Dealing with brain fog? Experts share possible causes and how to manage it

So, what is brain fog?

Brain fog is a general term to describe a cluster of symptoms that make it hard to think clearly and focus. “Brain fog is not a medical diagnosis nor specific health condition, but a group of cognitive symptoms that a person may experience,” explains Erika Kawamura, Psy.D., a licensed psychologist and director of practice initiatives at Equilibria Psychological and Consultation Services in the Greater Philadelphia area.

People often describe it as a lack of mental clarity or sharpness, or feeling cloudy, forgetful, or like their thought processes are slower, says Tori-Lyn Mills, a licensed clinical professional counselor at Thriveworks. “Some people feel like they’re on autopilot where they’re not really aware and present with what they’re doing,” she explains. It can also manifest as difficulty concentrating, focusing, or recalling things.

For example, you might call it brain fog when you can’t immediately think of the very common word you’re trying to use, Mills says. Or when you lose your train of thought mid sentence and forget what you were about to say next.

Different from just being distracted or tired, brain fog feels more hazy and has a marked lack of mental clarity. Another giveaway: Tiredness usually improves after sleep, whereas brain fog often does not.

Why does it seem like everyone has brain fog right now?

If brain fog feels especially ubiquitous these days, that makes sense. After all, it’s a pretty common thing to experience, Dr. Kawamura says, especially “given that many people today often report feeling stressed, burned out, tired, and sleep-deprived.”

The term seemed to gain traction during the pandemic as a common symptom associated with long COVID, Dr. Kawamura suggests. From there, social media did what it does best, turning a relatable experience into a viral one. That doesn’t mean that people are necessarily overusing the term—though that could be happening to some extent, since brain fog can feel very similar to being tired or fatigued. Rather, people may be quicker to label what they’re feeling now that there’s a buzzy term to use, Mills says.

As Mills puts it, there’s a lot going on in the world right now that could muddy up your mental clarity. It’s not unusual for our brains to get overwhelmed in times of high stress and uncertainty and take a little longer to process all the things.

Possible causes of brain fog

Many factors can contribute to brain fog, and in some cases, there could be more than one causing yours.

Lifestyle factors

Lack of sleep, high levels of stress, excessive screen time, jet lag, or alcohol or drug use can all affect your cognition and cause brain fog, Dr. Kawamura says. Dehydration and poor diet, which can lead to nutrient deficiencies that affect how much energy your brain has to operate efficiently, are also important to consider.

Mills notes that fatigue and tiredness also often overlap with brain fog: Not sleeping enough can affect your cognition, so you might be experiencing both tiredness and brain fog at the same time.

Mental health conditions

Anxiety, depression, and ADHD are commonly associated with brain fog, Dr. Kawamura says. But really any mental health condition might play a role, as can some medications used to treat them. Prolonged stress and overwhelm can also contribute.

Physical health conditions

A variety of health issues can come with brain fog, including migraines, autoimmune conditions (like fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, lupus), diabetes, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME), sleep disorders, and postviral conditions such as long COVID. Hormonal changes during pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and menopause; medication side effects; and chemotherapy treatment for cancer can all contribute, too.

Environmental factors

There’s even some evidence that air pollution and extreme temperatures can contribute to brain fog, Dr. Kawamura says. For example, one EPA study of over 10,000 people found that exposure to wildfire smoke, and the fine particulate matter it puts into the air, affected cognitive performance within just hours of exposure. And a few small studies have connected higher ambient temperatures (like being without air conditioning during a heat wave) to reduced cognitive performance.

How to know what’s causing your brain fog

Since brain fog can stem from so many different things, it can be hard to get to the bottom of what’s causing yours. Mills says that when people come to her complaining of brain fog, she first asks if they’ve seen their doctor to rule out any medical causes, like a chronic or short-term illness. (That should be the first step.) Then, she works with them to dig into all of the other potential explanations.

Similarly, Dr. Kawamura says it’s all about exploring your symptoms and the patterns surrounding them, including “how long it’s been going on, if anything makes it better or worse, how your general mood has been lately, if there’s been any significant stressors, and what your typical lifestyle is like,” Dr. Kawamura says.

Here’s a list of questions the experts recommend asking yourself to help you and your health team narrow down the possible cause:

• What’s going on in your life right now?
• What’s your stress level like?
• Have you experienced something emotionally traumatic recently, like losing a loved one?
• Have you experienced this symptom before? If so, can you link your fogginess to a stressful moment or event? Did it clear up afterward?
• If it’s ongoing, how long has it been persisting?
• Is there a pattern you can identify? Is this an all-day experience? Do you find that it hits at certain times of the day?
• Do you experience this during certain times of the week, the month, the year?
• What’s your sleep hygiene like? Is your sleep routine consistent? Are you doomscrolling before bed? Are there a lot of interruptions in your sleep?
• Are you hydrating throughout the day?
• Are you eating enough? Are you eating well-rounded meals with a variety of nutrients?

“Clients often find relief when they figure out the ‘why’ and feel validated about their brain fog experience,” Dr. Kawamura says. “Sometimes they have an ‘aha’ moment when they realize it was actually more of an emotional numbness and their brain shutting down in an effort to avoid painful feelings that have been weighing on them for weeks,” she adds. Other times, they may recognize that they need to work on better stress management, self-care, and healthier lifestyle habits.

When to loop in a provider

It’s time to bring up your brain fog to a professional when it becomes persistent and starts interfering with your daily life, Dr. Kawamura says. That could look like missing meetings, dropping the ball at work or in your social life, or noticing a real dip in your quality of life.

Your primary care doctor is a good place to start. They’ll likely talk to you about your symptoms, evaluate your overall health, and look for any medical conditions that could be playing a role. They might also refer you to a specialist if they think you need further evaluation.

Once you’ve ruled out medical issues—or, if you strongly suspect that your brain fog is tied to your mental health—a mental health provider can help you identify and address any psychological factors at play. They can also help you determine whether your brain fog is actually a symptom of a mental health condition, like ADHD, anxiety, or depression. Regardless of the cause, therapy can help you reflect on what you’re struggling with, interrupt patterns keeping you stuck, and learn coping skills to improve your mental clarity.

9 ways to manage brain fog

As you work to pinpoint what’s causing your haziness, these tips may help you manage the symptoms of brain fog and think more clearly.

1. Schedule self-check-ins throughout the day.

The goal here is to take a hard look at your stress level and how you’re managing it. One way to do this, according to Dr. Kawamura: “Pause throughout the day, or at the very least at the end of the day, and ask yourself, ‘How are you feeling right now: physically, emotionally, and mentally?’”

This can help you notice signs of stress, like neck tension, feeling frazzled or annoyed, or having racing thoughts or difficulty focusing. “It may also help to rate the intensity or severity of these experiences on a scale of one to 10, with one being a pep-in-your-step, and 10 being physically depleted,” Dr. Kawamura says. Tracking like this can also be a helpful tool for discussing your symptoms with a provider.

2. Check in with your body.

If you’re feeling especially foggy at any point during the day, ask yourself what your body needs or wants at that specific moment, Dr. Kawamura says. For example, if your day has been nonstop since the moment your alarm went off, “you might just want to sit for a few minutes to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and eat something healthy because you skipped a meal or two,” she notes. “Or, if you’ve been hunched over the computer indoors for hours on end for a deadline, you might want to take a short break and go for a walk outside.”

3. Take long inhales and longer exhales.

If your brain fog seems related to stress or anxiety, try breathing exercises the next time you’re feeling anxious, Mills suggests. A few of her favorites:

• 4-6 breathing: Inhale through the nose for four seconds and exhale through the mouth for six seconds
• 4-7-8 breathing: Inhale through the nose for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds, exhale through your mouth for eight seconds

She also suggests these before bed to help your body calm down and prepare for restful sleep (since sleep debt could be contributing to your brain fog too).

4. Do a brain dump.

“If your brain fog is exacerbated by feelings of overwhelm, sometimes getting things out of your head and onto a screen or paper can help you feel more organized,” Mills says. She suggests physically writing down all the things swirling around in your mind: your to-do list, any big emotions you’re experiencing, triggers you experienced during the day. Whatever is up there causing you stress, anxiety, and fogginess, just drop it on the page or in your Notes app. This can also help because brain fog makes it hard to recall what you need to do, Mills adds.

5. Set aside time for little dopamine hits.

Noticing and enjoying simple pleasures throughout the day can boost feel-good chemicals in your brain and help combat brain fog, Dr. Kawamura says. “This can be anything from enjoying the quiet mornings with your cup of coffee, laughing with your friends, playing with your pets or child, listening to your favorite podcast or music on your commute, soaking in the sun and crisp breeze outside, or sharing a meal with your partner.”

Find two or three small things that bring you joy and lift your mood, then pencil them into your schedule. When it’s time to do them, allow yourself to be fully present—put your phone away and really focus on what you’re doing, not the rest of the work you need to get done. Practicing being present in these moments can help with both stress and brain fog.

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6. Reconsider your wind-down routine.

Since poor sleep can have a big effect on cognitive function, it’s important to check in on your sleep hygiene, or the behaviors you have surrounding sleep, Mills says. Do you tend to stay up watching Netflix longer than intended? Do you tuck yourself in only to scroll in bed for another hour?

Mills suggests thinking about those habits that are getting in the way of restorative sleep and replacing them with new ones. “For example, if you’re staying on the couch late at night instead of going to your bedroom, put a timer on certain things like lights or TV, or set a daily wind-down alarm to signal it is time to go to bed. Or put time restrictions on the apps that you tend to scroll at night so that you don’t have access to them an hour before bed,” she suggests.

7. Focus on the first step, not the whole project.

If brain fog is getting in the way of your productivity, it can help to break tasks down into smaller pieces. For example, Mills says, thinking about cleaning out a garage filled with stuff can be really overwhelming, especially if you don’t feel like you have the mental bandwidth to tackle it. But if you stop looking at everything and just focus on one corner to start with, it feels way more doable. Try breaking down other tasks in a similar way to make them more manageable, she says.

8. Turn your “to-do” list into a “must-do” list.

When brain fog hits, it can be tempting to avoid your entire to-do list. Dr. Kawamura suggests heavily editing so it only contains the things you need to do. “Each day, select no more than three to five items that are the absolute priority items. While everything on that list might feel like a priority, for this exercise, these items should be the ones where negative consequences could happen if it’s not done today, such as a deadline or a due date on a bill,” she says. This can make it easier to focus and get things done without adding to your mental overload.

9. When in doubt, set an alarm.

Brain fog can sometimes make even the most important task fall off your radar. So there’s no shame in setting alarms and calendar alerts to help you stay on track—whether it’s for an important meeting, a task you don’t want to forget, or even just lunch if that’s something you tend to miss. “Set reminders so you can let go of some of that mental overload of trying to remember everything,” Dr. Kawamura says.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is brain fog?

Brain fog is a group of cognitive symptoms—such as difficulty remembering, concentrating, or focusing—that make it difficult to think clearly. It’s typically described as a person’s brain feeling cloudy or hazy, slow, or not fully alert.

Is brain fog a symptom of anxiety or depression?

Brain fog can be associated with anxiety or depression. Additionally, medications commonly used to treat these conditions can impact cognition and contribute to a feeling of fogginess.

Can stress cause brain fog?

Yes, stress is a leading cause of brain fog. However, it’s important to rule out other causes before immediately blaming cognitive issues on stress and overwhelm.

How long does brain fog last?

Brain fog can be temporary or long-lasting, depending on the cause. For example, if you realize you’re not eating enough, you’ll likely feel mentally sharper once you start to fuel your body better. If your brain fog is caused by a medical condition, it will probably continue until you get a diagnosis and start treating or managing the condition properly.

What is the fastest way to get rid of brain fog?

To get rid of brain fog quickly, try addressing some low-hanging fruit: drink some water, have a snack, get up and move for a couple of minutes (preferably in natural light), and do a quick breathing exercise. All of these things can give your brain a little energy boost and might help you feel better in the moment. If brain fog is persistent and interfering with your daily life, the best next step is talking to a primary care provider and/or a mental health provider.

Is brain fog a sign of something serious?

Brain fog can sometimes be a sign of an underlying medical condition such as autoimmune conditions including fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and lupus; diabetes; chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME); sleep disorders, such as insomnia or sleep apnea; and postviral conditions such as long COVID.