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December 29, 2025
Dr Ahmed Kamal
Brain fog is one of those symptoms that’s difficult to describe but instantly recognisable when you experience it. Concentration slips. Words don’t come as easily. Thinking feels slower, heavier, or less reliable than it used to. Many men worry that this signals something serious — or irreversible. Others dismiss it entirely, assuming it’s just stress or lack of sleep. Clinically, neither extreme is usually accurate. Brain fog isn’t a diagnosis. It’s a description of how thinking feels when something is interfering with clarity.
Cognitive symptoms tend to worry people more than physical ones. A sore knee is irritating; a foggy mind can feel unsettling. Men often describe a loss of sharpness, reduced confidence in decision-making, or difficulty sustaining attention at work. What makes brain fog particularly confusing is that it often fluctuates. Some days feel manageable. Others feel inexplicably worse. That variability is an important clinical clue.
When men describe brain fog, doctors rarely jump to one explanation. Instead, they ask what might be placing sustained demand on the brain. Sleep quality is often the first consideration. Chronic sleep disruption affects attention, memory, and emotional regulation long before people feel “sleep deprived”. Psychological stress and mental load also play a significant role, even when stress doesn’t feel overwhelming. Physical health matters too. Infections, inflammatory conditions, medication side effects, and nutritional factors can all subtly affect cognition. Importantly, these influences often overlap. Brain fog is usually a signal of strain, not damage.
Hormones, including testosterone, can influence cognition — but their role is often overstated. Hormonal changes rarely cause isolated brain fog on their own. More commonly, they interact with sleep, mood, and energy levels. A single blood test cannot explain cognitive symptoms in isolation. Doctors interpret hormone results alongside the broader clinical picture, rather than treating them as the answer. For many men, focusing too early on hormones distracts from more relevant contributors.
Occasional brain fog is common. Persistent or worsening symptoms, especially when they affect work or daily functioning, are worth discussing with a clinician. In many cases, the outcome is reassurance and perspective rather than treatment. Understanding why clarity has dipped can be more helpful than chasing a single cause.
"Brain fog is rarely about one thing. It usually reflects how the brain is responding to sustained pressure.”
— Dr Ahmed Kamal Abdoun, GP, Menvate
This reflects why cognitive symptoms are assessed in context, not isolation.
Brain fog doesn’t mean you’re losing your edge. It often means your system is overloaded. Identifying where that load is coming from — rather than assuming the worst — is usually the most effective first step.
