanisms and how they can become automatic responses to stress, affecting cognitive clarity.

15:04

💊 Medications and Metabolic Health in Brain Fog

This paragraph explores how certain medications can inhibit brain signals and contribute to brain fog. It also addresses the importance of metabolic health, including blood sugar regulation, hormonal balance, and the impact of nutrition on cognitive function. The paragraph underscores the need to consider both medications and metabolic factors when addressing brain fog.

20:04

🌱 Strategies for Improving Brain Fog

The paragraph outlines evidence-based recommendations for alleviating brain fog. It emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive medical evaluation to identify underlying conditions, the benefits of regular exercise for brain health, and the significance of quality sleep for cognitive clarity. The paragraph also suggests the need for trauma-informed therapy to address unresolved issues and the role of cognitive rehabilitation in managing symptoms.

25:07

🌟 Encouragement and Community Support

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker encourages listeners to communicate their experiences with medical teams and to be advocates for their own health. There's an emphasis on self-compassion and the importance of rest, as well as an invitation for the community to share their experiences and strategies for managing brain fog. The speaker also invites viewers to subscribe to the channel for more brain health content.

Keywords

💡Brain Fog

Brain fog is a term used to describe a collection of symptoms that make a person feel as though their brain is not functioning at its normal level. It can include mental fatigue, difficulty focusing, confusion, and a haziness in thought processes. In the video, brain fog is the central theme, with the speaker discussing its various causes and potential treatments. The script mentions that brain fog can be a result of psychological overwhelm, inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and more, and it's often associated with conditions like long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome.

💡Cognitive Dysfunction

Cognitive dysfunction refers to the perceived decline in cognitive abilities such as memory, attention, and thinking. In the context of the video, cognitive dysfunction is a key aspect of brain fog, where individuals may experience a decrease in working memory and difficulty concentrating, leading to forgetfulness and memory complaints. The script explains that this is not a memory disorder but rather a decrease in the ability to hold onto information long enough to act on it.

💡Orthostatic Intolerance

Orthostatic intolerance is a condition where an individual experiences symptoms like dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting upon standing up. In the video, it is mentioned as a potential cause of brain fog, particularly when tied to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), which can lead to decreased blood flow to the brain and cognitive symptoms.

💡Inflammation

In the script, inflammation is discussed as a potential cause of brain fog, where an overactive immune response can gum up the neural works and lead to mild brain damage and cell damage. This can interfere with the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other, resulting in symptoms of brain fog. The speaker also mentions that inflammation can be tracked through certain biomarkers in the body, which can correlate with the experience of brain fog.

💡Trauma

Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that can lead to long-lasting mental and emotional effects. In the video, trauma is highlighted as a significant factor that can contribute to brain fog, especially when it leads to conditions like PTSD, which is characterized by chronic inflammation and can affect cognitive function. The script emphasizes the importance of addressing trauma as part of the healing process from brain fog.

💡Metabolic Deficiency

Metabolic deficiency in the context of the video refers to an imbalance or lack of certain substances in the body that are necessary for optimal brain function, such as blood sugar, hormones, and vitamins. The speaker explains how fluctuations in blood sugar levels, hormonal imbalances, and nutritional deficiencies can lead to symptoms of brain fog, such as confusion and lack of focus.

💡Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation is a condition that occurs when an individual does not get enough sleep, which can lead to various cognitive and physiological effects. In the video, it is mentioned as a contributor to brain fog, as poor sleep quality or interruptions in sleep can disrupt the brain's ability to clear waste and maintain optimal cognitive function. The speaker suggests that ensuring continuous and restorative sleep is crucial for managing brain fog.

💡Medication Side Effects

Medication side effects are unintended consequences that occur while taking medications. The video discusses how certain medications, such as benzodiazepines, beta-blockers, and painkillers, can cause brain fog as a side effect due to their depressive effects on brain signals. The speaker emphasizes the importance of being aware of the medications one is taking and considering their potential impact on cognitive function.

💡Cognitive Rehabilitation

Cognitive rehabilitation is a therapeutic approach aimed at helping individuals improve cognitive skills affected by injury or disease. In the video, it is presented as a potential treatment for brain fog, where a professional assesses the cognitive deficits and provides targeted interventions to help individuals compensate and cope with their symptoms. This can include learning strategies to manage expectations and improve daily functioning.

💡Self-Compassion

Self-compassion is the practice of being kind and understanding towards oneself, especially during difficult times. The video concludes with a call for self-compassion for those experiencing brain fog, acknowledging the challenges of modern life and the importance of rest and self-care. The speaker encourages viewers to advocate for their own health and to be easy on themselves as they navigate the complexities of brain fog.

Highlights

Brain fog is a subjective experience with roots in psychological overwhelm, inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, nutrition, and sleep.

The term 'brain fog' dates back to the 1850s and became associated with medical conditions like chemo brain and chronic fatigue syndrome in the 1980s and 1990s.

Brain fog is now in the spotlight due to its association with long COVID, prompting increased scientific attention.

There's no diagnostic criteria for brain fog, but it is generally defined as a subjective cognitive phenomenon of perceived dysfunction.

At its core, brain fog is characterized by disordered attention and a decrease in working memory.

Brain fog can last for weeks, months, or even years, and its causes can vary widely among individuals.

Decreased blood flow to the brain, often associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, is a potential cause of brain fog.

Inflammation due to an overactive immune response can lead to brain fog by causing mild neural damage.

Trauma, including PTSD, is linked to chronic inflammation and can result in daily brain fog experiences.

Metabolic deficiencies, such as blood sugar imbalances, can contribute to brain fog by affecting brain cell function.

Sleep deprivation and disruption of sleep stages can lead to the slow and foggy feelings associated with brain fog.

Certain medications, including benzodiazepines and painkillers, can cause brain fog by depressing signals in the brain.

A multidisciplinary approach and optimal treatment of underlying medical conditions can improve brain fog.

Exercise, specifically in green spaces, has been shown to improve cognitive function and reduce brain fog.

Improving sleep quality through continuous sleep and addressing sleep disorders can alleviate brain fog.

Addressing the impact of trauma and grief through therapy can help clear mental clutter and reduce brain fog.

Stabilizing metabolic health, including blood sugar and hormone levels, is crucial for managing brain fog.

Cognitive rehab, provided by specialists, can help individuals with significant cognitive symptoms compensate and cope.

Self-compassion and recognizing the need for rest are essential for managing and treating brain fog.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Applause]

well hello there welcome back to another

ey care for your brain with board

certified neuroschistosomiasis

something else that is going on it's an

umbrella term for a group of

heterogeneous experiences that have

several

Roots psychological overwhelm

inflammation metabolic dysfunction

nutrition and sleep are what we're going

to focus on today the experience has a

spectrum so we can go from mental

fatigue all the way up to full

dissociation not really being present in

the here and now it's a feeling of the

gears grinding not enough room at the in

mental mud cognitively sluggish fuzzy

everybody seems to have their own

adjectives trying to make meaning of

this very subjective experience we can

see it after both extremes of a lot of

mental overstimulation but also times of

mental under stimulation it's

essentially a clouding of Consciousness

which results in limited cognitive

function not necessarily cognitive

impairment but it's almost like a

feeling a temporary inability to get

through to the information that you want

to sink your teeth into the term brain

fog actually goes back to the 1850s but

really we started to think about it in

the 188 1980s 1990s when it became

associated with some very specific

medical conditions like chemo brain

mommy brain autoimmune conditions but

really for a long time it was associated

with chronic fatigue syndrome presently

I'm hearing ing a lot about it as it

relates to long covid and in fact there

is a Dr Brennan a neuroscientist at

Trinity College in Dublin who said that

the best thing to come out of covid-19

for people with brain fog is that we now

have a spotlight on it and the

scientific Community is paying much more

attention to it so brain fog is a term

that means a little something different

to every person who's experiencing it

there's actually no diagnostic criteria

which has made it a poorly research

phenomenon until pretty recently but

there is an agreed upon General umbrella

definition which is subjective cognitive

phenomenon uh of perceived dysfunction

so that's kind of a a long- winded way

of talking about mental fatigue slow

thinking difficulty focusing confusion

and a haziness in the thought process

but at the core of brain frog is

disordered attention that is really the

issue it's a lack of concentration

that leads to the forgetfulness to the

memory complaints this is not a memory

disorder for the vast majority of people

this is a decrease in working memory

this is our ability to hold on to

information long enough to act on it to

manipulate it and to ultimately put it

into memory storage so if we are not

able to really focus on the here and now

we can get behind the eightball of

information and not get it all in so

when we go to recall it as a memory it

was never learned in the first place

brain fog can last for weeks months and

sometimes even years the good news is

that we have definitely made progress in

the scientific community and that's what

this lecture is all about so I'm going

to help you understand what we think are

the six most common causes and the six

most helpful things that science tells

us that you can do about it so let's

start with the causes well that's up for

debate and it's probably different for

different people in October 2021 a group

of researchers stud studied one week's

worth of Reddit posts about brain fog

they came up with

1,663 and the causes or the attributions

of the medical conditions related to

brain fog were just all over the map 50%

of them talked about different illnesses

different diseases most commonly long

covid depression autism autoimmune

conditions the effective medications

drug use discontinuation so most experts

believe this is actually right on target

that there's probably a dozen or so

different factors that can result in the

experience of brain fog so the the ask

of you as someone if you're experiencing

it or cares about someone who's

experiencing it is you are going to have

to go on a personal journey of figuring

out which one of these factors most

likely relates to you and the truth of

the matter is it's almost always going

to be more than one it's kind of a

perfect storm that has come together to

result and this very disabling it

doesn't you know get as much kind of um

acknowledgement or validation from

doctors because it's very subjective and

you can't measure it there's no blood

test for it even though there is one I'm

going to tell you about later that might

be helpful to infer uh as it relates to

inflammation but let's summarize what

scientist thinks are the six most common

causes so the first one has been related

to the chronic fatigue syndrome and this

is decreased blood flow to the brain so

what we used to think of as CFS chronic

fatigue syndrome we think about it a

little bit different now and we think

that it is caused by orthostatic

intolerance so orthostatic intolerance

is an inability to remain upright

without having some pretty strong

physiological changes specifically

cardiovascular symptom so a decrease in

blood pressure orthostatic hypotension

is the most common and often times this

is tied back to something called pots

postural tacac cardia syndrome when you

put these people into brain scanners

about 80% of them have a decreased blood

flow in frontal temporal parietal

occipital regions and some subcortical

areas which is basically the whole brain

compared to other people who do not have

these syndromes and in fact 85% of

people with this condition report

experiencing cognitive symptoms and many

studies show that the brain fog is

actually the most debilitating

disability inducing part of having

chronic fatigue or pots so that is

potentially one cause number two is

related to inflammation so brain fog can

be due to an overactive immune response

so this has me led many researchers to

thinking that inflammation has something

to do with it there is a heightened

immune reaction that kind of gums up the

neural works so to speak and leads to

kind of a a very mild type of brain

damage and and cell damage that in

interferes with the ability of brain

cells to send signals and communicate

back and forth to each other so this is

thought to be likely because we know

that after someone has any type of viral

infection or when someone has an

autoimmune condition they often have

this subjective experience of things

being hazy mentally or having that brain

fog experience so the immune system can

really go into overdrive and when the

body especially in autoimmune conditions

uh attacks healthy cells that that's

that's the essence of what it is this

can trigger a chronic inflammatory

response and that is um what many people

think it's tied back to now not only

autoimmune conditions or viral exposure

but also food sensitivities a lot of

people do have gluten sensitivity but

don't necessarily know it so some of the

scientific evidence we have for this is

if you track levels of inflammation in

the body they're very highly correlated

to higher complaints of brain fog so

specifically within our brain thinking

of

neuroinflammation this can be caused by

the constant activation of the

hypothalmus pituitary adrenal pathway

which is essentially our fight ORF

flight response if we're staying in a

constant state of activation at the

ready our immune system is ready to

fight anything comes in and go on the

attack and get the Invader this is going

to lead to a constant state of

inflammation now for some people it is a

physical enemy that is being targeted so

a bacteria um but for some of us it's

actually a psychic enemy which gets us

to number three and this is trauma and

this is what I think is at the heart of

brain fog for a lot of people 90% of

people with a trauma history report

having brain fog every single day so

trauma is essentially when more is

required of you from the environment

then you have the capacity to give it's

a very broad definition but it often

comes along with feelings of

helplessness a feeling like you're being

trapped in some way either physically

being trapped by a situation or also

mentally trapped with nowhere to go no

one to trust no one to give you a safe

environment to let you let your guard

down so PTSD in addition to being a

trauma based disorder that has a lot of

anxiety with characteristic symptoms of

avoidance reexperiencing

hypervigilance negative mood and

cognition also relates to chronic

inflammation this can be kind of like a

hardwired state of always being prepared

always being ready to get into that

fight or flight response which means

your stress hormones like cortisol are

going to stay very very high even one

dose of cortisol given to an animal or a

human in a laboratory study lowers the

person's attention their ability to

attend to their immediate environment

this can also be due to kind of a

learned Co opening skill which is the

conscious ability to remove yourself

from an environment so this can be when

a situation was overwhelming at some

point in our development we had to learn

the ability to retreat from reality into

ourselves this can first happen under

conscious control but decades and

Decades of doing it what I often see is

people coming to me in their 50s and 60s

who are saying this is now happening

beyond my control and it feels like a

cognitive disorder it feels like a

memory problem but really it's just that

we've lost the flexibility of the system

and now it doesn't take very much to

retreat into that response and so we we

have limits there is a limit for how

much human beings can absorb in terms of

maltreatment and uh neglect and Trauma

and and Trauma is cumulative so

sometimes the thing that winds up

pushing you over the edge and makes

these coping skills come back with a

vengeance and not under your control

isn't the wor wor thing that ever

happened to you sometime it's it just is

symbolic of something that happened in

the past or it just is like a final

straw and and there's a certain psychic

breaking point that people have which

then is our opportunity to more deeply

heal number four is metabolic deficiency

so we can think about this like uh blood

sugar we can think about this as

hormones we can think about this like

things like thyroid estrogen

progesterone but for most people blood

sugar actually has a lot to do with

brain fog so glucose is essential for

brain cells to be able to do their job

but we have no ability to store glucose

in neurons for anything more than about

10 minutes so we need a constant Supply

and for brain cells to optim optimally

function there's a range of glucose that

it wants and when it's too low there's

symptoms and when it's too high there's

symptoms so anytime we're outside of

this range we are going to have the

subjective experience of not being fully

aware and cognizant and being able to

concentrate we also know that this can

be nutritional right low levels of iron

have been something that is associated

with long covid this can be hormonal

about 46% of people who came into a

clinic saying they had brain fog did

have clinically diagnosable

hypothyroidism and 10 to 15% of them

continued to report those symptoms even

when they were optimally treated with

levo thyroid

we also know if estrogen or progesterone

is too low or too high this can also

lead to cloudy thinking the fifth one is

sleep sleep deprivation in all its

different flavors contributes to these

slow and foggy feelings sleep promotes

the clearance of waste from brain cells

removing the debris that can hamper

neuros signaling and many things can

disrupt continuous sleep we don't have a

set amount of time that is prop sleep

for the brain but most people are going

to require about 8 hours and what we're

really looking for is continuous sleep

where you can go through all the stages

and have completion and graduate to the

next level but many things interrupt

that unfolding of the sleep stages and

what happens is if you get to go back to

sleep you have to start at the front of

the line you don't get to go back into

the deep sleep that maybe you were in

when you woke up many things happen in

the sleep even if we're not in a deep

sleep it's like a super super stage one

sleep you might not have any idea what's

actually getting in the way of sleep

it's very commonly can be anxiety we do

a great job of avoiding things during

the day but at night when our head hits

the pillow it's like gosh it's so vivid

it's so real and our coping skills are

at their worst because we're tired from

the day many people have sleep apnea and

have no idea that when they get into

deep REM sleep they actually stop

breathing and and have an alarm system

go off in their brain and they're all

night long dozens if not hundreds of

times waking up from that deep

restorative sleep many many things can

interfere with sleep it's always a

really important thing to look at and

the sixth one is medications this is

something neuropsychologists always take

a good look at because many common

medications the way they work is through

inhibition by depressing signals in the

brain so when I see a patient I'm always

looking at their medication list if they

have complaints of brain fog for

benzodiazapines beta lockers painkillers

the most common ones that would cause me

to pause are Gabapentin Xanax clopin

Valium ambian amitryptiline

nortryptiline and also anti-seizure

drugs so lamal kepra lria Topamax

especially over 100 milligrams and

finally pain medications I've been

seeing a significant increase in

patients on morphine recently and they

come in saying they can't think clearly

in their memory stinks and it's related

to the drugs it's not an easy fix though

because chronic pain guess what also can

cause brain fog so it's just a matter of

being aware so you can advocate for your

very best care and the final one is

antihistamines this tends to be more of

the first generation so badril Vil

things like clariden zertek they don't

have the same risks to cognition but the

early antihistamines really inhibit the

action of something called acetycholine

in the brain which is essential for for

Activation and the ability to learn new

information now here's the thing it

might not just be one medication that is

the culprit it can be the cumulative

effect of multiple medications this

becomes more of a concern as we get

older and older so if you are over the

age of 65 and you take more than five

medications you are at high risk for

poly Pharmacy and medication related

cognitive changes in part this is

because we get prescribed more

medications as we get older but also our

liver and our kidneys undergo

significant aging and they're not as

optimally functioning as they once were

and we also tend to lose muscle mass

which means that the the medications

we're at our core a little bit more

dehydrated and they just become more

potent so a lot of times when people are

lucky enough to see a geriatrician they

wind up going down in their milligrams

of medications because as we age we know

that they just become more powerful less

become more so now we're going to

transition into the top six

evidence-based recommendations that are

thought to be cures for brain fog there

is actually not a lot of data my job is

to go through a large amount of

scientific information synthesize it and

repeat it back to you in a way that I

think is helpful and understandable and

there's really two strategies that I see

in the literature the first one is a

multidisciplinary approach that

increases overall wellness and I'm going

to tell tell you exactly what that is

and

simultaneously researching and optimally

treating any underlying medical

conditions that I had talked about at

the beginning of the lecture when people

do these two things combined it can take

about three months for people to see

Improvement but I definitely think brain

fog in the vast majority of people is

treatable it's certainly improvable so

the first one is a great medical workup

you have to do your job of communicating

to a receptive respectful medical

provider what's going on with you and

detailing your symptoms and we want them

to do a very good laboratory panel for

vitamin deficiencies autoimmune

conditions thyroid issues other hormone

issues and infection the thing that you

can request that will give us kind of an

indirect understanding to answer the

inflammation question is a c reactive

protein test which is non-specific in a

sense but it will at least give you and

your doctor a little bit of objective

information to work on the number two

recommendation is exercise it just comes

back time and time again in the very

best research studies and in part we

think this is beneficial because it

increases brain derived neurotrophic

Factor AKA brain fertilizer exercise

also supports the increased blood flow

to the brain it helps repair and enhance

the performance of those connections

between the cells so 30 minutes every

day for at least 5 days a week is the

recommendation for brain fog and there

seems to be an additional benefit if you

do your physical movement in green

spaces I read some really nice research

that talked about when you combine being

outdoors uh with exercise that you

actually get a little bit of a boost in

addition to just doing exercise alone

inside or in a gym number three is to

really try to improve the quality of

your sleep like I said before there's no

set amount of hours for us it's very

personal it probably has something to do

with the genetics of something called

adenosine in the brain which is how well

efficiently we break down the byproduct

of neurons working all day um some of us

are slow clearer outers and others are

very very efficient we all know those

people who swear they get by on four to

five hours of sleep um most people

though need about 8 hours if not longer

if you feel like you're sleep may be one

of the culprits a very very easy thing

to do is request a sleep study from your

primary care physician one night of

commitment either going into a sleep lab

or nowadays you can actually do them at

home pretty easily is well worth getting

an objective insight into what is

actually going on with your stages of

sleep I mean we have so many Sleep

Disorders sleep apnea being very common

we have restless leg syndrome there's

insomnia there's REM sleep disorder

uh there's so many different things that

can go wrong that once we know what the

target is then we're actually able to

offer you more personal care number four

gets back to what I think is at the

heart of this for a lot of us is the

cumulative impact of trauma and grief

and loss like I said before we can spend

a lot of time suppressing because we

don't have the ability to handle

thoughts memories emotions images anger

guilt grudges that we don't have the

bandwidth to process directly uh and we

might not even be aware of how much of

our Vital cognitive energy is going to

keeping these things status quo on the

inside we may not have any room in our

brain to process anything else there is

this new concept of mental clutter that

I think is very very helpful as a

metaphor for kind of poorly processed

unresolved traumatic life experiences

they build up and they take up space and

they are cloaked we may not really know

what they're all about but they are

existing and needing some attention to

stay calm and it takes up very important

cognitive real estate so talking about

what's happened to you in a safe place

with a trauma informed therapist can

release that energy to open you up to

have more space to focus on the here and

now when you do that your internal world

becomes more organized and that's really

at the heart of what I think brain fog

is for a lot of us is a disorganized

mental space so when we become more

integrated with our trauma and our

current life we become more organized

less chaotic internally and we're freed

up to actually have more Focus number

five is stabilizing our metabolic Health

focusing on blood sugar so reactive

hypoglycemia is a drop in blood sugar

that happens about 4 hours after we eat

and it's very much associated in

laboratory studies with confusion and

light headedness we also want to make

sure we're really uh getting our brain

vitamins so all of the B vitamins when

they're even just a little bit low have

been shown to contribute to brain fog

and even a little bit a modest amount of

pro-inflammatory foods in our diet and

these subtle hormonal changes can also

cause The Chronic mental fatigue in the

bra Rin fog we're talking about so you

want to try to move to eating Foods in

their closest to original form that they

come into from nature anything that is

shelf stable really try to work on

getting that out of your diet you want

to eat foods that are as fresh as

possible and really focusing on gut

health because we know the gut and the

brain are connected through millions of

neurons via the Vegas nerve there is a

lot going on between your diet and the

clarity of your thoughts number six is

cognitive rehab this is actually an

underutilized treatment option for

people with significant cognitive

symptoms so this can be provided by a

neuropsychologist occupational therapist

or a speech and language pathologist it

starts off with an assessment that

identifies exactly where the cognitive

deficit is happening and then targeted

interventions can go into helping you

learn how to compensate learn how to

cope how to set realistic goals how to

help manage expectations

many of us may also have a disconnect

between what we think is a productive

day and what we're actually capable of

many of us tend to go go go go go uh

until the point where we actually

exhaust ourselves and then we need kind

of a catch-up period of restoration

which creates this really bad cycle of

never being fully present you're either

like hyperfocusing and burning yourself

out or you're totally

so what we recommend is for every 2

hours of intense work you take at least

a 20 minute break to do the opposite

action so if you're sitting we want you

up if you're at a screen we want you

looking at a big Vista if you're

stressed we want you doing some deep

breathing you want to try to do the

opposite physiological

reaction in closing I want you to do

your part in communicating to your

medical team what's going on with you

you are absolutely worth it the more you

know from science-based lectures like

this the more you can go in on an even

playing field and advocate for yourself

to get the work up and the treatment

that you need finally I want to say

please be easy on yourself if this is

something that you're going through this

is a

extremely challenging uh Modern Life

that we're living it's a challenging

time of year and brain frog requires a

lot of self-compassion we are a society

of doers accomplishers there is a place

for that but at the end of the day we

are also human beings you probably heard

that before uh and there really is a

time and a place to truly rest and some

of us we're resisting or unable to get

that actual deep rest that we need that

is required to be productive we have to

have both you can't go too long without

one or the other without having some

cognitive consequences so I would love

to know in the comments what has worked

for you remember we are a community of

Learners and brain health supporters

here so if you have Lear learn something

positive that is been beneficial for

your brain fog let me know so I can

share it with my patients this is the

very best that I have to offer you as a

neuropsychologist but I am very open to

learning from your experiences if you

haven't subscribed to our Channel please

do that we're up to about 880,000

International Learners which is

phenomenal I have been doing this for

almost six years now and I try to get in

here once a week and offer you a free

high quality in-depth evidence-based

brain health lecture if you appreciate

that just let me know that that's the

only thanks that we need take care

everybody and I'll see you next time

bye