Brain Fog and That Heavy, Sluggish Feeling

Brain fog is not a diagnosis either, but it is a real and recognisable experience: slow recall, thin concentration, a sense of wading through the afternoon.

The overlap with physical heaviness

The days it shows up tend to share features — poor sleep, low water intake, a lot of sitting, a heavy meal. Those are the same conditions that leave legs feeling heavy, which is why the two so often arrive together.

What helps on the day

• A ten-minute walk outdoors, ideally before the fog sets in rather than after.
• Water, steadily, starting in the morning rather than at 3pm.
• A few rounds of slow breathing at the desk.
• Protecting the first hour of sleep rather than the last one.