How Are Foggy Brain and Headaches Linked?

Reviewed by Suo Lee, MD

Internal Medicine

Foggy brain (trouble thinking clearly) and headaches may appear together because they can share similar causes in the brain, such as inflammation, after an illness like COVID-19.

Explanation

When you feel foggy (e.g. foggy brain) and get headaches, these symptoms could be part of the same process that your brain is going through. Researchers have looked at thousands of people who said they had brain fog, and many of them also mentioned headaches. This suggests that something in the way the brain works might be causing both problems. One study found that for many people describing brain fog, which includes trouble remembering things and thinking fast, these symptoms often came with headaches. In other studies, people recovering from illnesses, like COVID-19, also had headaches and noticed changes in their vision or sense of smell. These changes can be hints that the brain is affected by an inflammation process after an illness, making it hard to think clearly and causing headache. So, if you or someone you know experience both foggy brain and headaches, it might be a sign that the brain is struggling with a process that is a common denominator for both symptoms.

(References)

Alim-Marvasti A, Ciocca M, Kuleindiren N, Lin A, Selim H, Mahmud M. Subjective brain fog: a four-dimensional characterization in 25,796 participants. Front Hum Neurosci. 2024 Jun 6;18:1409250. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1409250. PMID: 38911226; PMCID: PMC11191638.
Taskiran-Sag A, Eroglu E, Ozulken K, Canlar S, Poyraz BM, Sekerlisoy MB, Mumcuoglu T. Headache and cognitive disturbance correlate with ganglion cell layer thickness in patients who recovered from COVID-19. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2022 Jun;217:107263. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2022.107263. Epub 2022 Apr 26. PMID: 35525105; PMCID: PMC9040445.
Di Stadio A, Brenner MJ, De Luca P, Albanese M, D'Ascanio L, Ralli M, Roccamatisi D, Cingolani C, Vitelli F, Camaioni A, Di Girolamo S, Bernitsas E. Olfactory Dysfunction, Headache, and Mental Clouding in Adults with Long-COVID-19: What Is the Link between Cognition and Olfaction? A Cross-Sectional Study. Brain Sci. 2022 Jan 24;12(2):154. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12020154. PMID: 35203918; PMCID: PMC8870047.

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