The lack of socializing during COVID lockdowns may have been particularly hard on people’s cognition. Research confirms that being out in more natural settings is helpful for our well-being and has positive effects on our cognition above and beyond those coming from exercise alone. If you have a park or open space nearby, try spending some time moving while in green spaces (especially among trees). Getting exercise, on the other hand, is tied to better cognition-and even moderate exercise can help us think more clearly and perform better on tasks requiring focus. Sitting for long periods of time without taking breaks to move has been tied to brain changes associated with dementia, as well as poor cognitive functioning. When we exercise, we encourage blood flow through our bodies, including our brains, which need oxygenation to perform at their best. But it’s also important for thinking more clearly. One of the best tools for stress-busting or fighting depression is exercise. In fact, taking breaks from technology, in general, could help you focus better at work and elsewhere. You might limit your use of social media, as doing so can help you feel less lonely, depressed, and anxious. For example, once you’ve read an update on what’s happening abroad in Ukraine, you might skip watching 24-hour cable news where the same stories are repeated ad nauseam. If we want to reduce stress and keep sharp, there are ways to tone down our media consumption and be more intentional about how we consume our news. But repeated exposure to crises wreaks havoc with our well-being and can lead to bad decision making. Unfortunately, newspapers, TV news programs, and many social media sites make their money by grabbing your attention-and nothing grabs attention better than negative news. Whether we’re trying and failing to make plans, keeping up with the ever-changing recommendations around COVID, or doomscrolling about climate change or the war in Ukraine, it’s hard to avoid anxiety or catastrophizing about the future. Become more intentional about consuming news Here are some steps you can take to clear the fog away. Though the elderly may be particularly vulnerable, many of us could be suffering some degree of brain fog in the wake of recent events. Though the worst period of the pandemic may have passed-cases and deaths are falling, and there’s no imminent danger of another shelter-in-place order-many of us are still paying that cost in the form of “brain fog.” Researchers have noted that living through the pandemic is negatively influencing people’s cognition-their focus, attention, ability to plan, and more. This, in turn, has affected our cognitive well-being, leading to poorer performance on tasks that require attention, memory, or decision making. The emotional costs of the pandemic aren’t helping, either. It’s clear that COVID-19 conditions have affected people’s stress levels, sleep, and mental health-especially those who don’t deal well with uncertainty. When you’re constantly staring at a screen-especially if you’re following events unfolding in Ukraine-you’re bound to suffer stress and attention fatigue from information overload. Perhaps it’s because I spend so much time online, reading news, shopping, working, even socializing via Zoom. Be vulnerable and true to yourself this month
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