Meditation For Brain Fog: Expert Advice You Need Know

By Paul Harrison for The Daily Meditation.

There are many powerful meditations for brain fog that can help you to organize your thoughts and to think more clearly.

Brain fog is a cognitive impairment leading to confusion, confusion, memory problems, and a general tired feeling,” says Dr. Rashmi Byakod, health and wellness writer and the editor of Best for Nutrition. It is believed that poor night sleep
is the major cause of brain fog. Sometimes dehydration and stress also cause brain fog.

Cognitive impairment is experienced in chronic fatigue, particularly in working memory, processing the information, attention, and reaction time. Deficiencies in these cognitive areas occurring on a day-to-day basis are called “brain fog.” Studies say brain fog is caused by stressful stimuli such as a challenging mental task, exercise, and orthostatic stress.

One practice that can help with brain fog is meditation.

Meditation is a Buddhist practice that is now used in therapy. Similar to mindfulness, it involves focusing the mind on the present moment. There are any different types of meditation, such as Anapansati (mindful breathing), Vipassana, and guided meditations, that can help with brain fog.

Diane Malaspina, PhD and Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist, says, “Meditation practice is effective at reducing stress hormones, which has a larger impact on the entire nervous system. Consistent and regular meditation can lower stress hormones which can improve many of the symptoms of brain fog, like the ability to focus and concentrate and improved sleep. When the endocrine system is balanced, symptoms related to hormonal transitions (pregnancy and menopause) may be less severe. Meditation also works to activate areas of the brain related to executive functioning, setting the stage for improved thinking and memory.”

As a meditation teacher who meditates every day, I usually have excellent clarity and can focus my mind. But you know what it is like. Sometimes life gets on top of us, we get stressed, and among the noise and business of life, we get lost and confused. It happens to us all at one time or another.

The good news is that we can use meditation for brain fog to help us to think more clearly.

The Benefits Of Meditation For Brain Fog

Meditation is a natural remedy for brain fog, according to Kelly Page, Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach and Meditation Teacher and owner of TastingPage.com.

“Brain fog occurs when you can’t see or think clearly,” says Kelly. “You might be juggling too many things and having a hard time focusing. Meditation is the perfect antidote because it helps you tap into what’s most important to you. Meditation allows you to sit quietly and connect with your breath and yourself.

“When you’re connected to yourself and not chasing every distraction, you can react from a more conscious place. It also allows you to have better focus on what truly needs your attention and what isn’t as important.”

Science suggests it works, too.

Research by neuroscientist Giuseppe Pagnoni revealed that meditation improves mental clarity and cognitive performance.

The common causes of brain fog are stress, anxiety, depression, new medications, and simply having so much going on that the mind becomes too full of information, making it impossible to see things clearly.

Meditation helps with all these causes of brain fog. So no matter the reason why you have brain fog, meditation will help.

Let me show you how I am personally using meditation for brain fog today and how you can do the same. And you might also like to read my article about using meditation for focus and concentration.

How I’m Personally Using Meditation For Brain Fog Today

I have a lot of stress going on in my life right now for personal reasons related to my health. So I am spending even more time meditating than usual.

The best meditations for brain fog and clarity are the simple ones, such as mindful breathing, guided meditations, and basic mindful movements. This makes sense when you think about it. When we get brain fog, often it is because we have a lot of complicated situations going on in our lives. We have stress and pressure, which creates too many thoughts.

The solution to complexity, of course, is simplicity. By focusing the mind on something simple, namely the breath, we give the mind an opportunity to clear and regain focus.

Three of the main causes of brain fog are stress, anxiety and depression. These conditions inhibit our ability to think clearly. When the mind becomes flooded with negative thoughts it becomes impossible to see clearly.

The way back to clarity is to reduce those negative thoughts and clear the mind.

Meditation is the very best thing for this. By meditating, we quieten the mind and clear away negative thoughts. There are various meditations that can help with this.

Some of the best meditations for brain fog are:

• Anapanasati (mindful breathing)
• Vipassana (labeling thoughts and feelings)
• Mindful stretching
• Samatha (focusing on one object, such as a candle or music)
• Mantras (reciting simple sounds and meditating on them).

How To Practice Meditation With Brain Fog

Malaspina recommends using focusing-attention meditations for brain fog.

“One pointed focus techniques can be really helpful for brain fog due to the inability to focus. Choosing a word or phrase to repeat internally, with the eyes closed, is a focus technique that is easy to do and can be done for as little as 3 minutes per day in order to achieve positive results. Sitting quietly and comfortably, close the eyes and silently repeat a phrase that is calming and soothing to you. I like to use “I am peace.” or “I am whole.” Set the timer and if your mind wanders, return your attention to repeating the chosen phrase. If you’d prefer to keep the eyes open, you can softly stare at an object for a period of time. I like to use a candle or watch an hour-glass empty from one end to fill the next. Do your best to avoid moving the eyes off of the chosen object. This can also be done for 3 minutes daily to bring about the positive effects of focus and meditation.”

One of the slight problems when using meditation for brain fog is that it can be hard to focus enough to get into the meditation practice. If you try to sit to meditate, but you find that your mind simply will not focus, I have a few recommendations for you:

• For starters, limit yourself to the straightforward meditation techniques, such as basic mindfulness meditation.
• Another alternative is not even to meditate but just surround yourself with relaxing things. For instance, go for a walk in the forest, sit by the lake, or spend time in any other place that is quiet and relaxing. Natural environments calm your mind without you even needing to meditate. This is especially good if your home is too busy and noisy.
• Meditation is literally like cleaning the windscreen on your car. When there’s too much dirt and too many smudges on your windscreen you can’t see what’s in front of you. Same with the mind. When you have too many thoughts and feelings, you can’t see straight. So you need to clear your mind.
• In my experience as a meditation teacher, some of the best meditations for clarity are auditory meditations. For instance, just try listening to some meditation music. This will relax your mind and restore clarity.

With These Meditations, Brain Fog Will Vanish

Meditation is the very best solution for brain fog. When we meditate, we calm the mind, and we slow down the perpetual cycle of thoughts that can make it difficult to see straight. We also reduce the symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression, which are three of the most common causes of brain fog and lack of clarity.

I personally like to spend 20 minutes meditating in the morning, so my mind is clear for the rest of the day.