Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Brain Fog
By Space Coast Daily // August 4, 2022
Have you ever felt that your brain is working slower than needed? How does it feel when you feel tired and numb most of the time during the day? Obviously! This is not at all a desirable condition. Brain fog is a condition that might be hard to explain accurately but everyone knows how it feels.
The best explanation of the foggy brain is that it is the outcome of multiple medical illnesses rather than a medical condition itself.
The groggy or foggy feeling may vary from person to person but one thing is common, your efficiency to do work is reduced. Brain fog may influence our eating habits, working efficiency, memory, response time, and cognitive abilities. Being the control organ in the body, the foggy brain may take our ability to think clearly and respond appropriately. It is crucial for us to be active and respond to external stimuli in order to be alive.
Challenges in treating foggy brain
It is quite challenging to diagnose and treat patients suffering from groggy feelings. Firstly, patients themselves do not understand what is wrong with them? And how can it be treated? Secondly, it is a multifactorial condition that can be caused by physiological as well as environmental factors. Moreover, patients’ emotional and social distress can worsen the situation. Following are the significant contributors to brain fog:
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All in all, it is difficult for physicians to prescribe suitable medicines, and usually, they recommend physical activity along with mild medication. Lack of motivation, determination, and energy makes it harder for people to follow a workout routine. As a result, they suffer for a long time.
COVID and brain fog
Recently, it has been proposed that there is an association between COVID and brain fog. Many patients have complained about their prolonged dizzy feeling after infection. The main reason for this could be a low supply of oxygen to the brain cells as COVID is a respiratory infection. An inadequate supply of oxygenated blood in the infected people could be the main reason for this condition3. Hypoxic conditions in the brain lead to tissue damage and neuronal inflammation.
Efficacy of HBOT
The importance of sufficient blood and oxygen supply to brain cells cannot be denied. Our brain is a delicate and vital organ that needs plenty of oxygen supply to get enough energy or continuous work. HBOT is characterized by the supply of a high concentration of oxygen at almost double pressure compared to atmospheric pressure at sea level. Flooding of brain cells with oxygen supplies more nutrients and energy, improving their working efficiency.
The optimal functioning of brain cells depends on the oxygenated blood supply to the brain cells and HBOT serves the same purpose, making it effective to boost brain performance. Low oxygen concentration and inflammation may be the main reasons for brain fog and HBOT has been found to reduce inflammation and rejuvenate body tissues. Amir Hadanny et al. conducted a study to study the impact of HBOT on chronic neurocognitive deficit. Their main findings include a significant improvement in:
■ Memory
■ Attention
■ Foggy brain feeling
Physiological benefits of HBOT for brain fog
HBOT is promising to deal with dizziness and foggy feeling due to certain physiological significances associated with it. Following are some supportive arguments:
■ Oxygenation
HBOT ensures an abundant supply of oxygen (25 to 30 times more than normal air) to all body cells, including brain tissue. Resultantly, the brain cells resume their normal metabolism. The high energy needed for tissue healing is provided with accelerated respiration rate in high oxygen concentration in blood.
■ Detoxification
The reduced blood flow also causes the accumulation of toxic metabolites, which are ultimately harmful to normal brain functioning and lead to brain fog. HBOT not only supplies cells with more oxygen but also boosts detoxification.
■ Reduce inflammation
The neurons in the brain get inflamed under stressful conditions like lack of nutrients, hypoxia, or trauma. HBOT relieves all such stresses and aids in healing the tissue inflammation. Moreover, it downregulates the cytokines released in inflamed cells and crosses the blood-brain barrier.
■ Neovascularization
Oxygen supply is directly associated with the formation of new blood vessels that supply blood successfully to all damaged parts of the brain, replenishing the microenvironment of cells. Angiogenesis alleviates the brain fog and rejuvenates the brain cells to function actively 6.
■ Stem cell mobilization
Stem cell mobilization is one of the most important aspects that compels the users and health professionals to consider it a potent therapy for chronic issues. Bone marrow stem cell activation promotes white blood cell production and ultimately boosts immunity. Furthermore, it enhances the regeneration of neurons diminishing brain fog.
■ Upregulation of repair genes
HBOT favors neurogenesis by activating the repair genes and growth factors. Quick repair of inflamed neurons helps the users to get rid of brain fog faster than other medications.
HBOT must not be confused with pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy. It is analogous to physiological therapy that initiates a cascade of temporary or long-term physiological responses to let brain tissue heal faster.
How to spend time in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber?
A common question that hits users’ minds is what kind of activities they can perform during therapy. HBOT takes approximately 1.5 hours during which the users can lay down, sit, or even do some slow movements. If someone feels pressure in the ear then chewing bubble gum can help.
If the therapy is taken under the supervision of a medical practitioner, then depending on the medical history they can provide you with some precautionary measures. Oxyhelp hyperbaric oxygen chambers, especially the soft shell chambers are user-friendly and safe due to their high quality, automatic processing, and easy-to-understand user interface. So one can get into these chambers and relax in the world around full of oxygen to get maximum benefits.
