A short list:

• If you can visit a doctor, do that. They might do some useful blood tests.
• As others have said, make sure your sleep is good. Make a schedule and stick to it. Don't do anything but sleep in your bed. No phones. Maybe get a sleep study if you can.
• Moderate use of some vitamins might help. It's better if you get a blood test first. But fatigue and brain fog can be a result of vitamin D deficiency, for example. But it can also be a result of other vitamin deficiencies and conditions. Maybe try a basic iron-free multivitamin and experiment with iron, D, and B12.
• Exercise regularly. It makes your body work better, including better sleep and better alertness. Even light exercise is good! Anything that moves your lymph around and helps your body recycle things and loosens up anything that's too tight.
• Eat a reasonably healthy diet. Mostly plants. Decent amounts of protein. Ideally avoiding processed foods.

I know this stuff all sounds like generic wellness 101 but it is also legit and helps with a lot of issues.

My idiot father refused to be safe during Covid and I ended up getting it 3 times even though I took all precautions. Brain fog since I was 17, 20 now.

As someone who has no healthcare, I understand going to the doctor isn't for everyone, but if you can afford it I would recommend that first and trying to figure out the cause before doing anything more strenuous like exercise. Covid can cause hypoxia in people long after symptoms abide and exercise can make that dramatically worse.

I've had really bad brain fog for two different long stretches of my life. The second time it started out because of longcovid in 2020 but then it didn't stop after other longcovid symptoms alleviated. I found out I was allergic to many types of mold that commonly grow in buildings, something like 1/5 or 1/4 people are. Apparently the first time I had really bad brain fog was because the school I was attending had terrible fucking mold and water damage everywhere

For me brainfog appears to be mostly about environmental factors, mainly mold but really dusty places will also give me brainfog. Also eating the wrong foods will do it too. I have dairy and gluten sensitivities ever since COVID so if I eat those foods it can really fuck with me cognitively

Clean air, healthy food, clear mind

Dirty air, processed food, brainfog

This has probably been mentioned somewhere but I mentioned to my physician that I was experiencing the same stuff and she told me vitamin b12 (on top of vitamin D that I was taking). She said don’t worry about the amount because you just piss out the excess. Going to bed earlier, wear a weighted eye mask helps with staying asleep. Finally, go to the dentist and check if you have mild periodontal disease. If you don’t take care of your gums what happens is bacteria will seep through them directly into your bloodstream making you perpetually tired. They will lift under your gums to clean them and it helps a ton

With both those supplements + the weighted eye mask (I also use a watch to help gamify my sleep habits) + that under gum cleaning I stopped getting gray hairs, I no longer need to nap every day (i don’t need to nap at all anymore in fact) + I have more energy. I don’t even exercise really because I’m super lazy but those have made a significant difference in my day to day. Compared to 2 years ago I feel like a completely different person from 2 simple supplements, a single visit to the dentist (floss of course going forward) and an eye mask (weighted is really important)

Sleep, less stress. Did this happen after a COVID infection? If not, do you have any other neurological symptoms? Numbness, tingling in the hands or feet? If not that either, get tested for ADHD.

blood tests and some basic supplements can help reduce the severity. for me, some days are worse than others and i have to trust in my lizard part of my brain to see me through

today is indeed one of those days, i didn't think once writing this

me too

When/how acute was the onset?

I'm currently recovering after ~9 months of unexplained, acute-onset brain fog. Some days it was so bad I was mentally unable to drive, or do basic work. I intermittently lost the sensation of physical pleasure. I too, was afraid I'd be ever stupider and die of early-onset alzheimers or something. On my worst day, I was gripped by the horrid fear I was about to lose the ability to communicate and would be infirm, brain-stupefied, in a weird locked-in way the rest of my life. Thankfully, I've started getting better for reasons still not understood - I'm not 100% recovered, but I'm like 90% there.

Anyway, the causes are numerous, many people here have laid some out. I suspect in my case that I had otherwise symptomless COVID, but I don't know. Blood tests are important - various hormone levels, Testosterone levels, long-term infections (eg lyme disease), various vitamin deficiencies, conditions like anemia (pernicious or otherwise) can all cause brain fog and are all detectable with a few blood samples. Things to watch out for - Forms of sleep apnea, intolerances to certain foods, overstress or depression can have a significant input, drug dependence. These are the biggun's, but as I learned over months, brain fog is a nebulous and poorly understood symptom.

I'm not saying don't try supplements, but be extremely wary of the promises they and their reviews make. I tried like 10 various supplements out of desperation, and none of them did a damned thing - the placebo effect might've helped though, so who knows. As others have said, multivitamins are probably a good just-in-case. In my case, I also did high-dose B12 (>1000mcg), but again, I don't think it did anything really. Getting sunshine first thing when you wake up, and getting out for a short walk every day will help, even if only a little.

While it's a total cliche, I'd definitely say that over stressing about it makes it worse. Take it one day at a time, accept this is how you are right now and that you're slowly, gently, trying stuff to see the best way to recover. I promise you that brain fog IS a reversible symptom in the vast majority of cases, but I 100% know how core-shatteringly scary it is.

You have all my sympathies, feel free to DM if you want to chat to someone who's been / is going through something similar.

There is evidence that anti-oxidants help with preventing certain types of pollution based brainfog, so make sure you're getting enough of those.

Resting and avoiding stress like others said is important. From my experience the best advice for dealing with brainfog is similar to dealing with a concussion. Any brain heavy tasks should be limited. This includes phone-use, reading, listening to audiobooks/podcasts or most games that require some strategic thinking.

The best way to rest your brain is to meditate often and to do simple and repetitive things like knitting.

Brainfog can be debilitating and depending on the severity it can significantly affect your ability to work and learn.

Are you getting enough sleep? Getting outside? Staying off the internet at least some of the time? Other mental health issues like anxiety? Physical issues? Taking drugs that might be messing up your memory? Possible post-infection syndromes like long covid?

I'd say get the obvious stuff like sleep first, then if necessary look for medical causes. If necessary look on Spezzit (blecch) for support and info communities, since Lemmy isn't there yet.

i dont really know what i do, i usually hit the bricks, go cycling, lets me reset and allows me to think with no distractions because I have to ride. and since im riding, hands and legs cant do anything else, im essentially forced into a kind of "meditation" i think

a rest from computers and information overload

I feel you. I've been living in a cloud of brain fog since I got thyroid cancer. How long has it been going on? have you had any blood tests? Could be thyroid, vitamin deficiencies or various other things.

I get like this. Adhd meds help a touch. Modafanil works better for me than the normal amphetamine based meds. Guided meditation also helps me. It's fucking hard, and I have to slam 2 shots of espresso before a session.

sleep. drink enough water (any number you hear is bs, but drink when you're thirsty). eat right, you need tons of vegetables and some protein. those three things will have a night and day effect on your cognitive abilities and mood. and yeah adhd test definitely but address the basic stuff first, i have adhd and my meds help immensely but they're not a replacement