Studying Through Brain Fog

[Alpha]

I am not a Doctor (and I don't even play one on TV) but when someone says that they have brain fog and it improves a bit after eating, then I begin to think about diabetes as a cause.  It's easy enough to check and if it goes undiagnosed there are serious potential consequences.  See your MD.

[Jennr2z]

Coffee or green tea (caffeine) and L-theanine

[Stacie]

I am not a Doctor (and I don't even play one on TV) but when someone says that they have brain fog and it improves a bit after eating, then I begin to think about diabetes as a cause.  It's easy enough to check and if it goes undiagnosed there are serious potential consequences.  See your MD.

I think it improved partially because I had two bowls, which was the most I'd eaten that day. 

Diabetes? Doesn't run in my family, and my diet's decent enough to rule out type 2. What makes you think that?

[rachel83az]

Yeah, if you're not eating, you're not going to feel good...

[Stacie]

Coffee or green tea (caffeine) and L-theanine

Green tea, huh? I might have to look into that. ?

[bluebooger]

> On that note, what are you guys' preferred snacks that aren't high in sodium/carbs?

I always have a few bags of frozen blueberries

https://www.amazon.com/Dole-Blueberries-...00AL5OMZS/

https://www.amazon.com/Wymans-Wild-Blueb...00NZC8JQW/

and frozen strawberries
https://www.wymans.com/products/strawberries

put a handful of blueberries and 3 or 4 strawberries in a bowl
microwave for 12 seconds (so they aren't hard as ice cubes, but are just barely starting to thaw)
then sit there with the bowl and spoon and shove 'em in my mouth
delicious, sweet, cold and actually feels like they calm my stomach
sometimes I'll skip the strawberries and double up on the blueberries

also buy these in packs of 12
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0143NQVQ6
bought them a lot over the winter
come home from work and wanted to grab something quick
or maybe use them for dessert after dinner
or a quick breakfast on the weekend
salty, chocolatey but very dry and chewy - but I don't mind - I actually like 'em

but now that its summer I'm eating
https://www.icecream.com/us/en/brands/ha...-ice-cream
it really helps with the heat

I alternate between that and the blueberries/strawberries

[Stacie]

Yeah, if you're not eating, you're not going to feel good...

I laughed at this harder than I should have. 
I do eat, but I might need to work on eating more.

---

> On that note, what are you guys' preferred snacks that aren't high in sodium/carbs?

I always have a few bags of frozen blueberries

https://www.amazon.com/Dole-Blueberries-...00AL5OMZS/

https://www.amazon.com/Wymans-Wild-Blueb...00NZC8JQW/

and frozen strawberries      
https://www.wymans.com/products/strawberries

put a handful of blueberries and 3 or 4 strawberries in a bowl          
microwave for 12 seconds (so they aren't hard as ice cubes, but are just barely starting to thaw)
then sit there with the bowl and spoon and shove 'em in my mouth          
delicious, sweet, cold and actually feels like they calm my stomach          
sometimes I'll skip the strawberries and double up on the blueberries

also buy these in packs of 12              
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0143NQVQ6
bought them a lot over the winter        
come home from work and wanted to grab something quick                
or maybe use them for dessert after dinner
or a quick breakfast on the weekend
salty, chocolatey but very dry and chewy - but I don't mind - I actually like 'em

but now that its summer I'm eating
https://www.icecream.com/us/en/brands/ha...-ice-cream
it really helps with the heat

I alternate between that and the blueberries/strawberries

Holy shoot, I forgot about those bars! I've seen them, but never considered them. I'll have to pick some up the next time I head out.
Thanks for the ideas!

[uncapentin]

Update: ate something hearty (pasta) and am finally noticing a difference. It's not as severe as before, but I actually feel like I could absorb some information.

On that note, what are you guys' preferred snacks that aren't high in sodium/carbs?

I have found Emergen-C from the drug store helps me a lot on days of fatigue. Costco has there own version which works the same way. Don't drink a ton of coffee, that can cause a crash, the same with anything caffeinated. Less sugar is good. Things with protein or fats help with fatigue. I feel your pain....it can be a real struggle. PS: In a pinch, pork rinds are satisfying for their protein and crunch factor.)

[bjcheung77]

Yeah, I take the Emergen-C as well...generally the orange flavor as the grape version isn't as tasty. I would recommend anything like a fruit drink each day would be good, if you can make yourself a smoothy or something since the weather is hot. Add some ice or something if you need it to be cooler... I would skip the alcohol or coffee in favor for an iced tea if you need to be more alert.

[SweetSecret]

I totally deal with this issue. It was a problem before, but now I have had covid twice. Research came out showing rosemary can help. I think just the smell of it is all that is needed. I plan to get a rosemary plant to put on my desk.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7491497/

I also use Read Aloud. I like to visually see, but I have times where for various reasons I cannot read, so I will use Read Aloud. I would suggest copying the text and put it into a different window to read though, otherwise it tries to include page headers and such.

I like https://www.ambient-mixer.com/ too. The sound of rain and thunder helps me to concentrate. I lived it areas where in rained a lot and found it much easier to focus.