Coronavirus: Here's what you need to know about post-COVID brain fog; how it feels and how long it lasts

Apart from COVID symptoms, what else has become the centre of discussion is the post-COVID condition and the symptoms associated with it. After over 2 years into dealing with the pandemic, people have started experiencing new complications which are in proximity with COVID-19 infection. Research studies have also confirmed the occurrence of these abnormalities in human bodies post COVID infection which calls for better understanding of what these complications are and how they can be spotted.

One such complication reported by patients following a COVID infection is brain fog.

First of all, "brain fog" is not a medical term. It has not been coined by researchers or health experts. The term brain fog, Harvard Health says, is used by individuals to describe how they feel when their thinking is sluggish, fuzzy, and not sharp.

While we all face this sometime or the other, due to several factors, but post-COVID the occurrence of this complication has increased which is why brain fog has caught everyone's attention.

Brain fog has been reported to be one of the long COVID symptoms which persists in an individual even months after recovering from the coronavirus infection.

Brain fog has been reported by many people worldwide following recovery from COVID infection.

While brain fog is considered to be one of the long-COVID symptoms, in many cases it also occurs in those people in whom long-COVID symptoms are not seen.

As per a report carried by the Daily Mail based on the research findings from Oxford University, people who had mild COVID infection but did not report long COVID symptoms still had worse attention and memory for up to six to nine months.

The study conducted by Oxford's Department of Experimental Psychology and Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences conducted cognitive tests in a group of participants with a focus on sustaining attention, memory, planning, and semantic reasoning. "While they performed well in short-term working memory and planning compared with the control group, the participants scored significantly worse in their memory of past events and in their ability to sustain attention over time," the study found. Luckily, most people's memory and attention returned to normal after six to nine months, it also said.

Many other studies have also confirmed difficulties in maintaining attention in patients after COVID.

When you struggle with cognitive functioning, you can be sure of brain fog. You may find it difficult to focus or concentrate on your work. At times, it will also be difficult to bring the brain to its normal functioning.

One example that can demonstrate this is when you are talking to someone and lose the train of thought after a few minutes and are unable to keep up with the conversation. Other examples can be getting absent-minded while doing some important work like reading, writing or any household chores.

Instead of worrying about the loss of concentration or getting embarrassed about it, visit a doctor. You should know that many people are experiencing this after recovery from COVID infection, therefore getting timely medical assistance will only help you get back to normal. Conditions related to brain dysfunctioning should be dealt with carefully because if left uncared these conditions will aggravate further.

Experts at Harvard Health have listed out a few activities that can help a person to recover brain fog in easy ways. Aerobic exercises for five days a week, sleeping well, having a diet of whole grains, olive oil, fruits and vegetables can improve brain health and are effective to deal with brain fog, these experts have said.

In addition to these, one should also try to participate in social activities and try not to cut off from social circles. Other activities like reading, listening to music, practicing Yoga for mindfulness should also be put into habit and done on a regular basis.