Does water clear brain fog? (2023)

How do I get rid of brain fog fast?

Losing just 2 percent of the water in your body (mild dehydration), can impair your cognitive performance, attentiveness, short-term memory and may affect decision-making ability. These symptoms, which affect your ability to think, are often collectively described as “brain fog”, a non-medical, colloquial term.

Water helps your brain cells communicate with each other, clears out toxins and waste that impairs brain function, and carries nutrients to your brain. This all falls apart if your fluid levels drop. Staying hydrated has been linked to: Faster decision making and improved performance on cognitive tests.

Brain fog can be a symptom of a nutrient deficiency, sleep disorder, bacterial overgrowth from overconsumption of sugar, depression, or even a thyroid condition. Other common brain fog causes include eating too much and too often, inactivity, not getting enough sleep, chronic stress, and a poor diet.

Lack of sleep, a diet high in ultra-processed foods, and excessive alcohol intake have all been linked to poor memory, difficulty concentrating, depressive symptoms, and other cognitive issues that some people may describe as brain fog ( 44 , 45 , 46 ).

A deficiency in several nutrients could potentially contribute to brain fog, including vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids. Low levels of magnesium, vitamin C, and choline may also cause brain fog, but more research is needed.

If you're dehydrated, you may start to feel dizzy. This feeling can cause you to also experience lightheadedness, wooziness, fairness and unsteadiness.

Drinking water can improve one's brain health by simply increasing blood flow and oxygen to the brain – which, in turn, improves concentration and cognition (supporting memory function) and helps balance moods and emotions, reducing stress and headaches.

Does water improve memory?

As much as dehydration impacts your ability to think clearly, it can also make it very difficult to remember things. That's why it's so important to stay hydrated – it actually improves your memory! Various studies have shown that mild-to-moderate levels of dehydration can impair short-term memory.

Cerebrospinal fluid cleanses brain tissue. Based on previous research, scientists suspected that nutrients and waste were carried away through a slow process called diffusion.

Vitamin D can improve brain health, reducing symptoms of brain fog. The brain treats vitamin D as an antioxidant, leading to improved cognitive function, more melatonin production, and hormone control.

Eating foods such as fatty fish rich in omega-3, nuts, and leafy greens – as well as a hearty cup of coffee – can boost your cognitive functions. Besides that, they'll make a great meal at any time of day, so you can eat healthy and delicious food while feeling the positive mental effects.

Brain fog can feel similar to the effects of sleep deprivation or stress. It's not the same as dementia and does not mean structural damage to the brain. People usually recover from brain fog. You may get similar symptoms after other infections, a minor head injury or during the menopause.

Brain fog can last for weeks, months or longer after a person recovers from COVID-19 illness. It can linger when other symptoms have stopped.

Practicing good sleep hygiene that includes going to bed at the same time each night, turning off all electronics an hour before bedtime, lowering the bedroom temperature by a couple of degrees, and limiting caffeine consumption can ensure a full night's sleep and in turn help lift brain fog.

Commonly referred to as brain fog, slow cognition or difficulty with concentration and memory can all indicate magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is an essential nutrient for the brain, so without it the brain cannot perform as well.

Is foggy brain a symptom of low iron?

Iron deficiency anemia

Low iron intake resulting from diet and accelerated iron loss, which occurs through bleeding or breastfeeding, are the main causes of iron deficiency. The first symptoms of iron deficiency anemia tend to be neurological resulting in brain fog and fatigue.

Hydrating: in addition to a healthy diet, hydration may help reduce brain fog. Many important electrolytes such as potassium, magnesium and sodium are required to maintain proper cellular function. These minerals ensure that fluid is kept inside the cells where it is needed.

When you're dehydrated, your brain and other tissues in your body shrink (contract). As your brain shrinks, it pulls away from the skull, puts pressure on nerves and causes pain. Even mild dehydration can lead to a headache.

Rehydrating Your Body

It's recommended to drink at least 64 ounces of water every day. You can also receive the water you need from other beverages, fruits, and vegetables. Drinking coffee and tea in moderation can help contribute to hydration. Caffeine, however, can be extremely dehydrating.

"You may feel a difference within minutes of drinking water," explains Mary Stewart, R.D., L.D., the founder of Cultivate Nutrition in Dallas. "In fact, one study found that participants experienced an increase in caloric burn 24 minutes after drinking water."

Getting enough water every day is important for your health. Drinking water can prevent dehydration, a condition that can cause unclear thinking, result in mood change, cause your body to overheat, and lead to constipation and kidney stones.

When the amount of water in and around the brain is reduced, your brain is dehydrated. It was recently observed that dehydration causes shrinkage of brain tissue and an associated increase in ventricular volume. This means that with dehydration, there is less brain and more space in your head!

A 2% decrease in brain hydration can result in short term memory loss and have trouble with math computations. Prolonged dehydration causes brain cells to shrink in size and mass, a condition common in many elderly who have been dehydrated for years. Lack of mental clarity, sometimes referred to as “brain fog.”

As a conclusion, dehydration had negative effects on vigor, esteem-related affect, short-term memory, and attention. Rehydration after water supplementation alleviated fatigue and improved TMD, short-term memory, attention, and reaction.

Losing body water can lead to confusion and disorientation and signify severe dehydration.

Does sleep flush out brain toxins?

A good night's rest may literally clear the mind. Using mice, researchers showed for the first time that the space between brain cells may increase during sleep, allowing the brain to flush out toxins that build up during waking hours. These results suggest a new role for sleep in health and disease.

Each phase of the sleep cycle restores and rejuvenates the brain for optimal function. When sleep is deprived, the active process of the glymphatic system does not have time to perform that function, so toxins can build up, and the effects will become apparent in cognitive abilities, behavior, and judgment.

Surgery to remove fluid in the brain. Fluid can build up in your brain and cause the pressure inside your head to increase. This is called hydrocephalus. Shunt surgery and endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) are common treatments for hydrocephalus.

While too little vitamin D can cause brain fog, weakness, and frequent infections, taking too much in supplement form (overdosing on vitamins from food is unlikely) can cause dangerous adverse effects, including kidney failure, she explained.

B vitamins: does vitamin B12 help with brain fog? Yes! Your body needs sufficient levels of vitamin B12 for healthy nerve function, and deficiencies are linked with cognitive decline, slowed thinking and poor memory.

Brain fog isn't a medical condition; instead, it describes symptoms such as feeling confused, having fuzzy thoughts, poor concentration, and thinking more slowly than usual. People who suffer from depression may often experience brain fog symptoms, and as we saw above, vitamin D may cause memory loss and brain fog.

So, we know that drinking enough filtered water is good for your health. We know it's good for your body, improves digestion and is great for your skin, amongst other things. But did you know that it's also super important for your brain health? Yes, filtered water is good for your brain!

Yes, it may be beneficial for a quick mental boost but ultimately, caffeine does not address the root cause of your brain fog. No matter how many cups of coffee you take, you cannot force the brain to perform its best when it's in a fatigued state.

How long does brain fog last after COVID-19 is treated? The good news is that the vast majority of patients with post-COVID-19 brain fog recover completely over the course of 6 to 9 months.

What am I lacking if I have brain fog?

A deficiency in several nutrients could potentially contribute to brain fog, including vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids. Low levels of magnesium, vitamin C, and choline may also cause brain fog, but more research is needed.