Clearing Brain Fog: A Nervous System Reset

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That moment when you've read the same paragraph three times and still can't remember what it said? Your brain isn't broken - it's likely in low power mode, signaling your nervous system needs attention. 

Brain fog manifests as that sluggish, forgetful mental state that makes even simple tasks feel overwhelming. While not a medical condition itself, this cognitive cloudiness signals underlying imbalances worth addressing. The fascinating connection between your vagus nerve, gut health, and brain function reveals why mental clarity fluctuates throughout your day.

The good news? Simple vagus nerve resets offer powerful solutions. 🥳

Ready to clear the mental fog? Try one small action from today's episode and experience how supporting your vagus nerve leads to clearer thinking and better cognitive performance. Grab my free Vagus Nerve Reset video from the show notes and start feeling better today - because wellness truly does start at vagus.

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Episode Transcript

Emily (00:00):
As I sat down in my favorite reading spot, I grabbed
my book.
I'm ready to dive in.
I read a paragraph, then I readit again and then again.
By this time I'm like why can'tI remember what I just read?
It was frustrating, but insteadof forcing it, I recognized it

(00:21):
as a signal that my brain was inlow power mode and that I just
needed a vagus nerve reset toclear the fog.
If that sounds familiar to you,keep on listening, because
today we're going to fix that.
Welcome to It Starts at Vagus,the podcast where holistic
health meets modern living.
I'm Emily, your guide tounlocking the power of the vagus

(00:44):
nerve, which is your body'sultimate key to calm, connection
and overall well-being.
Together, we'll explore simpleways to nourish your mind and
body with natural remedies,actionable tips and empowering
stories.
Whether you're here to reducestress, restore balance or take
charge of your health, you're inthe right place, because

(01:06):
wellness doesn't just happen.
It starts at Vagus Vegas.
Let's dive in.
Hey there.
Today we are going to be divinginto something that I know so
many of us struggle with brainfog, that sluggish, forgetful.
What did I come into this roomfor feeling?
So if you've been feeling kindof like mentally offline lately.
Don't worry, you're not aloneand it's not just in your head.

(01:26):
Well, I mean, it kind of is inyour head, but we're going to
fix that.
By the end of this episodeWe'll be able to understand
what's really happening in yourbrain when that brain fog sets
in some hidden causes and someyou might not expect and some
practical nervous systemfriendly ways to clear that

(01:47):
mental fogginess.
So let's start with what isbrain fog?
So brain fog is kind of acognitive sluggishness.
It's not really a disease butmore of a symptom of an
underlying issue.
Some common experiences wouldbe forgetting simple things like
where are my keys or my phone?

(02:07):
Why did I open up this app?
You could also feel strugglingto concentrate, like me, where I
read the same sentence orparagraph three times and I
still can't recall what I justread.
That's me often.
And then feeling like yourbrain is just in that low power
mode that you can't do all thethings that you typically could

(02:30):
do and you're just like whycan't I do this?
I've done this a thousand times.
The brain fog isn't just aboutthinking slower.
It's about how your nervoussystem, gut, neurotransmitters,
transmitters, how they allcommunicate.
So from a science perspective,it can be caused by a few things

(02:52):
.
One biggie is inflammation andour immune response.
Things that influence all thiswould be our stress level.
What a shocker.
That affects so many things,and brain fog is definitely one
of them.
The foods we eat like, are theysuper processed food or are they

(03:14):
more from nature?
And then how is our sleepquality?
Because poor sleep qualityincreases inflammation and it
disrupts our neuron function.
So then our brain just can'twork as well because it doesn't
have the proper sleep tofunction.
Other influences that canaffect our brain would be the

(03:38):
blood sugar and energy crashes.
So if we have a lot of sugar,those highs and lows, those
spikes, those sugar spikes whereit goes up really high and then
crashes down if that's aconsistent reaction, that really
does affect our brain fog,because the brain needs stable
glucose levels, our sugar levels, to think clearly, consistently

(04:03):
.
So if we're always going up anddown, so does our brain
function?
Because it doesn't like it.
It does increase thatinflammatory response, and our
brain is no exception.
And then what does our braincommunicate with?
It connects with our gut.
And then what does our braincommunicate with?
It?
Connects with our gut.
So your gut bacteria influencesyour mood, memory, focus and,

(04:26):
like we've talked about in manyother episodes beforehand, we
know that the vagus nerveconnects all of these things.
It connects our brain function,our emotions.
It connects with our digestion,our heart rate, our breathing
patterns.
It connects all of this so wecan see how one thing affects

(04:48):
another because there's thatdirect link.
And when our gut bacteria getsa lot of different nutrients
from different food sources andhigher nutrient levels versus,
you know, kind of like emptycalories, that variety of
nutrients supports our body tofill in any nutritional needs

(05:10):
for production or bodilyfunctions and then this supports
our overall neurotransmitterimbalances.
So because if we have lowdopamine, we have less
motivation and if our cortisollevels are high from that stress
, then brain fog sets in becauseit can only do so much and it

(05:32):
puts priorities on everything.
So it will impact how well youcan concentrate on the things
around you.
Okay, well, great, now we'vegot brain fog.
We've realized we've let thebells go off, saying hey, we're
not thinking as clear or maybewe're getting frustrated because
of it.
What do we do now?
Well, my go-to is the vagusnerve resets.

(05:55):
Anything that we can do tosupport the vagus nerve will
help our overall well-beingBecause, again, it's the vagus
nerve that connects so many ofthem together and the vagus
nerve affects most body symptomscardiovascular, the breathing,
even some sites say evenreproductive health, just

(06:18):
because when we have a higherstress, again it puts priorities
on what our body wants tosupport.
So, again, the vagus nerve is akey to overall well-being.
So that's what I like to focuson, because it's so easy, it's
pain-free, it's fast, it ticks,like all the boxes that we

(06:40):
always hope for.
So that is why it's my go-to.
Obviously, because it doesimpact our breathing.
We can do box breathing.
So inhale for four seconds,hold for four seconds, exhale
for four seconds and then holdthat again for four seconds,
exhale for four seconds and thenhold that again for four

(07:01):
seconds.
That is one that really workswell because it gives us the
patterns, the 4-4-4.
It's easy to remember, it'svisual.
We can imagine a box.
We can imagine holding, drawingthe line with our eyes for four
seconds.
So it does include a lot of oursenses and predictability.
So I do like that box breathing.
You can do some movement.
Our body loves to move.

(07:22):
So just shaking, singing whilewe dance, all of that can help
oxygenate our body and whereoxygen is, we are able to think
clearer, and when an area isoxygenated, then diseases don't
manifest as easy.
So oxygen all around, great,great for you.

(07:45):
Nutritionally, again, avoid moreprocessed foods.
Stick closer to nature.
The less ingredients, thebetter.
It's really basic and simple.
But that doesn't mean it's easy, and so that's why we just take
little things that we can do.
So if you're going to swap out,let's say you're going to get

(08:07):
rid of potato chips because youjust don't like the ingredients
in them, you can get one thatcomes to my mind is plantain
chips, and they have just threeingredients.
Or even if you want to makeyour own, I really like kale
chips.
Those are super duper easy.
Grab some kale, throw it in aZiploc bag, throw some oil and

(08:29):
salt, shake it up and then bakeit till it's crispy.
That's delicious and I can eata lot of that.
And it doesn't matter because,again, it's just your greens,
just baked.
So that's a tasty snack thatgives me nourishment.
Last but not least, definitelyimportant our sleep.
Sleep is crucial, it's vital.

(08:52):
It's necessary for everythingto function Brain, gut.
It cleans out our body while wesleep.
It's kind of our janitorialwork is.
When we sleep we rejuvenate, weclean out the gunk from the day
.
That's when, like our dreams,start kind of processing what we
had thought of earlier.

(09:12):
Sleep really is important, andthe less sleep we have, the less
our body rejuvenates and theless it's ready for the next day
.
So sleep really is crucial.
How do we sleep better at night?
Well, with the vagus nerve wecan gargle right after we're
brushing our teeth.
You're getting ready for thenight, you're brushing and I
like to gargle salt water, sojust go ahead, take a swig,

(09:34):
gargle it and spit it out.
That gargling will help givethe vagus nerve just a nice
gentle massage and you'll beable to get calmer, faster and
sleep better.
So remember, brain fog isn'tsomething you just have to live
with.
You can start supporting it andyour nervous system and the

(09:59):
vagus nerve and clarity willfollow.
So today's challenge will bewill you be able to take one of
these small actions from today'sepisode and apply it to your
life so that you have clearerthinking?
Because, remember, what we donow affects what's going to
happen to us later.
So remember to breathe, do onething that makes you happy and

(10:23):
enjoy your day.
Thanks for listening to ItStarts at Vagus.
If you enjoyed this episode,subscribe so you don't miss
what's coming next.
And if you're ready to take thenext step toward calm, grab my
free Vagus Nerve Reset video inthe show notes.
It's quick and easy way tostart feeling better today.
And until next time, remember,wellness starts at Vagus.