Alleviate Brain Fog with Massage

What is brain fog?

Brain Fog is often described as a feeling of mental sluggishness and haze. It is hard to concentrate, decision making is difficult, and cognitive activities are impaired when experiencing Brain Fog. If you have an inability to focus, think straight or remember things clearly, it may well be that you’re dealing with brain fog. Although brain fog isn’t a recognized medical diagnosis, it summarizes a collection of recognized symptoms.

Why do we get brain fog?

Many things can trigger brain fog from environmental factors such as: stress, lack of sleep and poor diet to certain medical conditions and hormonal changes.

How different factors cause brain fog:

A lack of sleep

Insufficient sleep impairs the brain’s ability to process and store information. Most adults will have at some point experienced a lack of sleep and the next day struggled to remember things and think straight. New parents, who are sleep deprived due to nursing their babies often talk about the negative impact a lack of sleep has on their cognitive abilities.

Sleep is the body’s opportunity to recharge and heal itself without it the body doesn’t work at its best.  

Chronic stress and anxiety

Stress triggers the hormone cortisol. Cortisol prepares the body for the ‘fight or flight’ response. This is a useful response if you’re being chased by a woolly mammoth because it helps to maintain blood pressure to vital organs. But the prolonged release of cortisol from ongoing stress can be detrimental, leading to brain fog symptoms.

Poor diet

Nutritional deficiencies, particularly in essential vitamins and minerals, can also contribute to cognitive decline.

Hormonal imbalances and medical conditions

During menopause or premenstrual women experience hormonal fluctuations which can disrupt cognitive processes. Conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and depression are known to cause brain fog.

Who gets brain fog?

Anyone can get brain fog

Brain fog can affect individuals of all ages and backgrounds. It is common among people who are under stress, or dealing with underlying health conditions. Students, professionals, and caregivers, who often juggle multiple responsibilities, might experience brain fog due to overwhelm and burnout. Also, individuals with chronic illnesses or those undergoing hormonal changes, such as pregnant women or those going through menopause, might experience brain fog.

How Chi Nei Tsang Therapeutic Massage helps reduce brain fog?

Chi Nei Tsang Massage eases brain fog by addressing factors that trigger it, like; stress, blood flow, poor digestion, a lack of sleep.

Massage reduces stress:

Managing stress can play a big role in helping to reduce brain fog. However, dealing with stress is easier said than done. Factors beyond our control often trigger stress: like a sick family member, difficult boss, and money worries. One stressor can have a knock-on effect that elevates stress further. For example, if you have money troubles then you’re unlikely to sleep well – another contributory factor to stress. As stress rises, the stress hormone, cortisol, rises too.

Studies show the cortisol (stress hormone) response to psychosocial stress is lowered through both self-soothing touch and touch from another. So, a massage will alleviate stress and by extension ease its effect on brain fog. Human touch releases oxytocin, a hormone that promotes bonding and feelings of calm. This means a massage can help calm you down, calm your mind and give you the head space to start addressing problems which felt overwhelming, and you couldn’t focus on.

Chi Nei Tsang therapeutic massage improves blood flow:

A Chi Nei Tsang massage encourages blood flow around the body through direct massage of the organs.  Better circulation ensures better oxygen and nutrient delivery to the brain which can boost brain function and acuity.

Chi Nei Tsang therapeutic massage aids good digestion:

The body needs fuel to work well. Good fuel for the body is food rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals, that’s why we need a balanced diet full of vegetables, proteins, fiber and healthy fats. Our body just won’t work as effectively if it isn’t receiving the nutrients it needs.

Chi Nei Tsang abdominal massage supports the natural movement of the large intestine to help prevent digestive issues and encourage nutrient absorption. Better absorption of nutrients helps body and brain health.

Massages promote better sleep and muscle relaxation:

Good sleep is really important for our general health and reducing brain fog. We need our sleep to recharge our body’s batteries. Massages can improve sleep quality by relaxing the nervous system and easing muscle tension, which in turns positively impacts mood and mental and physical wellbeing. Self-massage can be part of a nightly routine to promote good sleep.