How To Clear Brain Fog (Simple Methods)

Dave Asprey

Sep 21, 2025

Episode description

If you feel like your brain's stuck in first gear, losing focus, forgetting simple things, feeling mentally sluggish—you’re not alone. I lived with brain fog for 15 years while building companies in Silicon Valley, and no productivity hack or double espresso fixed it. In this episode, I’ll show you how to clear brain fog at the cellular level by restoring mitochondrial energy, ditching brain-damaging foods, optimizing sleep, and upgrading your nutrition. These are the exact science-backed steps that got me back to feeling sharp, focused, and fully me. Let’s turn your brain back on.

Chapters:

0:00 – Introduction

0:49 – The Root Cause of Brain Fog

1:26 – What Most People Get Wrong

2:20 – How to Fix Your Mitochondria

2:57 – Food: Fuel or Poison

4:48 – The 4 Brain Poisons Killing Your Focus

5:20 – Exercise for Brain Energy (Not Burnout)

7:55 – Brain Fog Supplements That Work

Brain fog supplement: https://shopsuppgradelabs.com/products/brain-101, use code DAVE15

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Mindsip insights from this episode:

Understand Alzheimer's as type 3 diabetes linked to glucose dysfunction

Alzheimer's is called type 3 diabetes because it is fundamentally linked to glucose dysfunction and insulin resistance within the brain.

#Alzheimer's

#glucose

Incorporate Ginkgo, L-Alpha GPC, Phosphatidylserine, and Citicoline to reverse brain fog

Four of the best supplemental ingredients to reverse brain fog are Ginkgo, L-Alpha GPC, Phosphatidylserine, and Citicoline.

#cognition

#supplement

Recognize brain fog as a warning sign of mitochondrial breakdown

Brain fog is not laziness or aging but a biological warning sign that your brain's cellular energy system, the mitochondria, is breaking down.

#cognition

#mitochondria

Limit cardio to reduce brain fog

Too much cardio can actually make brain fog worse by raising cortisol, wrecking sleep, and further draining your mitochondria.

#cortisol

#exercise

Get morning sunlight to stimulate new mitochondria

Getting 5-10 minutes of direct morning sunlight on your skin and eyes within 30 minutes of waking triggers the creation of new, healthy mitochondria.

#mitochondria

#sunlight

Trigger mitophagy with 14 to 18-hour fasting

A 14 to 18-hour fast triggers a process called mitophagy, where your body clears out old, damaged mitochondria to make room for new ones.

#fasting

#mitochondria

Choose food wisely to enhance brain function or prevent sabotage

Every bite of food you take is either making your brain sharper or actively sabotaging it by causing inflammation; there is no neutral option.

#cognition

#nutrition

Nourish your brain to prevent self-digestion of neurotransmitters

When your brain is starved of the 40+ specific nutrients it needs, it starts breaking down its own neurotransmitter pathways to scavenge them.

#brain

#nutrition

Choose five-minute REHI workout for superior cardiorespiratory gains

A five-minute workout called REHI, involving two 20-second all-out sprints, provides better cardiorespiratory improvements than a traditional hour-long session.