Best Supplements for Brain Fog
and for Optimizing Cognitive Performance
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated September. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
If you have brain fog you know how helpless it can feel at times to remedy the problem, as the very symptoms of brain fog like an inability to concentrate and focus limit your ability, energy, and drive to find and implement useful helpful solutions.
When this is the case, using the best supplements for focus and concentration can provide some relief from brain fog and mental fatigue and help bring in enough energy and clarity of mind to kickstart the lifestyle changes that need to be made to permanently solve the problem.
Brain fog can be experienced all on its own, or it can be part of a larger health problem like chronic fatigue syndrome. The best supplements that help with mental fatigue aren’t ones that simply stimulate the brain but instead are ones that beneficially target the stressed and dysfunctional parts of the body that are creating the mental fatigue in the first place.
There is no perfect brain fog cure, but with the right supplemental support and then the corresponding necessary lifestyle changes, mental fatigue can be recovered from and brain function can be returned to normal. In this article I share with you my favorite remedies for combatting brain fog and why they work.
Chronic vs Acute Mental Fatigue
There are two types of mental fatigue, chronic and acute. Temporary mental fatigue that is the result of one night’s bad sleep is quite different in effect and in its treatment from daily mental fatigue brought on from excessive stress, constant sleep deprivation, or neurocognitive conditions. When people ask for solutions that help alleviate their brain fog and mental sluggishness, most often they are seeking help for chronic mental fatigue.
Symptoms of Brain Fog
A term commonly used to describe mental fatigue is brain fog. Just like with sleep deprivation, where after a few continuous days of insufficient sleep you begin to not notice your symptoms of sleep deprivation (though they still exist), brain fog has a similar desensitizing effect. A lot of people who have mental fatigue do not realize they have it as they have become used to their chronically sluggish mental processes. It’s usually only when brain fog lifts temporarily for some reason, and clear lucid awareness is experienced before the brain fog returns, that people realize that they’re not functioning at their best. The symptoms of brain fog are subtle, especially when desensitized to the effect, so if you have any of the symptoms below, especially more than one, then it’s worth closely examining the functioning of your brain, your lifestyle, and perhaps taking one or more of the supplements below to see if you experience a noticeable before and after improvement.
Common symptoms of mental fatigue and brain fog:
You have difficulty focusing and concentrating on one task. High distractibility
You get lost in unconscious behavioral patterns (like endlessly scrolling on social media)
Its a struggle for you to hold onto multiple thoughts/ideas at once in order to understand a greater concept, follow a conversation, etc.
You get tired easily, especially with a cognitively demanding task like studying, learning a language, etc.
You experience frequent mood swings, and these mood swings can be triggered from small relatively insignificant events
Your short and/or long term memory isn’t good
You don’t have much patience
You get triggered and angered easily
If mental performance needs to be raised while experiencing acute mental fatigue, like from a poor night’s sleep, then it can usually be treated successfully with a stimulant like caffeine. Chronic mental fatigue is quite different though, and treating chronic brain fog with a stimulant like caffeine can further exacerbate the problem.
Treating long-term brain fog is best done with things that activate the parasympathetic “rest and digest” nervous system. Resting more often, improving sleep, engaging in restorative exercise like yoga, grounding, meditation, breath work, and more are all things that activate the parasympathetic nervous system and help reduce chronic mental fatigue. This article will mostly stick to supplemental measures that help with mental fatigue, so if you wish to examine and treat the very important lifestyle component of the problem, then I suggest you read my article How to Balance Sympathetic and Parasympathetic States.
Sometimes brain fog and mental fatigue is so severe that it can be difficult to even think about let alone implement lifestyle changes that will help and reverse the issue, and when this is the case supplements are a convenient and useful way to jumpstart the turnaround process.
Chamomile for Brain Fog
One of the best things for treating chronic brain fog and mental fatigue is also a very well-known herb, and that’s chamomile!
Chamomile is one of the most ancient and well-known medicinal herbs known to mankind, the two most common varieties being Roman chamomile and German chamomile. Chamomile is identified by its small white flower petals that surround its yellow center, and it’s the chamomile flower that’s used in herbal practices because the flowers contain a wide range of biologically active chemicals such as terpenes, flavonoids, and azulenes that have been shown to be health promotive.
Chamomile is so useful in treating chronic mental fatigue because it provides multi-targeted treatment to the systems which are under the most stress and are causing the symptoms of brain fog as described above.
Chamomile Increases Parasympathetic Activity
First, chamomile helps promote more balanced autonomic nervous system by increasing parasympathetic activity throughout the body, and this helps reduce systemic stress and regenerate the bodily systems that are most worn down, like the adrenal glands.
Chamomile does this by improving heart rate variability (HRV), reducing erratic heart rhythms and instead shifting heart rhythms to be more sinusoidal and coherent in nature (see right half of figure 1). Heart rate variability is the measure of the time interval between heartbeats, and HRV is a key measure of cardiac health, stress, and sudden mortality risk.
Figure 1 - Change in heart rate when emotionally reframing from feelings of frustration to appreciation
CC - McCraty R. The Energetic Heart. HeartMath Institute; 2003
Chamomile’s ability to improve HRV and overall cardiac function is more important than most people realize, because the functioning of the brain is determined to a large degree by the health and functioning of the heart.
Chamomile Increases Alpha Brainwaves
Every heartbeat creates a pressure wave that travels through the circulatory system, and it has been shown that when this blood pressure pulse reaches the brain it generates 8-12 Hz alpha brainwaves. Put another way, the change in blood pressure 1-2 times every second (depending on heart rate) in the brain is the timing signal the brain uses to generate and synchronize alpha brainwaves that cycle 8-12 times per second.
Alpha brainwaves are so important because they are the middle frequency brainwave that sit in-between slow rhythm 0-4 Hz delta and 4-8 Hz theta brainwaves and 12-30 Hz beta and 30+ Hz gamma brainwaves. How well your brain is functioning can be measured quite clearly via brainwave patterns across the head, with the most important factors being brainwave frequency, power, and synchronicity.
There aren’t many (if any) studies that directly show this, but enough evidence exists to greatly suggest that those suffering from mental fatigue and brain fog have weak non-synchronous brainwave activity without clear frequency bands of activity. Chamomile’s ability to increase alpha brainwaves is so important because alpha rhythms are the dominant brain rhythm from which other brainwaves can then be switched to. When alpha brain rhythms are propagating strongly throughout the brain, there’s sense of calm, patience, creativity, and a feeling of relaxed alertness. Sounds like a good resting state of mind eh?
If alpha rhythms are propagating strongly throughout the brain, then it’s easier for the brain to rev up and begin propagating higher frequency beta and gamma brainwaves, which are associated with focus, productivity, and ingenuity. By supporting the stable functioning of the heart and the overall cardiovascular system, chamomile also improves brainwave activity and overtime trains the brain to establish these patterns of activity on its own.
How to Use Chamomile for Brain Fog
There are a few ways chamomile can be used in the treatment of mental fatigue, an important factor to known is that chamomile in my experience acts like an adaptogen for this purpose. If you’re overly tired then chamomile will help to stimulate and gently pick you up because it’s increasing your brainwave frequencies and their coherence of propagation, whereas if you’re overly stimulated and scattered then chamomile will help calm you down by increasing the power of lower frequency brainwaves. In many ways alpha brainwaves are the base from which all brain activity shifts up or down from, and building a strong base of alpha brainwave activity is incredibly useful in coping with stress and for clearing the haze of brain fog.
The three main ways chamomile can be used are as a tea, as an essential oil in aromatherapy, and by dry vaporizing or smoking the herb.
Chamomile Tea: This is the most common way to use chamomile as brewing chamomile tea is simple and very effective. Chamomile tea is also really helpful for gut health, and we’ll discuss further down why the gut-brain axis and the microbiome are really important to address when combating mental fatigue. Bring water to a temperature of 75-100 C (170 - 212 F) and steep dried chamomile flowers for 5-15+ minutes. Chamomile is a pleasantly sweet herb and it can be steeped for hours without the resultant tea becoming bitter. Chamomile makes for a great iced tea, and when endeavoring to remedy brain fog, drinking chamomile tea throughout the day is one of the best things you can do, and it’s so simple! Just brew a large batch of the tea once everyday and drink it often. I usually make 1 liter of chamomile tea (often with other herbs, more on that at the end) at night by bringing water to a boil and then letting the herb steep overnight in the fridge. When I wake up delicious iced tea is waiting for me every morning!
Chamomile Essential Oil: Chamomile essential oil is an ultra convenient and effective way to enjoy the beneficial parasympathetic effects of chamomile. You can simply smell the essential oil from the bottle, place a few drops into a diffuser, or apply it directly to parts of your body like your temples, forehead, the back of the neck, and your chest. I find chamomile essential oil if applied directly to the body to be more sedative in effect than chamomile tea, so it’s best used at night or when you quickly need to calm down and relax.
Chamomile Herb for Vaporizing or Smoking: Dried chamomile flower can also be shredded by hand or with a herb grinder and vaporized or smoked for a relaxant effect. I recommend dry herb vaporization because no carcinogenic smoke is produced in the process, but if you’re already a smoker then incorporating chamomile into your tobacco cigarettes, cannabis joints/bowls, or herbal smoking blend is really simple. Vaped or smoked cannabis has a pleasant sweet taste and has an nice overall calming effect that lasts quite a while.
For those who are struggling with chronic mental fatigue and the symptoms of brain fog, chamomile is my top recommendation for helping with the problem. Chamomile is an amazing herb for overall health and wellness, and while it won’t fix brain fog in one day, if chamomile is used consistently then it will almost certainly have a large positive effect.
Chronic mental fatigue takes time to develop, it sometimes develops over many years, and it’s the beneficial habits that can be done daily for long periods of time that will prove the most useful in reversing brain fog, and chamomile is one of the best herbs for this.
Organic dried chamomile flower and blue chamomile essential oil can be purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs. I like to use and combine both in my self-care practices, and if you pick up one then I recommend you purchase the other too.
Medicinal Mushrooms for Brain Fog
Not all mushrooms are poisonous or cause psychedelic effects, and the medicinal mushrooms I have listed below are safe and have a bunch of great wellness benefits. Every medicinal mushrooms varies in their chemical composition, but in general they contain phytochemicals like polysaccharides, beta-glucans, and triterpenoids which benefit your brain as well as other parts of the body.
Reishi Mushroom
Reishi mushroom is one of my favorite “herbs” for helping with brain fog not only because it’s very effective in doing this but also because in my neighborhood Ganoderma sessile, a type of reishi mushroom, grows everywhere and I have a lot of personal experience in using this mushroom.
Reishi mushroom is polypore mushroom nearly impossible to misidentify once its distinguishing features are known, and it has broad effects throughout the body. One of the main benefits of reishi is that it activates the parasympathetic nervous system, just like chamomile, thereby promoting rest and relaxation after use. In fact you can brew reishi and chamomile together into a tea and just like as described above and drink this tea throughout the day to help remedy long-term brain fog.
Reishi mushroom can be purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs in a variety of formats from whole cap to slices to powder to extract, and 1:1 reishi mushroom supplement capsules and 8:1 reishi mushroom supplement capsules that are more concentrated in active ingredients can be purchased from Nootropics Depot.
I wrote a full article on using reishi mushroom for stress, chronic fatigue, and anxiety, and if you’d like to learn more about the many other health benefits of reishi mushroom then you can read the reishi mushroom herbal page. You can also watch my video below!
Chaga Mushroom
Chaga mushroom is very useful in the treatment of mental fatigue and brain fog because it contains many powerful antioxidants, is anti-inflammatory, and optimizes the cardiovascular and nervous systems by calming erratic heart rhythms and increasing the contractile power of the heart. Chaga also contains antimicrobial compounds which benefit the microbiome of the gut by selecting against harmful pathogens while simultaneously supporting good symbiotic bacteria.
As you can see, these natural products are all similar in their ability to help treat mental fatigue because they target not only the brain, but also the heart and gut . Stress destabilizes the proper functioning of the heart, nervous system, and digestive system, and the herbs that support the actions of these parts of the body, in addition to any direct cognitive benefits they have, improve the functioning of the brain.
Chaga mushroom can be purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs as a course powder which can easily be brewed alongside coffee to create a chaga coffee. Nootropics Depot also sells a 1:1 chaga extract powder which is more concentrated in active ingredients and mixes very easily into any beverage.
Chaga is an ingredient that’s part of a nootropic coffee blend that I absolutely love, and if you’re a regular coffee drinker then I recommend you learn more about the best nootropic coffee, as that provides an easy route to creating a daily habit which will help reduce your brain fog and also dependence on coffee. One cup of this nootropic coffee is enough to power you throughout the day without any need for additional cups of coffee, which helps to reduce the possibility of a caffeine tolerance building up, something which commonly occurs with people who are trying to stimulate away their brain fog. More on that below.
Cordyceps Mushroom
Cordyceps mushroom is another medicinal mushroom that has broad health benefits, it’s especially well-known for its physical endurance and stamina promoting effects. The exact mechanisms for how cordyceps improves energy metabolism isn’t known, but its thought to interact and improve the functioning of mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of our cells. By improving mitochondrial function, cordyceps not only improves physical energy levels but also mental energy levels, especially if taken daily.
I supplemented with cordyceps mushrooms extensively to aid in my weight training a few years back, and I could tell one of the reasons it improves physical endurance is by increasing mental focus. It’s easier to push through something when you’re more focused on your desired outcome, and if chronic mental fatigue is a problem during work or any other time of the day where focus is required, then cordyceps will help. Cordyceps can also be used to help treat acute fatigue, it’s a supplement that can be used for both acute and chronic tiredness and brain fog.
I share my full experience with cordyceps mushroom and talk about it more with my friend Rob in this video interview.
Cordyceps mushroom can be purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs, and Nootropics Depot also sells a 1:1 cordyceps mushroom powder as well as a 10:1 cordyceps mushroom powde, both of which are concentrated in cordyceps’s main active ingredients.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Lion’s mane mushroom is another medicinal mushroom useful in improving the functioning of the brain, but it’s a bit different than the others because it has been well shown that lion’s mane promotes neurogenesis! Neurogenesis is the growth of new neurons, and any brain under stress and experiencing chronic fatigue is a brain that is losing brain cells due to increased inflammation and apoptosis. One way to turn around overall neurocognitive conditions, either minor like brain fog or more major like dementia, is to increase neurogenesis in the brain.
Supplementing with lion’s mane mushroom, either with a lion’s mane extract like the one sold by Mountain Rose Herbs, or with more condensed supplements like the 1:1 lion’s mane mushroom powder or the 8:1 lion’s mane mushroom powder sold by Nootropics Depot, is an excellent way to incorporate the neurogenesis benefits of lion’s mane into your everyday life.
My friend Rob from Secrets of the Underground made a good video which explores the benefits of these four medicinal mushrooms along with turkey tail (another good one), and you’ll see a cameo of me starting at 07:44 ;)
Note - Yes lots of YouTube videos in this article from myself or my friend Rob, and if you want to reinforce what you’ve learned in this article then I suggest you add these videos to your watch later playlist and enjoy them at some future point in time.
Gut Health for Brain Fog
While this recommendation isn’t a supplement, for your best success in overcoming mental fatigue it’s necessary to mention the very important role gut health has in the development of mental fatigue and mental health problems. The gut and brain are linked via what’s known as the Gut-Brain Axis, and when the digestive system is functioning poorly and microbiome is pathogenic in nature, then the functioning of the brain suffers. Once you learn of how this connection works, then it becomes much easier to consciously make choices which improve the functioning of your gut-brain axis and therefore your mental health and overall wellness.
Gut-Brain Axis
The gut-brain axis is a bidirectional connection pathway that exists between the gut microbiome and nervous system + brain, and not only does the microbiome effect the functioning of the brain, but conditions of the nervous system and brain like stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and more in-turn effect the microbiome and gut.
Put simply, if you want your brain to work optimally, then attention must be given to gut health and the condition of the microbiome. The gut and brain are connected together via four main pathways:
Neurologic - Neurologic signals are sent between the gut and brain via the vagus nerve, with neurologic signals being the fastest mode of information transfer between the gut and brain.
Endocrine - The digestive system is a key component of the endocrine (hormone) system, and changes in the functioning and expression of the gut alter the overall status of the endocrine system and hormonal secretion as a result.
Metabolic - Compounds with metabolic functions that the microbiome produce like short-chain fatty acids influence overall metabolism which then affects cognitive ability. Having unstable blood sugar levels for example can result in periods of focus-scattered hyperactivity followed by energy crashes and brain fog.
Immune - The immune system protects the body from foreign microorganisms and unwanted compounds, and in the cleanup process they produce inflammatory cytokines. If the immune system is overly stressed then inflammation becomes rampant throughout the body and brain, which effects physical, mental, and emotional status.
Cultivate a Healthy Microbiome
Humans have co-evolved with microorganisms for millions of years, and having a healthy microbiome is so important for overall health and wellness in many different ways. The types of microorganisms that inhabit the gut have a big impact on general brain health, neurocognitive and neurodegenerative disorders, and brain performance.
To explain the relationship in more detail, microorganisms produce chemicals that are either useful or harmful to the body. In the large intestine where most of the gut microbiome resides, symbiotic (helpful) and pathogenic (harmful) microorganisms reside. Symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms compete against each other for resources and space, and to survive pathogens produce and release toxins into their immediate environment. These toxins hurt symbionts, degrade gut tissues, reduce overall digestive function, and if absorbed into the bloodstream create inflammation throughout the body and brain. Symbiotic microorganisms on the other hand produce natural antimicrobial compounds which keep pathogens in check, and if symbiotic microorganisms are fed with fiber and flavonoids, they respectively produce short-chain fatty acids and beneficial secondary metabolites which are biologically beneficial for metabolism, cognitive health, and gut health.
A microbiome with too many pathogens exposes you to greater levels of toxins than your body can normally cope with and handle without much fuss, and a common result of having this type of microbiome is poor gut health, chronic inflammation, and brain fog.
Luckily shifting the microbiome towards greater symbiotic function is relatively simple! It’s outside the scope of this article but if you’d like to learn how you can do this you can read my article How to Restore Healthy Gut Flora or purchase the Holistic Gut Health Guide which covers how to improve gut naturally in-depth.
Together the digestive system and microbiome are the foundation of health from which everything else is dependent on.
The Holistic Gut Health Guide contains all the information you need to identify and understand the gastrointestinal and microbiome problems you may have while also providing you the most effective natural methods you can use to heal your gut. No gut health problems are unsolvable, give yourself every possible advantage along your gut health journey by reading an implementing the advice shared in the Holistic Gut Health Guide.
Ashwagandha for Brain Fog
Ashwagandha is a powerful adaptogenic herb well-known in the ayurvedic system of medicine that contains many beneficial compounds such as alkaloids, lactones, and saponins. Ashwagandha is an herb that can be used to treat both acute or chronic mental fatigue. Ashwagandha has the following cognitive benefits:
Ashwagandha leaf and root extracts reduce symptoms of anxiety, comparable to pharmaceutical drugs
Ashwagandha inhibits nerve cells from over firing
Slows, stops, and even reverses neural decay by promoting the growth of new neurons and by creating new synaptic connections
Comparable to pharmaceutical drugs in reducing symptoms of depression, stabilizes mood
Normalizes dopamine levels to normal, increasing dopamine levels in those suffering from Parkinson’s disease
Intensifies acetylcholine, glutathione, and secretase enzyme activity
Inhibits the production of amyloid beta plaques in those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease
Helps to reverse addiction through its balancing actions on neurotransmitters GABA and serotonin
All of these cognitive benefits help with mental stress, and ashwagandha further helps with mental fatigue through how it supports the functioning of the adrenal glands. An interesting effect of ashwagandha is if it is supplemented before a stressful event/task, the stress response and the amount of cortisol that is secreted after the stressor is greatly blunted, allowing for faster recovery.
Mental fatigue and the corresponding brain fog is often a result of a dysfunctional Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis. the endocrine glands of the HPA-axis influence a lot of biologic functions throughout the body and one’s physiological status, and when the HPA-axis is constantly loaded with greater demands due to stress, it becomes deficient in necessary nutrients and changes its secretion of hormones in response to the demands placed upon it. By stopping the adrenal glands, and the HPA-axis in general, from generating a strong reaction to a stressful event, it provides an opportunity to the body to recharge and begin returning to normal physiological function.
For treating acute bouts of mental fatigue, ashwagandha is best used before the stressful event is to occur, or as soon as possible after it’s happened, and for helping with chronic brain fog ashwagandha should be used daily at a lesser dose.
Various ashwagandha products can be purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs, and ashwagandha can also be purchased form Nootropics Depot in a variety of formulations, the two I recommend being the standard ashwagandha powder and the other being the shoden ashwagandha powder.
Caffeine for Brain Fog
Lastly we arrive at caffeine, probably the most well-known and abused compound used to help with brain fog and mental fatigue. Caffeine has been well-studied in how it affects the brain and how it improves certain measures of mental performance like focus, attention span, reaction speed, and more, and caffeine also helps reduce sleepiness. For these reasons caffeine is very effective in ameliorating some of the effects of acute mental fatigue if a preexisting caffeine tolerance doesn’t exist, and what’s common is after people first notice some success with caffeine they begin to consume too much caffeine too often in hope of treating not the acute but the chronic brain fog they have. Caffeine is not useful in treating chronic mental fatigue because its stimulatory, and if overused in this manner it’ll usually make the situation worse.
If you have chronic daily brain fog and mental sluggishness, then I recommend you reduce your caffeine intake (if you’re consuming it) to under 100 mg a day, the equivalent of 1 cup of coffee or a couple cups of tea. To learn more on the science behind how caffeine works and how to do, this read my Caffeine Usage and Tolerance Reset Guide.
With that disclaimer said, caffeine is very effective for helping alleviate an acute bout of brain fog brought on from one-off events like a poor night’s sleep or temporarily increased mental and/or emotional stress. The feeling of brain fog can also sometimes descend when dealing with/studying a very mentally complex and demanding subject, and caffeine can also be used in these situations to assist with the increased information processing demands.
One important note with caffeine is that it blocks the binding of adenosine to adenosine receptors in the brain. If caffeine is consumed too early after waking up, adenosine builds up in the brain, and then when the caffeine wears off the flood of adenosine then causes an energy crash. A better method of using caffeine is to wait 90+ minutes after waking up to consume it, which allows the brain to process a lot of the adenosine in that first 90 minutes, and then when the caffeine wears off later, not as much adenosine is pooled up and ready to activate adenosine receptors.
The most common ways to ingest caffeine are by drinking tea or coffee, though caffeine pills are also a viable alternative.
Green Tea
Green tea is my favorite way to consuming caffeine because each cup of green tea only contains about 30-45 mg of caffeine versus 95 mg per cup of coffee, and green tea also contains plant polyphenols known as green tea catechins which have many beneficial health effects. Green tea also naturally contains L-theanine, an amino acid that helps to stabilize the energy increasing effect of caffeine while simultaneously promoting better sleep. Green tea is a wonderful beverage with a broad holistic effect for treating acute mental fatigue, and with each cup of caffeine containing much less caffeine than a cup of coffee, it’s easier to carefully dose caffeine upwards in a sequential manner with green tea to avoid a caffeine overload and subsequent energy crash.
A variety of green teas can be purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs, Nootropics Depot sells a green tea extract powder and a green tea extract + piperine supplement (piperine is another cognitive boosting compound), and Pique Tea sells green tea crystals that are super convenient and dissolve easily in both hot and cold water.
Coffee
Coffee is the classic beverage of choice fueling millions of people around the world day in and day out, and for good reason! Coffee contains a bunch of beneficial plant phytochemicals, and at ~95 mg of caffeine per cup, one cup of coffee is a significant pick-me-up which can reduce brain fog and the feelings of mental fatigue. Since coffee contains more caffeine than tea, it’s best to stop coffee consumption after 4pm in order to not deviate the circadian rhythm and cortisol secretion (remember caffeine simulates cortisol) too far off normal. The beneficial effects of caffeine greatly taper off after 300 mg, so if you are going to drink more than one cup of coffee, stick to a maximum of three cups in the ideal 90 minutes after waking up to 4pm drinking window.
Other nootropics mix well with coffee, and if you want to experiment with boosting the beneficial mental effects of coffee, then read my article on the best nootropic coffee.
Brain Fog Treatment
How you treat brain fog and mental fatigue is dependent on whether the effect is acute or chronic in nature. Chronic mental fatigue is best treated supplementally with herbs and medicinal mushrooms that activate the parasympathetic nervous system and support the HPA-axis, whereas acute brain fog can be treated preventatively by supplementing with ashwagandha or by using a stimulant like caffeine.
Each of the herbs and mushrooms listed above can be used independently for the treatment of chronic brain fog, but my recommendation would be to brew a tea from a combination of these herbs, for example a 1:1:1 blend of equal parts chamomile:reishi mushroom:green tea would be broadly supportive to the body and brain and overtime will help greatly in reducing chronic fatigue.
If you suspect your mental fatigue is just a symptom of a larger problem like chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as adrenal fatigue, then I suggest you read my article on adrenal fatigue to learn more about the condition and what you can holistically do to turn the issue around.
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