#Constant brain fog series

Therapy or antidepressants may help ease brain fog, as well as other symptoms.Brain fog, also known as mental fog, is an umbrella term for a series of symptoms. People who have depression can develop brain fog that affects memory and lasts for months or years, Tan says. Consider relying on lists instead of your memory, for example, and try to avoid multitasking until you feel better.Īddress mental health. Take steps to put less stress on your memory, Tan says. Getting the correct dosage of exercise is important, and too much can exacerbate long COVID symptoms. Trying to exercise solo can be risky in this case, Diaz-Arrastia says. Someone with severe brain fog should work with a physical therapist, however. For those who are able to do aerobic exercise, there’s good evidence that it may help clear mental fogginess.

to maintain healthy brain functioning,” Diaz-Arrastia says.Įxercise. “Sufficient and particularly regular sleep is important . . . That means having a consistent bedtime sleeping in a cool, dark room and avoiding screens for an hour before bed. Practicing good sleep hygiene may help, Flanagan says. An episode of jet lag can cause short-lived brain fog, but people with chronic sleep problems can experience this consistently. But ask your doctor before stopping meds. Those can include tranquilizers, as well as pills used to treat insomnia. Tan says one of the first things to do is cut back on alcohol and try to eliminate unnecessary medications, especially any drugs known to leave people feeling foggy. Here are some other strategies that doctors might suggest to help ease brain fog. That might lead to therapy to identify cognitive strengths that can compensate for impairment. Your provider may refer you to a neuropsychologist for a formal cognitive assessment. So your initial step should be consulting a physician and explaining your symptoms. Many experts think the cause could also be inflammation lingering in the brain after COVID-19 or head trauma, Flanagan says.ĭiaz-Arrastia says that potential solutions will depend on the exact nature of someone’s brain fog and how it’s affecting their daily life. And in many cases, stress or anxiety could exacerbate symptoms.

Damage to the small blood vessels or to the neuronal connections within the brain could potentially play a role, he says. The exact biological causes of brain fog aren’t clear, says Ramon Diaz-Arrastia, MD, PhD, director of the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a member of the American Neurological Association. And brain fog is distinct from dementia, which is a progressive condition. But factors associated with aging could increase the risk of brain fog, such as taking multiple meds. While it’s not uncommon for the retrieval of information to get slower with age-taking longer to recall a name, for example-what doctors consider brain fog tends to come on more abruptly and is often linked to a specific event, such as a head injury or COVID-19. Brain fog differs from cognitive changes that can occur with age, Flanagan and other experts say.

Constant brain fog