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Ok. So, wait. What was I going to blog about today?
Oh yea, BRAIN FOG.
According to Wikipedia: Clouding of consciousness, also known as brain fog or mental fog, is a term used in conventional medicine denoting an abnormality in the “regulation” of the “overall level” of consciousness that is mild and less severe than a delirium.
Less severe than a delirium?
Delirium: an acutely disturbed state of mind that occurs in fever, intoxication, and other disorders and is characterized by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence of thought and speech.
Hmmm… that’s a tough one. Be it fog or delirium, the point is:
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The thing is, my brain is not working.
My whole family can attest to this. Particularly my daughter who is the biggest defender of, ‘there is something wrong with mom’s brain’ statement. And she never forgets to remind me that there is indeed something wrong with my brain, even though I keep forgetting that there is something wrong with my brain until she reminds me (I’m exhausted).
Now, where was I?
I am becoming increasingly concerned about this. I know that my RA & Fibromyalgia contribute to some of this fogginess. Ever heard of Fibro Fog? This fog in Fibromyalgia patients can be caused by overexertion, fatigue, over stimulation, multi tasking and stress.
Picture yourself during a time when you were immensely exhausted. We are talking, you could barely keep your head up – exhausted. Then, think about having to find the energy to open up your mouth to speak and actually be coherent. You probably wouldn’t make much sense nor have full control of what you want to say.
Well, that’s me often. Too often.
Word recall is becoming a big issue. I want to say something but the word will not come to me. My brickhouse brain searches and scans and, NADA. I get the, No word detected message. Where the hell did these words go?
Other times, I am thinking of what I want to say but when I say it, something different comes out! WTH? Like when I told my daughter as we were being tail-gated by a car the other day, that I hated being SWALLOWED by cars. I swear my plan was to say FOLLOWED but why the heck did SWALLOW come out instead?
Being in a permanent state of Zombieness, is another problem I have. It’s like I’m floating around going through the motions but not fully there ( Ay, I’m scaring myself as I write this.) What was I just talking about? Oh yes, like yesterday when I had to beg the postman at the post office to come out of his comfy back room to open the outside mailbox because I had put a package I had just received in the slot, instead of the package I had to be mailed. It was embarrassing, I’m never going back there.
I had many more examples of my declining cognitive state to share with you but I can’t remember what they were.
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I know my fatigue has a lot to do with this but besides rest, what can I do to re-charge and maintain the brickhouse brain I was blessed with? Do you have brain fog? Dementia? Delirium? Can you even remember well enough to answer these questions?
Although most of us have heard this information before, I decided to remind refresh my memory and do a little more research on how I can power up my rapidly shrinking brain. I turned to some of my trusted resources such as, Mayo Clinic and The National Enquirer, for some answers:
1. EXERCISE – blah, blah, blah yea, yea, I know, I know. When my joints allow, I do try to walk. I get the mail every day, does that count? The key here is circulation. We need to make sure blood is flowing to our brain. If your hands and feet are always cold, like mine (which my husband will attest to after being assaulted nightly by my frozen toes), it may indicate that you do not have good circulation flowing to your brain as well as your extremities. Exercise makes neurons! Ok, I guess I’ll get my neighbor’s mail as well.
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2. LIQUIDS – Now we’re talking. Did you know (or remember) that the brain is composed of 80% water and requires at least 84 ounces of water everyday? Brain tissue actually shrinks when a person is dehydrated! (Excuse me for a minute while I go dive right into our closest reservoir.) Ok, I’m back. If you do not like to drink water which many people don’t (I don’t get that), GREEN TEA has been found to improve concentration. And last but NOT least, the antioxidants in WINE & CHAMPAGNE may block proteins that destroy brain plaque. Salud!
3. FOODS – WALNUTS , DARK CHOCOLATE, AVOCADOS & BEETS are some of the foods that help promote blood flow and more oxygen to the brain for better concentration! Omega 3 fatty acids are also our friends. DHAs that are in SALMON, SARDINES, TUNA, PUMPKIN SEEDS are some of the fatty acids that help with nervous system development and function, mental functioning and behavioral and mood disorders. Sign me up! EGGS are rich in B vitamins which helps with memory and concentration. Then there are the Brainberries like, BLUEBERRIES & STRAWBERRIES that have antioxidants that help protect the brain from cognitive decline. The antioxidants in leafy greens like KALE & SPINACH can also help protect the brain.
***** Please consult your doctor before following this brickhouse diet.*****
4. BRAIN REHAB & EXERCISES – Doctors suggest we do the things we are bad at, otherwise that part of the brain that is not being used will not regenerate. If you are bad at math, do math. Bad with balance, do balance exercises, etc. As we get older we get into routines, but routine is NOT our friend. The brain loves variety, it likes to be tricked and challenged. There is a great site I found called, sharpbrains.com with an orgy of everything brain, including exercises to do online. I also went into Lumonosity.com which offers some free games and paid monthly subscriptions. CNN also has an online game site called games.cnn.com that I tried and enjoyed.
So, if you will excuse me, I’m off to chow down on a sardine and avocado pizza, washed down with a champagne/blueberry martini and topped off with a dark chocolate walnut mousse. I will then do some multiplication (Yikes) and then take a 6 hour nap. When I wake, I will collect ALL of my neighbors’ mail for them. That’s a start, right?
What was your name again?
Was talking to mi padre today about this- know that you have inspired. Or virtually commiserated. Pues puede escoger cualquier te gustes. (Did I say that right? Getting subjunctive tense right is the worst)
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Glad I inspired a conversation between you and your padre. I guess I’m not alone in the land of fog. Very close in your Spanish sentence. Puedes escoger cual te guste. Muy bien. 🙂
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Gracias. Me alegre de cada ayuda a mejorarme. Claro, practica hace el maestro.
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Pinche brain fog.
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Si!!
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I notice as I am getting older the fog kicks in a bit more often. Maybe its the start of zombie traits as we age. I need much more morning coffee nowadays to break the fog!
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Yes, mine gets thicker and thicker with time. I tried blowdrying it out like the picture I found, but it didn’t blow out the other ear. I think my fog is clogged. AY!
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Ay ay ay, damn the fog! I’m feeling quite foggy right now… =/
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I thing we are all “gone with the fog”, never mind the wind!
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I’m so exhausted at the moment……I’m afraid to comment. What am I doing here?? Oh, yes. I know what you mean. A bunch of exercise DOES NOT help with brain fog. It causes brain fog. 🙂
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Uh, oh! There goes that theory! See, that’s why I don’t exercise except to go to the mail box. Who wants blisters AND brain fog?
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Gah! Hope the brain stretching works. I should try that too. I don’t even have a condition to hold responsible for my mental decay…
Oh, you can call me Ishmael.
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Thank you Ishmael, nice to meet you. Did you say you have fecal decay? That’s what I heard anyway. I am also going deaf.
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Lolololol! I seriously think it happens between a certain group of numbers on the age clock. But who the heck is counting anyway. Seriously, I say things and don’t even know I am replacing logical words with dumb ass ones until of course my 15 year old says something like “good one mom, that was class.” Huh? What did I say? Are you sure you heard me right? Um duh…of course I heard you mom because you never stop talking and your voice is loud enough to almost drown out Gossip Girls. And, you’ve read about me looking for my phone while I’m talking on it and getting lost on one straight road that I drive every single day. Would you like to go for long walks while we drink champagne from whats that called, our sippy cups? Oh yeah, where do you live anyway. 😬
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Ha,ha! That is such my life! Why is it that the daughters are the ones who don’t miss a beat and can’t wait to tell us what losers we are?? I have also frantically looked for my phone while on it. A long walk with zippy cups filled with champagne sounds fabulous! Do you travel to MA? 🙂
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I wish. Bet if I ever do but I’ll be stopping by 😉
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I hear you, Maria, some days my brain is in a complete fog. I do most of the things on your list, which is why it concerns me that I still have those days. I’ll have to check out sharpbrains.com, that sounds like a good site. My mother was recently diagnosed with Dementia, so this might be good for her as well. Try and remember, I’ll be mentioning you on my blog next week…you said it was okay, in case you don’t remember. xo
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Oh, so sorry about your mom. 😦 It’s a scary thing! I am hoping some of these things help me though the lack of quality sleep contributes to the constant fatigue. All we can do is try! I just typed this with my left hand! Woot,woot! 🙂 It’s the little things…. And yes, miraculously, I did remember about your post next week. 🙂
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Thanks, Maria. It is very scary and sad. Well, you did an excellent job typing with your left hand…no typos! Have a great weekend!
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I am going to eat salmon for lunch and a handful of walnuts and chocolate chips this afternoon. Okay. Their not dark chocolate, but it’s in there somewhere!
I was exhausted yesterday. Between only getting 4 hours sleep and the stress of Courtney’s surgery, I could barely function. Red Bull works pretty well for focusing, but I can’t stand the taste. I drink green tea in the afternoons. There’s a company called Vemma. They have liquid vitamins and a canned product called Verve. I used to buy a case a month and could get a TON done and was super focused and then would CRASH big time. It has taurine in it like Red Bull.
There’s always the cold shower method…. I have my days!
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I just had a tuna, tomato and avocado melt. MMMMmmmm! It was yummy! The chips were not on the good list but I couldn’t resist. 🙂 That CRASH after caffeine is horrible! I hope you get some sleep tonight.
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Yum! Me too!
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My name is Mer, and I am allergic to walnuts. I think, I can’t remember.
Great post.
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Ha,ha! Yea, stay away from those then! How is your fog?
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It’s been pretty bad lately…I mess up my words constantly and my daughter has to point it out. Every. Friggin’. Time.
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Hi sweetness! I’ve been suffering from brain fog ever since I quit the medication I was taking. It’s part of the withdrawal. And it sucks. Meanwhile, I’m grateful to be feeling well enough to write. So good to see you’re still kickin’ it! xo
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Huh?
Oh, yeah….is there such thing as an avacado martini? A guaca-tini?
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I don’t know if there is but I’m ON it! A guacatini sounds fabulous…kinda…
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