What Hurts — and What Helps — Fibro Fog

Common daily practices, some of which you may not even realize you’re doing, can worsen cognitive symptoms. Avoid these habits to keep fibro fog in check:

You Do Too Much or Too Many Things at Once

Even without fibromyalgia, multitasking can lead to increased stress and making more mistakes. Add fibromyalgia into the mix — which may reduce mental flexibility — and multitasking becomes even more strenuous. “Multitasking, overexertion, and activities requiring divided attention or prolonged cognitive effort can contribute to fibro fog,” says Dr. Das. Your best bet: Tackle tasks one at a time and take breaks (often known as pacing — more on that later) as needed.

You Get Poor Quality Sleep

“Sleep plays a key role in memory formation, information processing, and mood regulation,” says Das. “Lack of sleep may also activate inflammatory and stress pathways.”

Even if you think you’re getting adequate z’s, the physical symptoms of fibromyalgia could be keeping you up. “Pain during the night causes micro awakenings — brief interruptions in sleep — that interfere with your ability to progress into (and maintain) deep sleep, which is when most of the brain’s restorative processes occur,” says Ira Chang, MD, a neurologist at HCA HealthONE in Englewood, Colorado.

Talk with your doctor about how to shore up your sleep. If you have trouble falling asleep or frequently wake through the night, they may suggest getting tested for a sleep disorder (common in fibromyalgia) or interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or medication.

You Stress Out

It’s a good goal to limit stress wherever possible, because it can trigger fibromyalgia symptoms, including brain fog. “Oftentimes, fibro fog is driven by a combination of things — poor sleep, stress, pain, medications, and additional causes — because they are so closely tied together,” says Das.

Although you probably can’t remove all stressors from your life, you can turn to strategies such as breathing exercises, massage, meditation, and yoga to help keep stress at bay. “Stress-reduction techniques can help calm the brain, reduce cognitive load, and preserve mental clarity,” says Dr. Chang. Yoga in particular was shown to improve many fibromyalgia symptoms in one systematic research review.

Read the full article here

You Do Too Much or Too Many Things at Once

You Get Poor Quality Sleep

You Stress Out

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