We all have a bit of brain fog from time to time - particularly in the morning for myself. We may want to concentrate on finishing that story, working on that report for work, or whatever it is that requires our best mental efforts, yet we are in a haze. What can you do to more effectively concentrate on the task at hand? Fortunately there are several things.

Caffeine is one possibility. Without a doubt it "wakes up" the brain for most people. But there are problems with that coffee or tea. First, there are people like myself that don’t tolerate too much caffeine. I actually get more tired and my brain gets foggier when I am drinking coffee daily. Even in those people who do well with six cups daily, the beneficial effects tend to diminish in time. Eventually the caffeine just gets the user back to normal, and makes functioning without it very difficult.

Then there are the nootropic drugs. I wouldn’t want to recommend these either, because many of them have not been used for enough time by enough people for us to know what side effects they might have. On the other hand, there are a number of perfectly legal ones, and some of us are willing to be in that first wave of self-experimenters that prove or disprove the value of such things.

I have tried one recently that is available from health food and supplement vendors online and off. It is called piracetam. There have been some studies done on this one, which show some real effects. As for my experience, I can say that I am convinced it helps me concentrate. In fact, instead of the thirty blog posts that I might normally write in a day when I want to promote my websites, I wrote over one hundred the first time I tried piracetam. 12,000 words, and they came easily. I was focused on the task to say the least.

Dealing with brain fog without drugs is probably safer though, and it is certainly cheaper. For example, sometimes all you need is a few deep breaths to clear your mind. Meditation would be the next step up from this, and can help with long-term clarity by reducing stress and anxiety.

There is also a specific mindfulness exercise that you can do to rid yourself of brain fog, if your particular condition at the moment is caused by an excess of thoughts, both conscious and unconscious. Often there is just too much occupying our minds to think clearly. The following exercise deals with that.

Pause what you are doing and take several deep breaths through your nose while letting the tension run out of your muscles. Then become aware of what is going on in your mind. Watch yourself for several minutes, to see what surfaces. As each potentially distracting feeling or thought or memory pops up, deal with it in a way that clears it out.

For example, if you find that just below the surface of consciousness you have been worrying about a task at home you need to do, make a mental note or write it down on a to-do list, so you can let go of the thought. If you realize you are feeling hungry, grab a quick snack. If there is a phone call you need to make, go ahead and make it or schedule it for later. Essentially you want to find a way to let go of whatever little "mind irritations" might be interfering with your ability to concentrate.

The advantage of this technique is that you can eliminate or reduce your brain fog whenever and wherever you wish, and you’ll get better at it with practice.