Natural Remedies For Brain Fog + The Most Overlooked Causes

By Marilee Nelson | 03/17/2026

Forgetting where you put your keys, why you walked into a room, and how to do simple tasks, as well as low mood and fatigue, are all symptoms of brain fog.

Although brain fog is completely normal during seasons of disrupted sleep, grief, illness, and busyness or overwhelm, it’s not normal to experience it all the time, especially if you’re young.

Yet, many adults in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s struggle with daily brain fog.

I’m here to tell you, based on my decades of experience helping people overcome chronic illness, this is not normal and is not something you “just have to live with”. Before the advent of cell phones and personal computers, this term was not even used by the general public as it is today.

Brain fog is the body’s way of telling you something is off. And the good news is, it’s typically not that hard to fix with a little detective work and the right natural remedies and lifestyle changes.

In this article, we’ll discuss the root causes of brain fog and the best natural remedies, including herbs, supplements, dietary changes, lifestyle changes, and the two missing pieces in solving the brain fog puzzle.

What Exactly Is Brain Fog?

Brain fog has become extremely common in adults of all ages.

According to research, over one-quarter of adults worldwide (28%) report experiencing fuzzy thinking, forgetfulness, and overall lack of mental snap, representing a real public health issue.[1][2][3]

Symptoms of brain fog are vast and nuanced, and may include:

Fuzzy thinking
Mental fatigue
Forgetfulness
Depression
Anxiousness
Slow responses
Communication problems
Just not feeling mentally all-there

Most of us experience brain fog at some point in life due to extreme circumstances, which is normal.

However, if it becomes persistent or pops up without an obvious cause, it’s worth investigating.

Technically, there is no formal definition of brain fog, though its symptoms and experiences are fairly common across the board.

What Causes Brain Fog?

The exact cause of brain fog is both unknown and varies from person to person. In other words, medical research still has a lot to learn.[1][2][3]

Fortunately, various integrative, functional, and natural medicine approaches have long recognized the existence and validity of brain fog, and have helped people address it for decades.

The first step is uncovering the root cause, which can vary widely from person to person.

Some More Obvious Causes Of Brain Fog Include:

Lack of sleep
Dehydration, even mild, which most people experience daily
Chronic stress
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Grief
Hormonal changes or imbalances in men and women, including puberty, pregnancy, postpartum, pre-menopause, perimenopause, and menopause
Certain medications, including birth control pills
Traumatic brain injuries (diagnosed or undiagnosed)
Alcohol consumption
Mental/emotional health issues, such as depression or anxiety
Gut health issues, such as candida overgrowth or dysbiosis
Autoimmune disease
Viral patterns, such as experiencing brain fog after the flu, COVID, or an Epstein-Barr infection
Epigenetics (genetic tendencies being expressed due to environmental factors)
Toxin exposure

Less-Discussed Causes Of Brain Fog Include:

Various dietary factors, including:
- Nutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies, common ones include a lack of vitamin B12 or iron in the diet
- Excitotoxins, such as MSG, artificial flavors, dyes, additives, or even natural flavors in foods
- Food sensitivities to things like gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol
- Gluten intolerance, I mention this twice because it’s a big one
- Excess consumption of sugar or ultra-processed foods
Dips in blood sugar, due to an imbalanced diet or an undiscovered metabolic issue
Thyroid dysfunction, which is often missed on standard tests
Mold exposure
Metabolic dysfunction
A lack of emotional support
Poor digestive function and gut health issues
Nervous system dysregulation, often due to stress or an undiagnosed infection
Body burden/toxin overload
Lack of time spent in nature/lack of groundedness
Circulatory issues
Poor quality sleep (you may be sleeping, but not sleeping well)
Excess screen time
Excess EMF exposure
Loneliness or isolation

This isn’t a full list of brain fog causes, but it does illustrate the breadth of potential causal factors behind poor cognitive function.

A Missing Piece In The Brain Fog Puzzle

In my decades of experience helping people overcome brain fog, by far, the biggest missing piece to the puzzle is exposure to common household toxins.

Particularly, fragrances, disinfectants, and pesticides found in cleaning products have all have been proven to cause cognitive issues.[4-7]

This is where I often start with clients, because removal of these toxins results in such a fast improvement with minimal effort, invasiveness, and investment.

That’s not to say other factors need not be investigated and addressed—they should be! Especially if chronic illness or other mystery symptoms are at play.

However, if you want the biggest bang for your buck, start by removing these household toxins from your home and, as much as possible, from your workplace.

Often, this simple step is all that’s needed to make a significant and lasting difference, and may even clear up or improve other symptoms. I’ve seen it time and time again!

We’ll discuss exactly how to do this in the coming sections, including more in-depth resources like our free Toss The Toxins Online Course.

8 Natural Remedies For Brain Fog + Home Detox Tips

Firstly, in this section, we’ll discuss how to remove those toxic household chemicals that can cause brain fog.

From there, we’ll explore other helpful natural remedies for brain fog, including nootropic and nervine herbs, supplements, dietary changes, and lifestyle.

Unfortunately, we could not list ALL the ways to reduce brain fog at home in one article, so we focused on seven of the most attainable and effective.

You can get more ideas by studying the list of causes and taking steps to remove them from your home and lifestyle.

1: Remove Brain-Disruptive Chemicals From Your Home

My decades-long experience helping clients heal from chemical exposure and chronic conditions has taught me that the best and fastest way to improve cognitive issues is to remove products with brain-disruptive chemicals from the home!

This immediately improves air quality and reduces the toxic burden on the body. Our free online Toss the Toxins course guides you through this process in a stress-free way.

Do this before you do anything else, and you’ll notice a quick, if not immediate, improvement in attention, memory, focus, behavior, and overall clear thinking.

Where to find them? Typically, in pesticides, cleaning products, laundry products, fragranced products, personal care products, and plastics, including:

All-purpose cleaners
Bathroom cleaners
Disinfectants
Drain cleaner
Glass cleaners
Toilet bowl cleaner
Floor cleaner
Dish soap
Dish detergent
Dusting sprays
Laundry detergent
Laundry boosters
Fabric softener
Dryer sheets
Stain removers
Odor eliminator sprays
Air fresheners
Scented candles
Skincare products
Body care products
Hair care products
Baby care products
Scented trash bags
Scented kitty litter
Soft and hard plastics in the kitchen

We suggest removing these from your home.

Our one-stop shop Premium Starter Kit can replace every harmful cleaning and laundry product in the home.

Our Concentrate, the basis of our line, is so effective it can clean an oven, and so mild you can use it as a hand and body wash, remove eye makeup, and even use it as a baby wash and shampoo.

The simple removal of these products, even if they’re sealed, automatically improves indoor air quality and eliminates brain, nervous system, and endocrine-disruptive toxins from your home. Family members report improved sleep and mood, lifting of depression, clearer thinking, improved behavior of children, headaches gone, etc.

We outline exactly how to do this step-by-step, category-by-category process in our free Toss The Toxins Online Course.

You can also find instructions and helpful swaps in the following articles:

Try Nootropic, Adaptogen, Or Nervine Herbs

Nootropics are herbs or substances prized and studied for supporting healthy cognitive function and mental/emotional well-being. Examples include:[8]

Lemon Balm
Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Panax Ginseng
Bacopa
Ginkgo biloba

Nervines are herbs that support and help regulate the nervous system, thereby supporting mental and emotional well-being, sleep, and brain function.[9] Some examples include:

Chamomile
Valerian
Lavender
Passionflower
Catnip

Adaptogens help reduce stress while increasing resilience, allowing us to thrive even when circumstances are suboptimal. They’re also helpful for hormonal function.[10] Some common adaptogens include:

Ginseng
Ashwagandha
Rhodiola rosea
Maca
Cordyceps

All three can help reduce stress, improve cognitive function, and promote healthier sleep.
Check with a healthcare practitioner trained in herbalism about the best combination for you.

3: Commit To Getting Enough Sleep

The research is clear: nothing hinders brain function faster than a lack of sleep and a lack of quality sleep.[11][12]

If you have trouble sleeping, know you’re not alone, as at least 1 in 3 people also struggle with sleep.[13]

There can be many reasons for this. But sure enough, the same recommendations for beating brain fog can also help you get your sleep back on track.

See 10 Tips For Healthier Sleep and Our Five Favorite Herbs For Sleep for more tips and information.

4: Get Honest About Stress

Stress is caustic to the brain, with studies showing chronic stress can accelerate brain aging and cause or contribute to various symptoms of brain fog and mental/emotional decline.[14-16]

Yet, stress is an unavoidable part of life, which means two things:

1: We need to improve how we respond to stress and its triggers.

2: We need to reduce avoidable stress as much as possible.

Again, all the tips here will help you achieve these objectives, and adaptogenic herbs are especially helpful.

Regarding reducing avoidable stressors, that’s a personal journey of discovery, but some helpful tips include:

Reducing clutter
Learning to say “no”
Taking steps to toss toxic thoughts
Cutting back on media, especially fear-based media
Simplifying your life and schedule

Find more resources in: 5 Powerful Ways to Toss Toxic Thoughts with a Mind Detox and How Clutter Negatively Impacts Our Mental Health.

5: Stay Hydrated

Believe it or not, most people do not drink enough water throughout the day, leading to mild yet chronic dehydration.

Research has demonstrated this is problematic for many reasons, including cognitive function, with studies showing even mild dehydration can result in symptoms of brain fog. This makes sense given the brain is 75% water.[17]

The solution is so simple: drink enough pure water to make your urine pale yellow.

If it’s dark yellow, you’re not drinking enough; if it’s clear, you’re drinking too much.

For most people, this looks like about eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, or more, depending on activity level and climate.

Herbal teas, lemon water, pure coconut water, and infused waters also count toward your daily hydration. However, focus primarily on clean drinking water.

We also recommend drinking additional water if you consume common diuretics, like coffee, caffeinated tea, alcohol, or energy drinks.

6. Avoid Neurotoxic Food Additives

Have you ever eaten a meal or snack and felt tired or fuzzy afterward?

If so, the food may have contained excitotoxins, a group of food additives designed to alter brain chemistry.

Specifically, research has shown “Glutamate excitotoxins are intricately linked to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, exerting a profound influence on cognitive functions such as learning and memory in mammals”.[18]

The most well-known excitotoxin is MSG, but many others are hiding in all sorts of prepared and processed foods, some of the most dubious being:

Natural flavors
Artificial flavors
Artificial dyes
MSG and its dozens of aliases
Citric Acid
Corn products
Hydrolyzed anything
Texturized proteins
Flavorings
Yeasts
And anything high in glutamate

These ingredients literally overexcite your brain cells, tricking your body into wanting more and more of that particular food.

This leads to brain cell death over time, and various symptoms of brain fog every time you eat foods with excitotoxins.

This is a big topic, which we cover in: Why Excitotoxins Are Harmful To Our Health, The Bizarre Truth About Natural Flavors, and Toss The Toxins: In Your Pantry and Refrigerator.

We also recommend downloading our Excitotoxin Guide to keep handy when you’re reading labels at the grocery store.

7. Nourish Your Brain With Real Brain Foods

Food can be a friend or foe when it comes to supporting brain health.

We already talked about avoiding food additives, so here are some food as medicine suggestions to focus on for optimal brain health:

Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables provide much-needed vitamins, minerals, and protective antioxidants.
Dark leafy greens, such as, kale, dandelion, collards, mustard, and turnip greens provide plant-based iron and other essential minerals for brain function. Have one to two cups a day of cooked greens!
Orange vegetables like carrots and orange squash provide critical beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, and vitamin C.
Mushrooms: Lion’s Mane is the king here, promoting neurogenesis, protecting neurons, and reducing inflammation. Other mushrooms like maitake, shitake, chaga, reishi, cordyceps, and turkey tail are used in medicinal cooking, and also support brain function.
Nuts: Walnuts are the top nut for providing the brain with magnesium, selenium, antioxidants, and plant based omega 3 fatty acids which reduce inflammation and support brain structure and function. Rotate walnuts with almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts, which are also helpful, to add variety.
Healthy fats: The brain requires healthy fats to repair itself, build new cells, and function optimally. You don’t need to go overboard, but focus on organic anti-inflammatory fats such as extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, rice bran oil, coconut oil, pastured butter, and ghee.
Wild-caught fatty fish, such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies, salmon, and herring, provide essential fatty acids, including omega-3s, shown to support various aspects of cognitive function.
Organic, pasture-raised meats, although not essential (you can be perfectly healthy without eating meat), provide easy-to-absorb iron and vitamin B12, two critical nutrients for dissolving brain fog and protecting cognitive health.
Enjoy natural sweets in moderation. Sugar and artificial sweeteners are the enemy of the brain, nervous system, and metabolic health. But that doesn’t mean you should avoid all carbs or sweet foods! Research tells us the brain requires glucose to function optimally, which should come from whole grains, whole fruits, and small amounts of healthy sweeteners such as raw honey, maple syrup, and coconut sugar.
- Note: Everyone processes sugars differently. Check with your healthcare practitioner about appropriate amounts for you.

In other words, eat real foods and eat the rainbow for optimal brain health benefits.

8. Last But Not Least, Reduce Your Exposure To High-Frequency And Electromagnetic Fields

Earlier, I mentioned the word “brain fog” was non-existent before SmartPhones came on the scene.

Although these devices have become indispensable for most, there are still things you can do to help reduce other forms of high-frequency EMF exposure at home, including:

Unplug all lamps, clocks, and appliances in the bedroom at night to reduce electric field exposure.
Keep a distance of 3 feet from plugged-in and turned-on appliances to avoid high magnetic fields.
Contact a Baubiologist to come to help identify areas of high magmetic and electric fields
Consider a consultation with our friend August Brice at Tech Wellness.

See the following articles for more tips and information on reducing EMFs and screen time:

Try Branch Basics For Brain-Fog Free Cleaning & Laundry Solutions

Branch Basics all-in-one, refillable cleaning and laundry line is free from harmful ingredients known to cause or contribute to brain fog and cognitive issues.

Our products are designed for the most sensitive individuals, including those with chemical sensitivities. They are MADE SAFE certified, EWG Verified, made with 100% biodegradable ingredients, plant- and mineral-based, naturally fragrance-free, and economical too.

For new customers, we recommend:

The Premium Starter Kit: Our original all-in-one kit comes with our signature Concentrate, refillable glass or plastic bottles, and Oxygen Boost. Just two products can replace every cleaning and laundry product in the home. This is a minimalist’s dream saving space, time, energy, and money.

Or The Ultimate Starter Kit: Our newest all-in-one plus kit comes with our signature Concentrate, refillable glass or plastic bottles, and Oxygen Boost, plus our water-free Laundry Detergent (so your Concentrate lasts longer) and our plastic-free Dishwasher Tablets.

We also invite you to check out our free Toss The Toxins online course, your step-by-step guide to identifying and removing harmful products from your home.

Shop Branch Basics Starter Kits and enjoy brain-fog-free cleaning and a healthier home today.

References:

Marilee Nelson

Marilee Nelson is an Environmental Toxins expert who has spent nearly 30 years advocating for the chemically-sensitive and chronically-ill. She is a Board Certified Nutritionist, Certified Bau-Biologist and Bau-Biology Inspector and specializes in Food As Medicine. She has helped thousands of families and individuals identify, heal and recover from toxic exposures and is on a mission to revolutionize the way American families view their health.

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