Brain Fog: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Once the underlying cause is addressed, your mental clarity can improve. Chronic stress can increase blood pressure, weaken the immune system, and trigger depression, according to a 2017 review of research. Once you figure out the underlying cause, you can begin managing it. The term “fog” is perfect, because it felt like there was a thick mist settled across my mind. They weren’t completely inaccessible, but my ability to think clearly was severely impaired. Brain fog is a term used to describe difficulty with thinking and concentration.

Broken and Bleeding: Emotional Trauma and Substance Use Disorder

Sometimes complete recovery of cognitive functioning can take weeks, or even months or years. For example, practice on some visually presented tests resulted in improved performance on other visually presented tests but did not seem to improve performance on tests that depended primarily on touch. Nevertheless, the broad transfer of performance improvement suggests that providing practice for controlled, attention-demanding cognitive tasks could enhance the impaired subjects’ cognitive capabilities in other areas. In younger people, whose improvement could occur spontaneously over time, cognitive improvement seemed to be accelerated by practicing. In older alcoholic subjects, practicing helped increase their cognitive functioning, even on tests that would have revealed impairment for a much longer time if they had not practiced. Cognitive performance did not always improve to normal levels as a result of practicing, but it did improve significantly (Goldman 1987).

• Severe alcohol overdoses may cause permanent brain damage even if the person survives.
• This CME/CE credit opportunity is jointly provided by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and NIAAA.

Does Cognitive Status Affect Treatment Outcome?

Read on to learn how alcohol affects the brain in the short- and long-term. You might also notice that your thinking feels slower than usual, and processing information or responding to questions takes longer. Even though alcohol brain fog you’re mentally tired, you could still experience a sense of restlessness or an inability to relax your mind.Remember, brain fog can be temporary or persistent, and figuring out what’s causing it is important.

• Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways and can affect the way the brain looks and works.
• This is due to the fact that alcohol addiction can damage the brain over time.
• Your habits before you came to the treatment center can also contribute to brain fog.
• Motivation, the availability of social support networks, employment opportunities, comorbid psychiatric disorders, and numerous other factors also may play a role in how the alcoholic responds to treatment.
• This dependence plays a significant role in the intensity and duration of brain fog during withdrawal.

When Does Alcohol Withdrawal Brain Fog Go Away?

You’ll meet millions of fellow Reframers in our 24/7 Forum chat and daily Zoom check-in meetings. Receive encouragement from people worldwide who know exactly what you’re going through! You’ll also have the opportunity to https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/top-10-substance-abuse-group-activities/ connect with our licensed Reframe coaches for more personalized guidance. The Reframe app equips you with the knowledge and skills you need to not only survive drinking less, but to thrive while you navigate the journey.

How to Deal with Foggy Brain Menopause & Aid Brain Function

In this case, we are exploring the link between brain fog and alcohol use. Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways and can affect the way the brain looks and works. Alcohol makes it harder for the brain areas controlling balance, memory, speech, and judgment to do their jobs, resulting in a higher likelihood of injuries and other negative outcomes.

Eat (and drink) to feel good

In a loose sense, the cognitive “switchboard” of the alcoholic appears impaired but apparently can be stimulated to more efficient activity by the repetition of appropriate cognitive demands. Test findings from a wide group of studies show that alcoholics are remarkably free of impairment of general intelligence. Their cognitive deficits are more consistently revealed using specific tests of abstract reasoning and visual perception. In addition, alcoholics have not consistently shown learning and memory deficits despite the fact that more severe versions of these impairments are symptoms of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (see Parsons et al. 1987). If you’re seeking a fresh start, a Greenville South Carolina rehab center can offer detox programs that effectively manage withdrawal symptoms and safely eliminate alcohol from your body.

• This is due to the fact that chronic stress can lead to adrenal exhaustion, which causes cognitive dysfunction symptoms such as forgetfulness, lack of attention, and irritability.
• These environmental factors may be likened to physical exercise, but in this case, the “exercise” involves cognitive stimulation.
• It can occur during or after someone’s alcohol addiction, even in otherwise healthy people.

It helps individuals recognize and change negative thought patterns and behaviors that lead to alcohol misuse. Just like a plant needs water and sunlight to grow, your brain needs proper nutrition and hydration to function optimally and maintain healthy brain cells. Eating a balanced diet and staying hydrated are essential for maintaining brain health and keeping brain fog at bay. Alcohol begins affecting a person’s brain as soon as it enters the bloodstream. In a healthy person, the liver quickly filters alcohol, helping the body get rid of the drug. However, when a person drinks to excess, the liver cannot filter the alcohol fast enough, and this triggers immediate changes in the brain.

When should brain fog be treated by a healthcare provider?

Our daily research-backed readings teach you the neuroscience of alcohol, and our in-app Toolkit provides the resources and activities you need to navigate each challenge. Alcohol fog is a temporary condition that is caused by drinking too much alcohol. Alcohol misuse damages the brain over time, which leads to dementia. This organ is responsible for filtering toxins from the blood and converting nutrients into energy. Our team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer any questions you may have.