What is Brain Fog? 

Brain fog is often described as the inability to focus or think clearly with the sensation of feeling hazy or lacking mental sharpness. There are a number of different causes and severities of brain fog that vary patient to patient. Brain fog is a common, but misunderstood condition that leaves most people unsure of how it can be treated. We hope this blog can shine some light on the condition and offer some helpful information. 

Symptoms of Brain Fog?

Symptoms of brain fog include inability to focus, the feeling of having a 'hazy' thought process, mental lag as well as confusion and forgetfulness. We often use the example of reading a book, where your eyes are following the lines and words of the page, but you don't comprehend or retain what you have read.  The severity of symptoms varies greatly from patient to patient, but these are the general explanations that people have when explaining brain fog.

What are the Causes of Brain Fog?

Common causes of brain fog are, but not limited to:

1. Lack of sleep
2. Hydration level/Dehydration
3. Improper Diet
4. Stress/Depression
5. Overworking/Exhaustion
6. Medication and illness
7. Decrease in cerebrospinal fluid and blood flow to the brain

All of these possibilities must be addressed when treating brain fog. To get an accurate cause of brain fog to determine the most beneficial and effective treatment for the patient, the doctor will take a detailed history and exam. A common cause of brain fog we commonly see at Gallatin Valley Chiropractic is cervical spine (neck) misalignment and immobility resulting in secondary brain fog.

People have recently described brain fog as being a common symptom when sick with a number of illnesses. Brain fog stemming from an illness can be prevalent days and even weeks after recovery. This is often times due to the patient being more sedentary during recovery, resulting in a lack of motion in the cervical spine vertebrae and joints.  This can create unhealthy stress on the spinal cord and surrounding cervical spine nerves.

How Do I Treat Brain Fog?

Treatment  for brain fog depends largely on the underlying cause.  Listed are some recommendations for some of the most common causes of brain fog.

1. Dehydration- Drink 1/2 of your body weight in ounces per day, meaning if you weigh 200 pounds your water intake should be approximately 100 ounces of water per day (3/4 of a gallon). 

2. Get the proper amount of sleep- Recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night.  

3. Exercise- Exercising at least 30 minutes per day of cardio can have significant positive effects on your body's emotional stress, mood levels, sleeping habits, help prevent illness, and help with brain fog!

4. Chiropractic Care- If there is misalignment or immobility in an area (typically the cervical spine), it can put pressure on the vasculature and cerebral spinal fluid, impeding the flow to the brain, thus resulting in brain fog. Patients have repeatedly seen amazing improvements in brain fog symptoms following chiropractic care. 

The Cervical Spine and Brain Fog

The cervical spine is made up of seven vertebrae, with the top two vertebrae, the atlas and axis being of great importance in brain fog. These two vertebrae are so important because they control the majority of neck movement, and they also are the last obstacle to cross for blood flow and spinal fluid to get to the brain from the body.

These top two vertebrae can often times become misaligned and lose mobility. This can be due to a number of factors, including sleeping posture, wear and tear from aging, postural patterns or muscular imbalance. This is an important concept because the vasculature and cerebral spinal fluid travel that supply the brain are in very close proximity to these vertebrae. As discussed earlier, If there is misalignment and immobility in that area, it can put pressure on the vasculature and cerebral spinal fluid, and impede flow to the brain, thus resulting in brain fog.

Are Chiropractors Trained in Treating Brain Fog?

Chiropractors are trained in palpating and treating areas of spinal restriction, potentially causing brain fog.  As well as ruling out other potential causers such as exercise, sleep or diet. Getting adjusted is one of best things that you can do to treat these spinal restriction and misalignments (subluxations).  If getting your neck adjusted is something that you aren't particularly fond of, there are alternative options to treating the cervical spine such as performing muscle work to lengthen the soft tissue promoting better vertebral movement, or dry needling to disrupt the tension and pressure in the effected tissues also helping cervical mobility.

Our patients at Gallatin Valley Chiropractic have again and again seen drastic improvements in brain fog following chiropractic treatment. Give us a call today to meet with one of our amazing doctors if you have been dealing with any form of brain fog.

406-551-2177

Schedule online at

Gallatinvalleychiropractic.com