Brain fog is the brain running on insufficient fuel, the fuel is metabolic, nutritional, or neurochemical.
Brain fog describes a cluster of cognitive symptoms, difficulty concentrating, slowed thinking, poor short-term memory, difficulty finding words, and mental heaviness, that reduces work performance and daily function. It is frequently attributed to overwork, stress, or depression. It may be accompanied by these, but in most patients it has a primary physiological basis that has not been assessed.
The brain consumes 20% of the body's energy on 2% of its mass. Anything that compromises brain energy supply produces cognitive impairment. Blood sugar dysregulation, particularly post-meal crashes of insulin resistance, is the most common reversible cause. Thyroid dysfunction reduces neuronal metabolic rate. B12 deficiency impairs myelin and nerve function. Gut dysbiosis reduces serotonin, GABA, and dopamine precursor production. Systemic inflammation crosses the blood-brain barrier to activate microglia. Each is identifiable and correctable.
Conditions that commonly cause brain fog.
Brain fog may be the primary or secondary expression of several conditions. Assessment identifies the specific physiological pattern producing cognitive impairment.