Brain Fog Parenting

I’m not into cars.

But I do love a good car advertisement.

Particularly the ones for mums.

Picture mum driving with kids along a beautiful road.

Mum’s thoughts play…

I need to write that email. What shall we have for dinner? The kids are talking. I should listen better. I should be more present. Deep breath. Mindfulness. Yes why aren’t I practicing that more. Oh I’m still not listening. Okay be present. Um where are we driving again!

Or my other favourite.

Kids are in the car telling mum about their day at school.

Mum’s thoughts play…

I’m so tired. I should be happy they’re talking to me. I really feel like a donut right now.

Mum sees a gas station with a famous donut brand.🍩

Ad finishes with mum relaxed and eating her donut as she drives out of the service station.

Not going to lie.

I love a good donut around 4pm when work-life turns into mum life/taxi service.

I also have times when I’m thinking more about my lack of mindfulness than actually being mindful.

Whether you’re a donut seeker or a mindfulness aspirer…

…(or a little of both like me)…

You’ve likely experienced the brain fog and stress that comes with middle life.

And while the hormone changes that hit women at the time their kids turn into teens don’t help…

Hormones aren’t the only reason you can’t remember the 12 names your daughter just rattled off as she recounted the latest mean girls episode that played out in her lunchtime today.

Brain fog doesn’t just feel bad when you forget things or feel like tasks you used to do easily are like walking through mud…

…it impacts your parenting.

Parenting well requires good clear thinking space.

Whatever the issue is in your household this week…the place to start is your thinking space.

Because when that’s clearer, the problems are easier.

There’s three important causes of brain fog that fuel the stress cycle.

They feed each other, impact relationships and work performance (and one of them also raises the risk of heart attack…read to the end to learn this one).

🫥1. Anxiety.

We all feel anxious from time to time.

It's important we do because anxiety prompts our brains to scan the world for danger and makes sure our minds pay attention to possible dangers over everything else.

But when the “danger” is not something we can literally run away from or fight, then worried thoughts can spin around in our minds taking up important short term memory resources leading to the feeling of brain fog.

There's many things to be anxious about parenting a teen. A purposeful way to approach difficulties is important to settle the anxious mind.

The first step is writing out the things you are anxious about. This can help reduce rumination and is a place to start to understand and plan to deal with problems.

🫷🫸2. Split attention.

Ever had your computer stop because you were running too many things at once?

Our brains are the same.

We need to close the tabs both metaphorically (and physically).

It’s great we have the flexibility to check emails on our phones and work from home.

But the downside is the physical cues to end one task and begin another are more blurry.

And with that blurriness can come a blurry mind.

To reduce split attention close one task before moving to another and allow for transition time in between.

🛌3. Sleep.

Your brain needs 7-9 hrs of sleep a night to function well.

When you sleep the brain literally clears out the junk from the day.

In the same way that getting your kids shoes and school bags out of the doorway stops you from tripping, your brain’s cerebral spinal fluid washes away the unnecessary clutter in your brain overnight which clears your mind for the new day.

After sleep you solve problems faster and more efficiently.

And sleep also improves anxiety, reduces heart attack risk …and the hormone imbalance that leads to craving the donut at 4pm 😉

I you're feeling the stress of brain fog it's not something you just have to accept with middle age.

There's things you can do to get a clearer mind...even in the lead up to Christmas.