4 Easy Ways To Battle Brain Fog That Most People Forget

Brain fog sucks.

Our brain power is the most important biological asset we possess. It controls our thoughts, cognition, and perception of the world. It’s no wonder we spend so much time and resources optimizing brain function and eliminating brain fog.

Nootropics and brain supplements have been becoming all the rage lately. While there is some evidence to support their use, I don’t think they have any value if you’re using them as a crutch to offset bad habits. It’s like trying to make up for an atrocious diet with some omegas and a scoop of protein powder.

If you aren’t doing the minimum of maintaining your body’s function, no amount of supplementation will help you. So, here are 4 easy ways to eliminate brain fog before you even consider expensive supplements.

Hydrate

“We think she’s developing Alzheimer’s or dementia. She hasn’t been diagnosed yet, but she’s losing her memory.”

My patient’s son was giving me a quick rundown of his mother before I got started with her. No problem, I’ve worked with similar individuals before. As a physical therapist, I have no real authority to make any medical decisions but these things are good to know.

After a few sessions of working on her balance and leg strength, I started to notice a pattern. My patient would remember my name on days that her caregiver was there and not be sure of who I was on days she was alone. I began to question her on her hydration habits, and it turned out that she had none. She drank a cup of coffee in the morning and maybe a glass of water during the day but nothing more. I informed her family that I wondered if her memory problems may just be dehydration, which is very common amongst the elderly.

After starting her on better hydration habits, her memory, attention, and mood improved significantly. She consistently remembered my name and why I was seeing her.

Of course, this is an extreme example, but it illustrates the critical importance of hydration. Numerous studies have demonstrated the negative effects of dehydration on brain fog, mood, and cognitive performance. It’s as if our bodies are mostly made up of water! (Read that last sentence in a sarcastic voice.)

I can come up with dozens of examples of good hydration habits eliminating numerous problems for my patients and clients, but I don’t think I need to beat a dead horse for something so basic.

A good goal is to drink half your bodyweight (in pounds) in ounces. So if you weigh 150 pounds, make it a goal to drink 75 ounces of water throughout the day.

Sleep Better

There is no substitute for good sleep. SAY IT AGAIN.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR GOOD SLEEP!!!

Sleep contributes to every aspect of our health. Numerous studies have demonstrated that sleep deprivation will negatively affect our problem solving, mood, judgement, impulse control, decision making, reaction times, energy levels… starting to sound like brain fog?

That short list is only the tip of the iceberg. Sleep deprivation will deteriorate your health in an endless number of ways. It will affect your metabolism, food choices, physical performance, sexual performance, libido, digestive health, skin health, and make you an insufferable old crank that will likely die earlier.

And all you have to do is get your ass to bed. Stop scrolling through shitty content at night and get to bed.

A good starting goal is to go to bed and wake up on a consistent routine. Adults should strive for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.

For more on sleep, refer back to these previous posts:

5 Ways to Hack and Instantly Improve Your Sleep

This is the REAL Foundation of Your Health and Fitness…

Stop Substances Including Alcohol and Weed

This is tough but the science is pretty clear. Almost all inebriating substance will negatively affect your brain health in some way, whether it’s short term or long term problems.

Let’s address the two most common offenders: Alcohol and weed. Note that I have no moral objections to these substances.

Both of these substances will negatively impact cognition in the short and medium term. I don’t think I need to highlight the acute effects of alcohol and cannabis, but let’s talk about their detrimental effects on sleep.

Alcohol negatively impacts essentially every aspect of your health, but especially your sleep. Alcohol will suppress your REM sleep and disrupt normal sleep durations. In addition, alcohol will also relax your upper respiratory muscles and increase the likelihood of sleep apnea.

All of this creates a perfect storm to destroy your sleep quality and increase brain fog during the day.

Weed will affect your sleep in similar ways. Weed has been shown to also suppress REM sleep and prevent normal sleep duration. Namely, you will either short-sleep or over-sleep to the tune of less than 6 hours or longer than 10 hours respectively.

Most people will notice a significant improvement to their sleep quality once they abstain from these substances.

Of course, I’m not suggesting to never enjoy another drink. A good goal is to reduce casual drinking, reduce the number of drinks to less than 1-2 per week, and only drink during socially appropriate times.

Here is some further reading on this topic from previous posts:

3 Changes You Will Notice When You Quit Smoking Weed

2 Detrimental Ways Weed Affects Your Sleep

Train Hard

The positive effects of exercise on brain health and function have been demonstrated time after time.

If you find yourself sitting in front of the computer for long periods of time, simply getting up to walk around will help to refresh your mind and suppress brain fog. Even better, get your heart pumping and get a sweat on. Do some cardio. Lift weights.

Exercise will improve essentially every aspect of your life and health. We all know the physical benefits of exercise, but the mental benefits are infrequently discussed. Exercise has been shown to improve sleep quality, mood, cognitive function, and reasoning. Further, it has been shown to significantly improve the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

A good goal to start is to train and exercise vigorously 3-4 times per week. You can mix weight training and cardio to get a good variety of exercise modalities.