brain health · Jul 01, 2025

6 Ways to Get Rid of Brain Fog and Feel Clearer Fast

woman wearing blue shirt napping on wooden daybed

Written by Abby McCoy, RN, BSN

When you have brain fog, thoughts can feel hazy. Maybe you can’t remember the right word for that new product at work. Or you forget your wallet at home — again.

Anyone can experience short-term brain fog during an illness or after a late night, but sometimes this phenomenon can last weeks or even years. Either way, it’s easy to wonder how you can get rid of brain fog. In the article below, learn about what brain fog feels like, why it happens, and how to clear it.

What Is Brain Fog?

Brain fog describes a range of symptoms that affect how well you think, concentrate, and remember. More than one in four adults report experiencing brain fog, a general term for symptoms that cause cognitive impairment [1-3].

What Are the Symptoms of Brain Fog?

Symptoms of brain fog mostly affect how well the brain works [2]. But what does brain fog feel like? Picture trying to walk through knee-deep mud: you feel like you should be able to walk faster, but the thick sludge slows you down. That’s how brain fog can seem — your thoughts want to move fast, but they can’t.

People with brain fog report symptoms like [2]:

Trouble with concentration and focus
Forgetfulness and poor short-term memory
Feeling mentally “slow” or easily overwhelmed
Difficulty finding the right words
A feeling of mental exhaustion
Frequently losing your train of thought
Challenges in organizing thoughts
Fatigue and low energy, even with enough rest
Slow reaction time

Brain fog can last for hours, days, or decades, and have a profound effect on your life, making it difficult to hold conversations and focus on the job or in the classroom [1].

What Causes Brain Fog?

There are many potential causes of brain fog, from hormone changes and chronic illness to poor nutrition or other lifestyle factors. Some causes can resolve in a short time, while others may prompt long-term symptoms [2].

Common causes of brain fog include [2, 4, 5, 6, 7]:

Concussions or other brain injuries
Bad sleep or disrupted circadian rhythms
Diabetes and blood sugar swings
Alcohol use
Chronic stress, anxiety, and burnout
Hormonal changes from perimenopause, pregnancy, or thyroid imbalance
Inflammation and gut-brain axis disruption
Medication side effects, treatment side effects (like chemotherapy)
Cognitive decline (like dementia or Alzheimer’s)

Autoimmune conditions like multiple sclerosis or lupus

Mental health conditions like anxiety or depression
Neurodevelopmental conditions like ADHD and autism spectrum disorder
Infections from COVID-19, hepatitis, and HIV
Chronic pain and pain medications
Nutritional deficiencies like B12, iron, or vitamin D

Your diet can have a big impact on brain health. For example, too much refined sugar can lead to reduced insulin sensitivity, which can cause type 2 diabetes and associated brain fog [8].

Eating processed foods can also prompt nutrient deficiencies that can lead to brain fog [1]. For example, diets high in processed foods may cause a deficiency of B vitamins, which play a crucial role in cognition [26, 27]. Vitamin B12 helps the entire central nervous system function, which includes how well neurons can signal one another [28].

Although brain fog is a temporary annoyance for most, it can also point to an underlying imbalance or a problem, like cognitive decline, that needs medical attention.

How to Clear Brain Fog Naturally

You can help clear brain fog naturally by adjusting your lifestyle and adding missing dietary nutrients that promote overall cognitive health and boost neurogenesis [1].

1. Get better sleep

Sleep deep-cleans your brain and helps your neurons (nerve cells) communicate with one another — much like cleaning a gunked-up computer keyboard that skips letters or holds down certain keys [9, 10].

As you go about your day, your neurons create waste products, and researchers have discovered your nightly sleep helps flush these byproducts away — a process called glymphatic clearance [29]. In particular, slow-wave sleep (the deepest stage), creates rhythmic, coordinated electric pulsations in large bundles of neurons, which flushes waste away [30].

You can improve your sleep quality by sticking to a consistent bedtime routine and sleep schedule, avoiding alcohol and caffeine before bed, exercising regularly, and making your sleep relaxing and decluttered [11].

2. Balance your blood sugar

Your brain uses sugar to fuel all its important work, but when your blood sugar levels get too high or low, it can affect brain function. In fact, sugar dips or spikes can damage nerves in your brain and affect memory and learning. How? Over time, high or low blood sugar can damage blood vessels in the brain and prevent them from delivering enough oxygen-filled blood. Without enough blood, brain cells can die, eventually leading to problems with thinking, memory, and even dementia [12].

You can keep your blood sugar balanced by eating high-fiber complex carbohydrates like whole wheat bread and brown rice [13]. Your body digests these more slowly, releasing a steady stream of sugar rather than a spike. Protein can also make you feel fuller longer and slow a glucose spike [14].

3. Exercise for an oxygen boost

Exercise boosts oxygen flow to the brain, which can help its chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) be more effective. Research shows exercise improves cognitive functions like thinking, memory, attention, and perception by increasing the flow of oxygen to the brain and promoting new neuron growth [15].

Experts recommend reaching a goal of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, or 75 minutes of more vigorous activity [15]. But even a little bit of movement is better than none at all!

4. Hydrate for clearer cognition

Water makes up 75 percent of your brain, so staying hydrated plays a big role in brain health, as even mild dehydration could lead to brain fog [16]. Your brain needs water to make neurotransmitters and help them function, so a lack of it can help brain fog take hold [31].

Dehydration lessens your blood volume (the amount of blood flowing through your veins) [32]. Lower blood volume means your brain gets less oxygen, which can hinder cognitive function and cause brain fog [33, 34].

To keep your brain sufficiently “watered,” try to drink six to 12 cups of water per day. Women need less than men (6-9 cups vs. 8-12 cups), but always try to include drinks with no caffeine or alcohol, which can cause dehydration [17].

5. De-stress with mindfulness

Chronic stress can cloud the mind by keeping one part of your brain so busy, the other parts can’t work as well [35]. For example, if you’re stressed about an argument you had with your partner before work, you may find it difficult to concentrate on an important morning presentation.

One large meta-analysis that included over 500,000 participants found high stress levels correlated with executive function and working memory [36]. Another study on 24,448 participants found that those with higher perceived stress had a 1.37 times higher occurrence of poor cognition [37].

But you have plenty of options to lessen your stress. Mindfulness practices like deep breathing, meditation, journaling, and body-mind practices like yoga can ease away stressful thoughts and promote better brain function [18].

6. Give your brain the nutrients it craves

Beyond sugar, your brain relies on other nutrients to keep its neurons firing. Make sure to include lots of omega-3s (healthy fats), antioxidants, and brain-supportive nutrients like green, leafy vegetables, berries, and walnuts on your grocery list [19].

You can also keep your brain healthier by staying at a healthy weight. If you need to lose weight, try a protein meal plan or other healthy, balanced diet to shed some pounds and lower your risk of brain fog [20].

Do Brain Fog Supplements Work?

Brain health supplements can help ease brain fog, but some ingredients work better than others. The best supplements for brain health include these ingredients [21-25]:

Alpha GPC: supports cognitive performance, attention, and neuroplasticity
Paraxanthine: improves mental energy, focus, and brain performance
Alpha-lipoic acid: protects neurons from oxidative stress and supports mitochondrial energy production for long-term brain health
Nicotinamide: defends the brain against oxidative stress, supports GABA-producing neurons, and enhances metabolic function essential for cognition
Berberine: enhances cognitive clarity, reduces neuroinflammation, and supports brain energy metabolism

The ingredients above each bring their own form of neuroprotection to the table, and you can find them all in Nouro.

Using Nouro to Support Cognitive Health

Nouro, a brain health supplement developed in collaboration with Duke Health, can be a vital tool in supporting cognitive health and clearing brain fog. According to animal studies, Nouro can reduce neuronal inflammation and improve neuronal growth — two essential processes in optimal cognitive functioning.

Other research in animal models has found Nouro may improve brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and lessen shrinkage of the hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory and learning.

Takeaways

When brain fog threatens to steal your concentration, attention span, and memory, you don’t have to accept it. Although brain fog is usually temporary, it can also hang around for years, so there’s no reason to wait to address the symptoms.

Get rid of brain fog with these tips:

Improve your sleep with good sleep habits, like keeping a regular sleep schedule and avoiding stimulants before bed.
Keep your blood sugar stable with healthy foods, like complex carbohydrates, fiber sources, and protein.
Exercise every day to boost brain oxygen.
Banish stress with mindfulness techniques like meditation and deep breathing.
Try brain health supplements like Nouro to give your neurons plenty of brain-boosting ingredients.

While nothing can clear brain fog on its own, using Nouro with the lifestyle changes above can sharpen your mind, improve memory, and heighten all areas of cognitive function.

References:

Abby McCoy is an experienced RN who has worked with adults and pediatric patients encompassing trauma, orthopedics, home care, transplant, and case management. She has practiced nursing all over the world from San Francisco, CA to Tharaka, Kenya, and now writes health content for trusted health outlets like Everyday Health and Next Avenue. Abby is a married mother of four living in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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