As brain fog is common after COVID-19 infections, getting the COVID-19 vaccine is beneficial to reduce your risk. You should not ignore your symptoms because, if left untreated, brain fog can impact the quality of your life. Brain fog is a type of cognitive dysfunction characterized by confusion, memory issues, and lack of focus. It’s not its own diagnosis but a symptom of an underlying medical condition. Recovering alcoholics experience substantial and variedthinking deficits at 2 weeks into recovery. In the short term, a head injury can cause confusion and disorientation.
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The precise symptoms of alcohol-related brain damage depend on a person’s overall health, how much they drink, and how well their liver functions, among other factors. Alcohol is both a stimulant and a depressant, which significantly impairs cognitive functioning. Once the levels of alcohol in your body decrease, withdrawing from the substance can cause fatigue, headache, vertigo, hangxiety, and other symptoms of brain fog. Lack of nutrients affects not just our physical body, but our cognitive abilities as well, such as our ability to process information and solve problems.
- The effects of alcohol on the brain vary depending on the dose and on individual factors, such as overall health.
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- This change can affect memory and cause short-term cognitive impairment.
- Alcohol is a risk factor for traumatic brain injuries (TBI) due to falls, car accidents, fights, and other blows to the head.
- Additionally, excess alcohol is defined as drinking more than 8 drinks a week (women) and 15 a week (men), or consuming alcohol if you are pregnant or younger than age 21.
- Your brain fog may also be another side effect of the symptoms that accompany withdrawal.
Higher Risk of Addiction
A recently released study by the RAND research group revealed the many ways that sleep deprivation negatively affects brain function. If you are experiencing brain fog there is a good chance your diet is the cause of your brain fog. As I said earlier, fast foods, refined carbohydrates, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, and alcohol have all been linked to brain fog. I recommend following an autoimmune diet, or AIP diet, to eliminate toxic and inflammatory foods and replace them with foods rich in essential nutrients, including vitamin B12. The yeast then coats the lining of your intestinal tract and suppresses your ability to make or secrete serotonin.
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The fortunate takeaway for recovering addicts is that there are simple ways to feed and train your brain in order to regain mental clarity that is equal or close to where it was before addiction. Please see a physician before making any medical or lifestyle changes. If you think you have a vitamin B12 deficiency, your doctor can order a blood test or you alcohol brain fog can test B12 levels in the privacy of your home through a service such as My Labs For Life. Menopause is reached when you go 12 months without a menstrual period. In one study13, women in the first year after their final menstrual cycle, or after menopause, showed higher decreases in attention, verbal learning, and verbal memory than in perimenopause.
Author: Find Recovery Editorial Team
Symptoms of that inflammation include feelings of anxiety, panic, and brain fog. Julio served as a Medic in the United States Airforce before transitioning to registered nursing and now serves as a Family Nurse Practitioner. With nearly 20 years of clinical experience, he has provided care to patients of all ages with acute and chronic health conditions.
If seniors find their mental fog persists despite these steps, it may be time to consult with a medical professional. Support groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, offer a social support system and can be helpful in providing a sense of community. It disrupts our bodies’ natural production of growth hormones, leaving us depressed and making it more difficult to get over past traumas, like those experienced while drinking alcohol. The result can be even more devastating towards the impact on a recovering individual. Alcohol abuse also leads to a poor diet which can also contribute to brain fog symptoms. If you notice brain fog while taking medication, talk with your doctor.
