If you’ve ever had to measure something three times in a row because you keep forgetting the number as soon as the tape is back on your belt, you know the aggravating feeling of brain fog. Learning to fix a slow, fuzzy brain is helpful for anyone, but being focused and alert is especially important when working in the trades. Stress, poor diet, and environmental toxicity are contributors to brain fog, but getting enough sleep, eating well, and being mindful are simple ways to beat it.

What is brain fog?

Brain fog isn’t a diagnosis or a specific medical condition; it’s a term that describes several different symptoms like confusion, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, and feeling cognitively slow. The name is apt—brain fog can feel like your mind is literally foggy or fuzzy.  

Your mind and your body are intricately connected. Staying healthy involves caring for your physical health by working out, eating well, and keeping your mind sharp as you age. When working in the trades, mental acuity becomes more critical than ever. Messing up something on a spreadsheet is easily fixed, but small slipups can be fatal when working with heavy machinery, live wires, deep trenches, and tall ladders. 

Symptoms of brain fog include:

• Trouble focusing 
• Tiredness or fatigue
• Anomic aphasia (difficulty finding the right words)
• Forgetfulness
• Slow, sluggish mental processes
• Losing your train of thought.
• Feeling mentally slower than usual

Common causes of brain fog 

If you’re nursing a hangover or recovering from a rough night of sleep, it’s easy to pinpoint why you’re feeling confused and sluggish. Other times, however, brain fog seems to come out of nowhere. Here are a few common causes of brain fog.

Stress

Stress can be debilitating for the brain, inhibiting memory, cognition, and learning. Poor memory, slow cognition, and trouble focusing and retaining information are hallmark brain fog symptoms. Keeping your stress low can reduce the likelihood of struggling to concentrate at work and making costly mistakes. 

Try deep breathing, meditating, or reducing your caffeine intake to reduce stress.

Digitization

We’ve become so accustomed to having the entire online universe in our pockets that we forget how overwhelming it can be to our brains. Research has shown that technology like smartphones, video games, and social media apps like TikTok and Instagram can contribute to trouble focusing and paying attention and even the development of ADHD due to “repetitive attentional shifts and multitasking, which can impair executive functioning.”     

When you’re used to short, intense bursts of attention, it can be hard to maintain sustained focus on a task, leading to a fuzzy, unfocused brain. To address the effects of digitization, try to designate a few screen-free hours each day, especially right before bed.

Environmental toxicity

If you’re working on an outdoor job site, you know that being outside doesn’t necessarily mean breathing fresh air. Especially in urban environments, exposure to polluted air is known to cause cognitive impairment. Exposure to cigarette smoke, mold, and heavy metals like lead and mercury can also impact cognitive functions. All of these can be found on construction sites, especially when restoring or demolishing older buildings. 

To reduce the risk of environmental toxicity and its effect on the brain, wear PPE when you work with toxic materials or in environments where they may be present. 

Poor diet

You might not think that a simple fast-food lunch combo could impact how your brain works, but research shows that your diet can significantly affect how alert and focused you feel. If you have chronic brain fog and aren’t eating a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, complete proteins, and healthy fats, you may be deficient in essential vitamins and minerals. 

Vitamin C, D, B12, magnesium, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, and choline deficiency can all contribute to brain fog. However, before running out to buy supplements, look at your diet. Meeting your nutritional needs through whole foods is almost always preferable to getting them from supplements.

Hormonal fluctuations

Several different kinds of hormone changes can contribute to brain fog, including menopause and thyroid dysfunction. 

Menopause: Research has shown that 60% of women going through menopause and perimenopause experience changes to their memory, while 42-44% report feeling more forgetful. 

Thyroid hormones: Both men and women experiencing issues with thyroid health report that it affects their cognition. Individuals with hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) often encounter problems with concentration and memory, while those with hyperthyroidism (high thyroid function) report slow reaction times, poor spatial awareness, and memory lapses.

If you have tackled other possible causes of brain fog and your brain feeling persistently murky, talk to your doctor about checking your thyroid levels. 

5 hacks to beat brain fog and boost mental clarity

1. Assess your diet

We discussed how vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause brain fog, but there are other factors to look at in your diet to create mental alertness. Research has linked the following foods to various brain benefits, including slowed cognitive decline, reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and increased mental function.

• Leafy green vegetables like lettuce, kale, and collard greens
• Fatty fish like salmon or tuna
• Berries, including blueberries and strawberries
• Tea and coffee
• Walnuts

If you’ve ever felt sleepy after a big meal, you’ll understand that a healthy lunch can help you stay alert and focused much better than a heavy, greasy one. Eating a light, balanced meal filled with fiber, whole grains, and lean protein will keep your concentration up right to the end of your shift. 

2. Get enough sleep

You perform much better after a good night’s sleep, so try the following tips to make the most of your time between the sheets.

• Reduce or avoid screentime for at least one hour before bedtime, preferably three if possible.
• Lower your bedroom temperature—you get better sleep in a colder room. 
• Use curtains or blackout blinds, especially if you’re doing night shifts or sleeping during the daytime.
• Don’t drink caffeinated beverages like coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks past noon to allow caffeine time to exit your system before hitting the hay.

3. Be mindful

Regular meditation and mindfulness practice can help improve your sleep. Meditation can reduce insomnia and enhance sleep quality. Some studies have even found that meditation can improve sleep as much as a prescription sleeping pill—without the cost and potential side effects. 

4. Do activities that challenge your brain

A steady schedule of going to work, coming home, watching TV, and scrolling through your phone isn’t very stimulating. If you work out, you know you need to use heavier weights to progress toward your fitness goals. Similarly, you must challenge your brain to keep it fit, healthy, and performing at its best.   

Try reading, learning a new skill or language, doing crossword or Sudoku puzzles, dancing, or even just using your non-dominant hand for everyday things like brushing your teeth. 

5. Try herbal supplements

Certain herbal supplements have gained popularity because they are believed to support cognitive function and may help reduce brain fog. 

• Lion’s Mane mushroom can stimulate the growth of brain cells and increase the cognitive test scores of patients with Alzheimer’s.   
• Gingko biloba has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years and is thought to improve blood flow to the brain and aid in memory function in individuals with Alzheimer’s. Although some studies have shown that ginkgo biloba can help memory and cognition in young, healthy individuals, more research is needed to establish a clear link.
• L-theanine is an amino acid naturally found in green and black tea and some varieties of mushrooms. Research shows that taking L-theanine supplements may improve reaction time, memory, cognitive health, and sleep. 

Bottom line

Shaking the fog and returning to your sharp, clear-headed self may be as easy as getting a good night’s sleep and eating a lighter lunch, or it might require a more long-term approach involving meditation, digital detox, and supplements. Whatever it takes, the effort is worth it. 

Identifying the cause of your brain fog and taking steps to feel focused, alert, and motivated can mean more than a productive day without forgetting things—it could also help keep you (and your crew) safe on the job site.