Have you ever ever felt like your thoughts is clouded and never as sharp because it was once? You is perhaps experiencing mind fog. Mind fog is a typical time period used to explain how individuals really feel when their pondering is sluggish and unclear.
What’s mind fog?
Mind fog impacts your capability to suppose. You would possibly discover it harder to focus, keep in mind issues, plan, or clear up issues in on a regular basis life. When our pondering is just not clear, easy duties can change into difficult. For instance, you may need a tough time planning a visit to the grocery retailer, remembering the substances so as to add to your meal, or maintaining monitor of all of the appointments in your calendar.
Individuals can expertise mind fog for a lot of causes. It may be from stress, tiredness, or a scarcity of sleep. Sure well being situations, reminiscent of most cancers, diabetes, migraine, menopause, and viral infections (e.g. chilly, flu, COVID-19) are additionally attainable causes of mind fog.
Mind fog impacts many individuals. Analysis exhibits that over 80% of people that examined constructive for COVID-19 expertise mind fog. And it continues to have an effect on as much as 20% of those people even after they’ve recovered from bodily signs like cough and fever.
The right way to clear up mind fog?
Taking cost of bettering one’s well being is named self-management. Additionally it is thought of as one of the best ways to handle mind fog in sufferers with lengthy COVID-19 signs. Listed below are some small constructive adjustments to your physique, thoughts, and way of life that will assist to clear up mind fog:
Your physique
Strengthen your physique: tiredness and fatigue can result in mind fog. Enhance your power with common bodily actions, reminiscent of strolling, working, and yoga.
- Save power: power conservation is an efficient option to scale back tiredness and fatigue. Listed below are its 4 key ideas:
- Tempo your self: preserve the actions brief. Take breaks and provides your self extra time to finish duties.
- Prioritize your duties: concentrate on actions that must be carried out on that day.
- Take into consideration positioning: select sitting as a substitute of standing for longer duties, reminiscent of cooking and showering.
- Plan forward: break down larger duties into smaller ones, and slowly improve its size and depth. Put aside time in your schedule to relaxation.
Be taught extra concerning the 4 ideas of power conservation.

Your thoughts
- Train your mind: working your mind is a vital step in maintaining it wholesome. Puzzles, reminiscence video games, studying, and even family chores are all helpful to your mind. Begin with easy duties earlier than shifting on to extra advanced ones.
- Use reminders: reminders additionally assist together with your reminiscence. Write essential data down or take an image. Make a guidelines to your errands. Use the reminder or alarm operate in your cellphone to remind your self of medicines and break occasions.
Your way of life
- Alter your setting: scale back the noise in your setting. Use pure mild as a lot as you may to your room and workstation. Add lamps or ceiling lights for further lighting.
- Higher sleep, much less stress: your capability to suppose might be affected by sleep high quality and stress degree. Have an everyday sleep schedule and bedtime routine. Relieve your stress via actions reminiscent of mindfulness, progressive muscle leisure, and respiratory workouts.
- Construct help and connection: many individuals with mind fog have a tough time reaching out, simply because its signs are much less seen in comparison with a bodily harm. Nonetheless, you will need to share your expertise with your loved ones and associates, in order that they’ll higher perceive and help you.
Our capability to suppose is essential for on a regular basis duties, and mind fog can drastically have an effect on our high quality of life. Bear in mind that you’re not alone. Many on-line communities now supply peer help teams for people who find themselves experiencing mind fog.
To schedule an appointment, contact a pt Well being clinic close to you or ebook an appointment on-line.
This weblog initially appeared on Lifemark.ca and was written by Rona Guo, an occupational remedy scholar from McMaster College.