Covid brain fog is real --- here’s how to cope
If you’ve been struggling with brain fog long after a COVID diagnosis, you aren’t alone.
We’re still in the very early stages of understanding the long-term impacts that the COVID-19 virus can have on our health. But what we do know right now is that many COVID survivors (more than half, according to a study by Penn State researchers) have reported experiencing symptoms long after their initial diagnosis and fight with the virus.
One such symptom is “brain fog,” a nonmedical but nonetheless frustrating condition marked by affected cognitive abilities. Here’s what we know so far about the long-term relationship between COVID-19 and brain fog.
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What is long Covid?
“Long COVID,” also known as post-COVID symptoms by the Center For Disease Control (CDC), refers to the long-term lingering effects of the COVID-19 virus that persist long after an initial diagnosis. Patients who experience long COVID report dealing with COVID symptoms even months after their initial diagnosis and acute illness.
Unfortunately, this seems to be a common occurrence among many people who have been diagnosed with COVID. One retrospective cohort study analyzed the health record data of 273,618 COVID-19 survivors to see whether they were experiencing long-COVID features in the six months following their initial diagnosis. The symptoms they looked for included:
- breathing difficulties
- fatigue
- upper respiratory pain
- abdominal symptoms
- headaches
- muscle pain
- cognitive symptoms
- anxiety/depression
The researchers found that a whopping 57% of the patients involved in the study experienced long-COVID symptoms in the six-month period following their COVID diagnosis. Even more interestingly, some of those survivors felt the effects of long COVID even if they hadn’t experienced those same symptoms earlier on in their acute illness stage.
Is brain fog normal after recovering from Covid?
COVID is often primarily thought of as a respiratory disease. But as we continue learning more and more about this virus, it’s becoming clear that it can also affect other systems in our body including our brains. One common way this is manifesting is with patients reporting struggling with “brain fog” in the weeks and months following their initial bout with the COVID-19 virus.
”Brain fog” is a non-medical term that refers to a collection of symptoms that all affect your cognition, focus, and productivity. Brain fog can manifest itself in a couple of different ways, but they can all leave you feeling sluggish and “off.” For example, some symptoms included under the “brain fog” umbrella include:
- Having trouble focusing on tasks
- Experiencing irritability and mood swings
- Struggling with your memory
- Feeling exhausted, fatigued, and unmotivated
Research is suggesting that the majority of patients who get COVID experience some kind of neurological manifestation, including issues like dizziness, loss of taste, loss of smell, headaches, or encephalopathy (damage to the brain that can affect your cognition and lead to confusion and fogginess).
For example, one study on 509 hospitalized COVID patients in Chicago, Illinois found that neurological manifestations were present in a whopping 82.3% of patients at some point during their illness! 31.8% of those patients reported encephalopathy, and only 32.1% of those patients were able to take care of their own affairs without assistance after they were released from the hospital.
Similarly, an online research survey published in July 2021 found that cognitive dysfunction was one of the most frequent symptoms reported by participants suffering from long-COVID.
So it’s becoming clear that cognitive symptoms and brain fog are a relatively common feature among people recovering from the COVID-19 virus.
What causes Covid brain fog?
Researchers are still trying to get to the bottom of the exact relationship between the COVID-19 virus, brain health, and brain fog. However, what we do know so far is that the virus can cause damage to your brain cells and tissues in a variety of ways, both directly and indirectly.
Some potential ways that COVID can damage your brain include:
- Lack of oxygen: Your brain, like every other muscle in your body, requires an ample amount of oxygen. But because of its respiratory effects, lung injuries from COVID-19 could potentially lead to oxygen deprivation that can then go on to affect your brain.
- Strokes: It also appears that people who suffer from COVID-19 are more susceptible to ischemic strokes, in which blood clots block arteries leading to the brain.
- Direct virus attack on the brain: Besides the indirect consequences that COVID-19 can have on your brain, there’s also evidence that the COVID-19 virus can directly affect your brain. One study found that the virus can infect brain cells called astrocytes.
There’s also some evidence that points towards inflammation as a potential factor contributing to post-COVID brain fog. Your immune system is your first line of defense from illnesses including COVID, but an overactive immune response via excessive inflammation could potentially play a role in your brain fog. A recent study published in January 2022 compared the cerebrospinal fluid of 22 patients who reported experiencing cognitive issues after COVID versus 10 patients who did not. They found that the cerebrospinal fluid of the 22 patients dealing with cognitive issues had abnormal cerebrospinal fluid markers, which suggested the presence of inflammation. The study also found that the patients who reported dealing with these brain fog symptoms had a higher number of pre-existing cognitive risk factors like mood disorders, mild cognitive impairments, and learning disabilities.
Other findings have suggested that COVID-related brain fog could be due to psychological factors like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A paper published in the journal The Clinical Neuropsychologist reviewed literature from past outbreaks of SARS and MERS viruses and found that survivors of those diseases were at a higher risk of developing PTSD, a psychiatric disorder that stems from trauma and which could account for some cognitive impairments. The paper goes on to hypothesize that this could also be the case for COVID-19 survivors since the disease can be so severe and may require traumatizing hospital treatments like ICU stays, intubation, delirium, and near-death experiences.
In short, the ways that COVID can affect your brain and therefore your cognition are plentiful, and it seems like it could vary from case to case. More research still needs to be done to determine exactly how this virus causes brain fog.
How long does brain fog normally last after Covid?
Because COVID-19 is still so relatively new, scientists aren’t sure exactly how long long-COVID issues like brain fog can last — but the evidence we do have so far suggests that it can continue for a long time.
For example, a study published in October 2021 followed up with COVID-19 survivors at an average length of about 7.6 months after their diagnosis. The researchers found that some patients were still experiencing symptoms of brain fog like issues with processing speed, executive functioning, and memory after all that time.
Of course, we’re only in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, which limits the amount of time that we’ve been able to track these long-standing symptoms. So ultimately, the amount of time that brain fog and other post-COVID symptoms can continue after diagnosis ultimately remains to be seen.
How to improve mental clarity after Covid
We are still in the very early stages of learning about the long-term relationship between COVID and brain fog. As such, there isn’t a “cure” for COVID-related brain fog — for now, at least.
However, this doesn’t mean that there’s no hope for helping your fogginess. Some evidence-based actions that have been shown to help keep your brain healthy in general and improve your cognition in instances of brain fog include:
- Check in with your hormones. Certain cases of brain fog can be attributed to an imbalance of hormones, which are chemicals that affect nearly every system in your body. For example, thyroid hormones and estrogen are all thought to be related to energy and cognition, and imbalances could lead to that unfocused and foggy feeling. If you’ve been suffering from brain fog for a long time, it could be worth ruling out other potential causes like hormonal imbalances. Base’s Energy Test can give you data-driven insights into whether a hormone imbalance is contributing to your brain fog. PS: Taking the Base quiz can tell you if this test is right for you.
- Eating a nutritious diet. Good nutrition is just as important for your mental health as it is for your physical health! Eating nutrient-dense diets that are full of anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants, like the Mediterranean diet, have shown plenty of promise for protecting your brain from neurodegeneration. In addition, brain fog has also been linked to deficiencies in certain nutrients like Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and Vitamin C. If you suspect that your brain fog may be due to insufficiencies in your diet, it might be a good idea to change your eating patterns and/or add dietary supplements to ensure you’re giving your brain all the tools it needs to function at its sharpest.
- Stay physically active. Besides the obvious benefits that it can have on your heart health, metabolism, and body composition, there’s also evidence that regular cardiovascular exercise can help keep your brain functioning optimally. A study found that exercising at a moderate intensity led to better memory, while high-intensity exercise can lead to better information processing speed! Setting some time aside every couple of days to go for a brisk jog or run to stay active and help with alertness.
- Improve your sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is a highly powerful tool for allowing your cells to regenerate and your hormones to release normally. If you have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep, try setting a regular bedtime, turning off the screens a couple of hours before getting into bed, and establishing a relaxing nighttime routine.
- Keep your stress in check. Chronic stress is another major contributor to brain fog because it can cause an increase in the amount of cortisol, or “stress hormone,” that your adrenal glands release. Over time, this could lead to overworked adrenal glands and adrenal fatigue. If you suspect that stress is contributing to your brain fog, find healthy coping mechanisms to deal. Things like yoga, meditating, journaling, adaptogens, and mindfulness exercises can all help you manage stress in a healthier way so that it stops disrupting your cognitive abilities.
Finally, you may want to check in with your doctor if your brain fog continues to persist to rule out other underlying health issues and complications that could be contributing to your cognitive state.
Conclusion
The future of COVID-19 and its long-term effects still feels uncertain, especially given how many people continue to suffer the symptoms long after they get through their acute illness. If you’re someone who has been dealing with COVID symptoms for the long haul, focus on what you can control like your diet, exercise, and lifestyle.
Struggling with brain fog?
Take our quiz to build a bespoke testing plan that will help you break through your brain fog.
