No More Brain Fog: How You Can Achieve the Mental Clarity You Need
Achieving mental clarity is part of a wellness journey that will help you feel more focused and energetic. Find out how you can keep your mind clear and focused in this article.
Keeping your mind clear and your thoughts organized is not always easy to achieve. A person’s attention can quickly drift away even on off days. Being in a mental fog can be frustrating and stressful. It can impact your daily performance, mood, and overall balance. This is where mental clarity comes in.
Maintaining a focused and organized mental state is not easy. The first step is first to determine what causes your mental fog. Among the possible factors include stress, lack of sleep, distraction, and nutrient deficiency. If you’re suffering from any of these, there’s a huge chance you’ll find it hard to keep your mind clear and present. Continue reading to find out five ways to reduce mental fog and boost clarity.
1. Be Present
One of the reasons why people find it hard to achieve mental clarity is constantly thinking about the past or worrying about the future. If you want to be able to focus on something, stay present. Being present allows you to get rid of both psychological and physical distractions. Not only is living in the moment vital for special moments or occasions, but your daily activities can benefit from this mindset. Avoid multitasking and having negative thoughts that can hinder you from being present.
2. Set The Right Goals
First off, not all goals are suitable for your mental health. Setting goals without a specific aim can only lead to anxiety or depression since they’re harder to reach and track. And if you don’t hit the mark, a sense of failure and self-criticism are likely to happen. Setting realistic, specific, and measurable goals can guide your focus and even trigger new behaviors.
Are you planning to take graduate studies? If yes, choose the right degree and field. Let’s say you’ve decided to take a doctor of business administration program after your MBA. Which institution has the best reputation for such a terminal degree? When are you planning to apply for it? Figuring out these specific steps can assist your mind to stay focused. Aside from aligning your focus, you can cultivate self-mastery, motivation, and improved overall mental health when you set clear goals. Not to mention you improve your level of professional and personal success.
3. Get Rid Of Distractions
Speaking of physical and psychological distractions, they can prevent you from concentrating on the task at hand. No matter how comfy your office or study space is at home, it’ll be hard to focus on your work when you have a radio blaring in the background. Minimize sources of distractions in areas where you need to get some work done. If you’re taking an online class at home or doing remote work, use a room that isn’t close to your living room or any area with heavy foot traffic.
Dealing with everyday life might be more challenging than turning off a radio or television. Distractions can also come from inside sources. Some examples of internal disturbances to fight off include poor motivation, anxiety, exhaustion, and worry. Use positive thoughts and imagery to control them.
4. Play Some Music
If you need to focus more on studying or working, turn on some music. It doesn’t have to be a song with full-blown lyrics or instrumentals. White noise and sounds of nature can help increase concentration. Several studies found that music can have a positive impact on brain functions. Apart from natural sounds, classical music is a good option.
Experts recommend baroque music in particular. Not into this type of music? You can try electronic or ambient ones. It’s totally up to you to decide what to play, with or without lyrics. Just set it at a background noise level or keep it soft.
5. Reduce Sugar Intake
Sugar glucose is used as a fuel to our brains to prevent a distracted or foggy feeling. It can even give you the energy to do your daily activities. However, consuming too much of it can lead to a loss of mental clarity. You might feel okay after an hour of eating high levels of processed carbohydrates. They can produce glucose, but they can also disappear fast, leaving you with brain fog and a hazy feeling.
Avoid overindulging yourself with processed carbs such as high fructose corn syrup or refined sugar. Choose healthy alternatives for your diet like whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.
6. Try Intermittent Fasting
Lack of nutrition and cellular stress can hurt your brain and nervous system. In some cases, the brain may slow down. This may sound like bad news, but it can also be beneficial for brain health. Slowing down your brain activity can help the organ to recharge and protect it from degenerative diseases. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are associated with overactive synaptic activity. To help your brain slow down, consider intermittent fasting as part of your diet. Experts suggest though you seek your doctor’s opinion if this routine is safe for you.
Having a foggy mind will cause nothing but negative thoughts and emotions. It can even affect your motivation and self-esteem.
By following the tips in this post, you can work your way toward mental clarity and reap its benefits. You get to focus on your priorities and goals, finish daily tasks much easier, and eliminate feelings of self-doubt. That way, you get to appreciate your life more!