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Key points
- The traits of brain fog can make it difficult for people to engage in conversations and perform daily tasks.
- Getting upset with yourself for something you cannot control worsens brain fog.
- Multitasking worsens brain fog, but chunking activities and taking planned breaks increases productivity.
Sometimes, particularly during periods of stress, brain fog can hit hard. You may space out on a task, forget what you were doing, or struggle to follow a conversation. Brain fog can be disorienting, confusing, and even a bit scary for folks—especially those with ADHD and neurodivergence.
Brain fog refers to a group of symptoms that impact how you function cognitively—your thinking, your recall, and your concentration. It can also reflect difficulty with making decisions, mental fatigue, slower response time, and uncertainty. While we don’t know what causes brain fog exactly, research shows that it’s associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, long COVID, chemotherapy, autoimmune conditions, or depression. But, brain fog is not a medical condition so you can’t be diagnosed with it. It’s more like a set of symptoms that arise when something else is going on.
The traits of brain fog can make it difficult for people to engage in conversations, perform routine daily tasks, and follow instructions. Plus, brain fog differs from person to person, particularly women. In fact, it disproportionately affects women because of hormonal changes related to menstruation and menopause. For people with ADHD who already struggle with focus, memory, and organization, stress can bring on brain fog by overwhelming weaker executive functioning skills.
Of course, living with ADHD and neurodivergence means living with a baseline of stress that neurotypical adults don’t have to deal with. The consistent inconsistency of being neurodivergent leads to being unclear if someone will follow through on things, if you will arrive on time, and if people will like you. Perhaps you may freeze in the moment, unsure of what to say or do. You may lose your train of thought more often and get distracted more easily. You may interrupt others or say something awkward without knowing it. This is especially tough in the middle of social situations, peer interactions, or important work meetings.
It’s crucial to develop some useful coping tools to help you make sense of what others are saying and respond effectively. It’s frustrating to deal with this disorienting brain fog. And, let’s be honest, everybody spaces out sometimes. Yes, this may happen more intensely and more often for folks living with ADHD due to how their brains are wired. You are not alone in your embarrassment when this occurs. But being upset with yourself for something that you cannot control only increases your stress and worsens the very brain fog that is troubling you in the first place. It's important to check out if you have any medical conditions that can be contributing to brain fog. For many, brain fog goes hand-in-hand with being neurodivergent. If you can shift your focus from "Why is this happening to me?" to "How do I navigate these moments with more ease and less self-criticism?", you will begin to create solutions to managing moments of confusion.
The first step is to lower your stress. Then, practice self-compassion and be honest about whatever confusion you are feeling. If you missed what somebody said so you’re not sure that you understand a question or a task, pivot away from self-criticism and shame and choose honesty. I am a big fan of being authentic and, since everybody misses something at one time or another, normalize your experience instead of judging it. Authenticity means being transparent and non-defensive when you miss a comment in a conversation or do something that you later regret. Self-care, exercise, and self-compassion are all ways to reduce the tension in your life and hopefully the brain fog too.
Here are four techniques to manage the brain fog in your life:
- Reduce stress by focusing on one task at a time. In a busy, constantly connected world, we live with too much to do and not enough time to reset. When we take a walk while talking on our phone or scroll while eating lunch, we don’t actually give ourselves the true break that we really need. We shred our time into distracted chunks instead of having space to exhale and regroup. When we multitask, we stress our brains and exhaust ourselves. Opt for single-tasking as often as possible. You may not be able to eliminate all media multitasking habits but, with single-tasking, you’ll feel more productive and less stressed.
- Get enough sleep. Nothing weakens our coping abilities like a lack of sleep. Many people with ADHD struggle with sleep issues. Typically, folks wrestle with three aspects of sleep: falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up. It can be tough to turn off your mind. Perhaps you experience racing thoughts, intrusive worries, or a fitful night of sleep marked by “tossing and turning” throughout the night. Some people sleep so deeply that they struggle to get up in the morning, requiring numerous alarm clocks or physical reminders. Think about your sleep needs: how much, when, and what helps you relax. Practice consistent sleep habits by going to bed and waking up at the same time and staying off screens for at least thirty minutes before you nod off.
- Exercise regularly. I cannot emphasize enough how much exercise helps with clear thinking. The endorphins that are released during exercise enhance focus and increase your overall sense of well-being. Moving your body has been found to improve motivation, build energy, and reduce confusion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults engage in approximately 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity such as brisk walking, running, biking, etc. Of course, eating well helps your overall health too. So the next time that you are feeling brain fog descend, try to move your body and see what happens.
- Chunk your activities and write things down. Instead of relying on hyperfocus, try breaking tasks down into shorter work blocks–anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Rather than go into overdrive and burnout, it’s more efficient and effective to give your brain time to reset and rest a bit throughout the day with scheduled, time breaks. This chunking can be tough for a lot of people who like to hunker down and plow through a set of projects. But overworking like this uses up the natural glucose fuel in the brain and then your system relies on cortisol. Cortisol and adrenaline increase stress that doesn’t need to be there. Trying to remember everything also adds pressure. Write things down by doing a large brain dump and then moving whatever is most important and most urgent to the top of your list. Work on each of these items at a time instead of simultaneously. This also will lower your stress while providing the visual cues that improve productivity.
You may not be able to get rid of your brain fog but you can reduce it. Learning how to schedule adequate downtime to integrate and process information, asking for someone to repeat what they said without self-criticism, and taking care of yourself with good sleep, nutrition, and exercise habits can decrease your overwhelm and your shame. Remember, brain fog is not your fault; you didn’t choose this. Instead, just explain what’s going on to someone when it is happening and move on. You’ve got this.
To find a therapist, please visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.
References
Sukel, K. (2022). Lifting the fog. New Scientist, 254(3390), 38–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0262-4079(22)01024-7
