Recently, the term brain fog has become established like a chronic ailment among modern people. Medically, rather than a specific disease, it is understood as a collection of various symptoms encompassing cognitive decline. It shares a surprising number of similarities with the concept of consumptive disease in Korean medicine. In most cases, the causes of brain fog are not just one or two, but arise from intertwined complex factors such as chronic stress, inflammation, an imbalance in gut health, and mitochondrial dysfunction. When our body suffers from chronic stress, the brain's hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis becomes hyperactivated, excessively secreting cortisol. Over the long term, this cortisol impairs the function of the brain's hippocampus, which is responsible for memory, and induces neuroinflammation. In addition, an unbalanced diet or leaky gut syndrome can cause abnormalities in the gut microbiota, allowing pro-inflammatory cytokines to reach the brain via the gut-brain axis. These inflammatory substances disrupt the balance of neurotransmitters and hinder the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which aids the growth and regeneration of cerebral neurons, leading to cognitive decline. When the function of mitochondria, the energy factories of the brain, declines, neurons cannot obtain sufficient energy, slowing information processing speed and diminishing concentration and thinking ability. This is also a phenomenon commonly seen in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome or long COVID sequelae. Besides these, multiple causes such as sleep deprivation, nutritional imbalance, especially vitamin B complex, omega-3, and iron deficiency, hypothyroidism, and autoimmune diseases act together to cloud the brain. When synaptic connectivity among cerebral neurons weakens and the efficiency of neural networks drops, one enters a vicious cycle where information processing slows down and the ability to learn and remember new information declines. Brain fog is a strong signal sent by our body saying to rest and recover balance, so a fundamental solution that cares for the whole body and mind is necessary.
