Mentally Fatigued

WELL, IT HAPPENED. After two and a half years of somehow avoiding it, I got COVID.

My symptoms were very mild in comparison to what I’ve heard from others who contracted this variant, but I’m still having a hard time focusing. Sometimes when I type, my words are rearranged or I’ll type the same word in a row, but with two different spellings. For example, “I bought to two wide-format printers at the tradeshow.” I imagine this would be frustrating to anyone, but for someone whose job it is to edit and write, it’s pretty maddening.

“Brain fog is not a medical or scientific term; it is used by individuals to describe how they feel when their thinking is sluggish, fuzzy, and not sharp,” says Andrew E. Budson, MD, in a blog for Harvard Health Publishing. He refers to a recent Chinese study “The Landscape of Cognitive Function in Recovered COVID-19 Patients” by calling the feeling “persistent impairment in sustained attention.”

I would say I have the attention span of a goldfish, but that would be putting it mildly. A recent study by Microsoft states human attention span has dropped to eight seconds – shrinking nearly 25 percent in just a few years. A goldfish has an attention span of nine seconds. I must be clocking in at five or six with COVID brain.

To combat my cognitive challenges, Dr. Budson recommends exercising, eating a Mediterranean diet, avoiding drugs and alcohol, sleeping well, practicing mindfulness, and participating in social activities. I try to stick to these rules on a regular basis, so hopefully I’ll be back to a whopping eight seconds in no time.

For anyone who is dealing with mental or physical health issues due to COVID-19, try to follow the previously mentioned tips and, most importantly, rest. Surround yourself with a good team that can pick up the pieces while you focus on your health.