One Week Sober: What to Expect in Early Sobriety

Fortunately, cognitive impairments created by alcohol are reversible with abstinence. Of course, even if your goal isn’t abstinence, reducing alcohol consumption to light alcohol brain fog or moderate levels is going to help. Either way, the good news is that your brain can restore its natural chemical levels and even return to normal functioning.

Dr. Le most recently served as Chief Medical Officer of Optum Home and Community Care. Previously, Dr. Le co-founded and served as Chief Medical Officer of Landmark Health, where he pioneered a new care model that provided physician-led, multidisciplinary house calls to frail seniors. Amy Shin is an advocate for equitable healthcare, with expertise in Medicare, Medicaid, dual-eligible, long-term care, and commercial health care. She brings strength in strategic planning, improving operational efficiencies, and innovating to advance healthcare. Most recently, Ms. Shin served as CEO of Health Plan of San Joaquin, where she oversaw healthcare delivery to underserved areas of California.

What Are the Symptoms of Alcohol-Related Brain Fog?

Even after you’ve embarked on the path to sobriety, the effects of alcohol on your brain can linger, manifesting as brain fog. This cognitive haze is a common challenge in the early stages of recovery. This impairment is closely linked to alcohol’s propensity to decelerate the central nervous system, culminating in diminished intercellular communication within the brain. This slowdown is a primary contributor to the onset of alcohol-induced brain fog, a condition characterized by mental clarity’s deterioration. In this article, we’ll explore how alcohol impacts our cognitive health, including our memory, and some short actionable advice to help clear brain fog in early sobriety. Gillian Tietz is the host of the Sober Powered podcast and recently left her career as a biochemist to create Sober Powered Media, LLC.

Give us a call today and begin your journey toward long-term recovery. If you think you or someone you know may be struggling with alcohol addiction, it is vital to seek professional help as soon as possible. It can be caused by a number of different factors, including alcohol addiction. Alcohol abuse causes this type of damage by depleting the body of thiamine, which is an essential vitamin for the brain. The Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a type of brain damage that is usually caused by overconsumption of alcohol.

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Brain exercises can help get rid of brain fog symptoms and enhance your cerebral function in the long run. In fact, research has shown that regular exercise can help improve brain function and reduce brain fog. It’s no wonder that so many people report feeling foggy-headed after a night of drinking or even days after that. Knowing your limits, including what number of drinks qualifies as binge drinking, is an excellent first step in preventing future binge drinking episodes. Unfortunately, even one night of binge drinking can be dangerous to your health. While drinking alcohol is normalized socially and is legal above the age of 21 in the United States, it can still have harmful impacts on the body.

• Also most importantly, the techs as well as the nurses were awesome listeners, but most of all they had such great advice for me.
• However, the time frame can be longer for people who are regularly consuming heavy amounts of alcohol.
• The duration of brain fog after quitting alcohol varies from person to person.
• Long-term drinking affects the functions of the brain that control inhibitions, decision-making, problem-solving, and judgment.
• She completed her undergraduate training in gerontology at McMaster University.

Adetoun provides care to patients with the most complex and advanced medical needs. She is experienced in adult-gerontology, caring for patients from adolescence through adulthood and into advanced age. She brings her experience to our participants and puts smiles on their faces. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ Ethan Epstein is passionate about delivering higher value healthcare in the US. To him, that means better clinical outcomes at a lower cost for patients. Most recently he was at Evolent Health, where he teamed with providers to enable their transition in value-based care.