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Sometimes it feels like you’re flying through life and other times, your mind feels stuck. Everyone goes through these cycles that cause varying levels of mental clarity. You don’t have to worry about your mental wellbeing staying in that state forever. Not when you can read this guide to improving your mental clarity and eliminating brain fog.
Brain fog and clarity are often a package deal. Use these tips to unravel them and prevent your mind from feeling sluggish and exhausted again.
If your thoughts feel fuzzy, slow or tired, you likely have brain fog. It’s a condition of deteriorating mental clarity that’s more common than you might think. Although experts find it pressing enough to study in-depth, you can handle it at home by learning more about it.
Brain fog is a widespread cause of mental clarity concerns, but what triggers it? Several factors could play into your current state of mind, including:
If you’ve been struggling to sleep at night or are recovering from COVID-19, brain fog can result from changes within your body.
Beyond feeling sluggish, these are a few other symptoms you might experience if your brain fog lingers longer than a day or two.
These are classic symptoms of weakened cognitive functions. They’re also signs that your mental clarity isn’t where it needs to be.
There are two different kinds of mental clarity that may change with an increase in brain fog. Check out why they’re so important to discover which case you’re experiencing.
When your mental wellness is functioning at its best, you’ll have outward success. You’ll know what you want from yourself and how to interpret anything currently happening in your life.
Maybe you’re rocking your annual or professional goals. You’re an extremely driven person who handles life with ease. But inwardly, you’re having a hard time. A loss of mental clarity could affect you by making it harder to concentrate or fueling constant exhaustion.
There are many symptoms of clarity loss, so consider how many are part of your life when you have a few free minutes. Think about your recent few days or weeks to see if you’ve been living with:
Brain fog makes these symptoms more apparent. If either list of symptoms sounds familiar to you, it’s time to start healing yourself from the inside out.
Living with mental fog doesn’t have to become your new version of normal. Not when you can use these tips to make progress towards clarity and peace.
When your body is at rest, so is your mind. Getting active will get your blood flowing and fill you with that post-workout confidence that banishes brain fog. Prepare yourself for this change in your routine by learning the most effective stretches for your desired workout. After your daily walk or another exercise, your mind will feel much better.
A lack of sleep will drain your energy. Although a quick cup of morning coffee might wake you up, your mind still didn’t get a chance to reset and rest. Successive nights with little to no sleep will worsen brain fog, so focus on going to bed early and maintaining a healthy sleep schedule.
After leaving for an exciting vacation, your mind might feel refreshed before you even arrive. It’s because you’re breaking your daily routine. The brain can get stuck in a rut when there’s nothing new happening. Try adding activities to your weekly schedule to freshen things up.
You could start a new hobby or join a club. Maybe you could video chat with your friends more often or stop by your neighbor’s house. Anything outside of your everyday routine will broaden your horizons and improve your mental wellness.
Life sometimes puts more on your plate than you might be able to handle. Even if you’re confident in your ability to multitask, feeling crushed by deadlines or stressed about responsibilities takes a toll on your mental health.
Narrow down your task list or adjust how you’re currently handling everything. Shifting into a time block schedule could help. Maybe you could delegate some of the things on your to-do list to lighten the load. Improving your stress will ease back on your cognitive fog.
You may only have one symptom of weakened mental clarity — memory loss. Forgetting what you had for breakfast is one thing, but if you can’t recall what your co-worker said on the phone or your professor said in class, that could have much more significant consequences.
Start playing memory games to bring your mind back up to speed. Matching card games or apps on your phone designed for cognitive improvement will blast your brain fog away.
Stepping away for occasional breaks is another way to reduce your stress. Removing yourself from the work, person or situation increasing your anxiety is a quick way to feel better. Take a few deep breaths and then schedule breaks into your daily routine. When your mind gets a chance to catch up and reset, you’ll have more mental clarity to continue with whatever’s going on.
If your body doesn’t get the nutrients it needs to perform at its best, you’ll feel it through your mental health. Reflect on your diet to see if you get protein at every meal and vegetables every day. Continuous meals high in processed ingredients and sugar won’t fuel your body in the same way that leafy greens and protein will.
You can also switch to a new diet if you’re unsure what a healthy routine looks like. The Mediterranean diet has proven to slow declines in cognitive function, especially when started at an early age. Sustainable diets for long-term upkeep will clear your brain fog and give you more energy every day.
Jump right to the source of your problems by improving your mental clarity with these techniques. It won’t take long to start feeling better.
The solutions to brain fog can create instant mental health relief. Try the previously mentioned tips like refining your diet and sleeping more to start a healthier lifestyle.
Sometimes the best way to improve your mental clarity is to start self-care habits. It’s easy to forget to treat yourself to relaxing things like a hot bath, a nature walk or a cup of warm tea. Whatever self-care idea fits your personality best, download an app or set reminders so the idea becomes part of your routine.
A few things can steal the energy you need to keep your mental health on track. You might have a highly social job or lifestyle that leaves you feeling drained every day. A simple fix like stretching at night or leaving social events a bit earlier could do wonders for conserving and restoring your energy.
Your work-life balance might also lean too heavily toward one side or the other. Finding a perfect balance takes practice, but it’s never out of reach. Setting hard limits on checking your email after work or thinking about your job while you’re at home could be the first steps you need to take to gain energy and mental clarity back.
A counselor or therapist might be your most effective solution. If your brain fog stems from trauma buried in the back of your mind or unhealthy coping mechanisms, a professional will get you the help you need right away.
It’s hard to know if something’s working when you struggle to reflect. Journaling makes that much easier. Write a few sentences about your daily effort to reduce brain fog and find clarity. After flipping through a few pages, you’ll know if you’re reaching your goals or if you need to try something different.
Now you’re nearly an expert at improving your mental clarity. Brain fog doesn’t stand a chance either. Try these tips to find a few that work best for your wellness and routine. With time and practice, you’ll find lasting relief and empowerment.
