Researchers estimate that we make about 35,000 decisions per day; granted, most of those are subconscious, but with numbers that high, it’s no wonder life can feel a bit overwhelming at times. With information overload coming at you from every angle in today’s super-connected world, finding a moment of mental clarity can often feel next to impossible. But without time and space to think clearly, it’s much more difficult to navigate life’s many challenges and create the life you want.
If this sounds familiar, it’s worth learning some strategies to help lift the fog of uncertainty so you can make decisions and have breakthroughs that align with your values and lifestyle.
What is Mental Clarity?
Mental clarity is the cognitive ability to navigate your thoughts and the world around you with clear focus and concentration. Instead of feeling distracted and bogged down by thoughts of to-do lists, worries or other intrusive thoughts, you are able to make decisions and process information with ease.
Having mental clarity also means being present and engaged in the current moment, seeing reality for what it is. With that ability, it’s easier to recall memories, be creative, use quick thinking and have unclouded judgment. More importantly, this headspace allows you to set priorities, problem solve, and take actions that move you toward creating the life you want.
How to spot a lack of mental clarity
When you’re not able to think clearly, you might notice a few changes or signs:
- Mind frequently wandering when trying to focus
- Decreases in performance at work and more mistakes
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Missing appointments or important dates
- Losing items
- Forgetting names and dates
- Trouble making decisions, even simple ones
- Sense of being mentally or emotionally drained
- Lack of motivation and less desire to learn new things
Obstacles to Achieving Mental Clarity
It’s not likely that you’ll feel mentally sharp and clear all the time. Everyone has days that feel foggy, confusing or overwhelming. It’s important to let those days happen, too, since they can tell you something about how you’re feeling and what might be getting in the way of clearer thought. Here are some common culprits.
Sleep
You can probably guess that sleep is one of the largest players when it comes to achieving mental clarity. A lack of quality sleep drastically reduces your cognitive function, including your ability to make decisions, use self-control and respond to life’s demands. If you miss out on sleep regularly, it can prevent the “deep cleaning” process known as the glymphatic system in your brain, which is responsible for removing neurotoxins that can impede cognitive function.
Stress
Stressful situations can make it hard to think clearly. The part of your brain responsible for decision-making and more advanced thinking is less able to work while fear centers in your brain are given priority. You might feel foggy and have trouble concentrating. If you’re stressed very often for a long time, it can impact your memory and processing speed because of negative changes that happen in your brain structure.
Lack of downtime
If you’re always on your phone, watching TV or otherwise being awash with information and don’t take time away to process and distill it all, you’ll likely feel overwhelmed. Too much constant stimuli can leave you feeling overloaded and strung out, especially if you never have time to focus on a single task or piece of information without distractions.
Nutrition and hydration
If you’re not fueling your body, your mind will suffer the consequences as well. Your brain needs enough glycogen, healthy fats and micronutrients to perform properly. Likewise, without enough water, your brain can’t run as smoothly, and you’ll risk feeling groggy and mentally cloudy. Ultraprocessed foods may also make clear thinking more difficult since they are typically sugar-laden without offering fiber or much in the way of essential nutrients.
How to Foster Mental Clarity
Mental clarity is easier when you treat your body right, so honing in on your lifestyle habits is key. There are also ways you can encourage clearer, focused thinking through certain techniques and practices like mindfulness. Here are some ways to foster mental clarity.
Get enough sleep
Everything is clearer when you’ve gotten enough quality sleep. Practice good sleep hygiene by maintaining a consistent sleep and wake times, getting enough sun exposure while limiting bright lights at night, and creating a comfortable sleep environment. Aim for 7 to 9 hours per night.
Fuel your brain
Getting a balance of protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates is important. Omega fatty acids are especially crucial for cognition, but so is keeping your overall fat (particularly saturated fat) level in a healthy range. Focus on a varied diet rich in micronutrients like B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, zinc and magnesium, as well as omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and antioxidants.
Some herbs and extracts called nootropics can also support focus and attention, memory, brain energy, and overall neurological health. Codeage Brain Focus Vitamins+, which contains citicoline, vitamin B21, ginseng, gotu kola, kanna and the antioxidant resveratrol, may also support healthy brain function alongside a nutrient rich diet.
Get moving
Exercise has both short and long-term benefits for your mental abilities. Your brain will even build more matter in areas responsible for learning and memory over time if you exercise consistently. Endorphins, which boost your mood and help you think clearer, and blood flow to your brain both increase when you get moving. Even better, when you exercise, you’ll have better chances of sleeping soundly and feeling less stressed, which all supports mental clarity.
Tap into your wise mind
Trying to think clearly when you are relying only on emotions or excluding them altogether in favor of “logic” is next to impossible. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a type of therapy that encourages tapping into your “wise mind“—the overlap where you can employ both emotions and logic to create sound reasoning or mental clarity.
Pausing to assess both your emotions (without judging them) and logic, focusing on the present, looking at the facts objectively and considering multiple perspectives are ways you can use your wise mind to gain mental clarity.
Practice mindfulness
Breaking from digital information overload and the busyness of the day to practice being present and mindful is a great way to encourage mental clarity. When you have time to unpack and offload the stressors of the day, you can find mental space to think more clearly without distractions. Meditation, breathwork and journaling are all ways you can intentionally practice being more mindful and present throughout the day to gain mental clarity.
Keep learning
Striving after new skills and seeking the right kinds of stimulation can keep your brain active and sharp. Music, puzzles, new hobbies or sports, art, and dance are all ways you can boost your brain activity so that when you need to focus and think with clarity, you can.
When It Might Be Something More
Sometimes, there’s a medical reason behind a struggle to focus and think clearly. See a doctor if you feel like you’re having trouble thinking clearly on a frequent or recurring basis or if it impacts your life. It’s especially important to seek help if you experience symptoms like fever, rash or nausea. Bring a list of medications and, if you can, a record of when you’ve had trouble gaining mental clarity, including any noticeable symptoms and triggers. It’s also important to discuss any potential mental or emotional struggles you’re having, like stress, anxiety or depressive symptoms, so you can get the proper support.
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