Brain Fog, Food Noise, and the Endless Scroll

 

The Fog That Stole My Brain

It started as a simple mission: walk into the kitchen, grab my keys, and leave like a functional adult.

Five minutes later, I was standing in front of the fridge, holding a block of cheese like it held the secrets of the universe, with zero recollection of how I got there.

This is my life now—a never-ending game of “Why Did I Just Open This App?” except the app is my brain, and it runs at the speed of a 2003 flip phone. The world is a high-speed fiber-optic network, and I’m just here, buffering on dial-up.

Some people call it brain fog. I call it living in a constant loading screen. Words disappear mid-sentence. Thoughts escape before they fully form. And just when I think I’ve regained control, food noise crashes the party like an uninvited guest who won’t take a hint.

The Science Behind Brain Fog & Screen Time: A Comedy of Errors

Why does my brain feel like a browser with 47 tabs open, all playing different YouTube videos at once? Turns out, there’s actual science behind this mess.

The Digital Overload Effect

Scrolling is basically junk food for the brain. Each little dopamine hit feels great in the moment, but suddenly, I’ve consumed 3,000 calories of useless trivia and still feel unsatisfied.

Our prefrontal cortex—the part responsible for focus and decision-making—gets overloaded with an infinite buffet of information. The result? Mental exhaustion, zero attention span, and the increasing inability to remember why I walked into a room.

I’ve opened my fridge in confusion more times than I care to admit.

Dopamine: The Sneaky Villain

Every time I refresh my feed, my brain gets a tiny dopamine hit. It’s like giving a toddler a cookie every time they yell, “MORE!”—except now the toddler owns me, runs my schedule, and somehow controls my thumbs.

Eventually, my brain stops functioning without constant stimulation. Just like that, I’ve trained myself—by accident—to doom scroll against my own will. It’s the neurological equivalent of eating an entire bag of chips, realizing I’m not hungry, and opening another bag anyway.

Decision Fatigue is Real

Ever feel like choosing what to eat for lunch requires the same level of energy as solving world peace? That’s decision fatigue.

Modern life bombards us with choices, draining our mental energy faster than my phone battery at 2%. By the time I need to do something important—like work, exercise, or decide between tacos and pasta—my brain dramatically collapses onto a metaphorical fainting couch and chooses none of the above.

Which usually means snacks and TikTok.

Food Noise: The Soundtrack of My Chaos

Food noise is that relentless narrator in my head, turning my day into a never-ending episode of Chopped: Brain Edition.

Wake up? What’s for breakfast?

Finish breakfast? What’s for lunch?

Two hours later? Should I be snacking? Do normal people snack?

It’s not hunger. It’s a mental sport. A strategic dance between cravings and guilt.

I’ve spent more time debating snack choices than making actual life decisions. I can commit to a house I’ll live in for years, but choosing between hummus or a granola bar? Existential crisis.

Meanwhile, my attention span has the durability of a cheap hair tie. My to-do list is a graveyard of unfinished tasks. And when I try to focus? That’s when the doom scrolling begins.

Endless Scrolling: The Digital Bermuda Triangle

It starts innocently: “Just checking my notifications.”

Cut to an hour later, and I’ve gone down a rabbit hole that includes:

• 45 minutes of cake-decorating reels. (I don’t bake, but suddenly I have passionate opinions about fondant.)
• 30 minutes of watching strangers organize their homes. (Mine remains a disaster.)
• 15 minutes Googling "Should I get bangs?" (I should not, yet I remain unconvinced.)

My thumbs are possessed!

My screen time report shames me weekly!

I emerge from these scrolling sessions dazed, more exhausted than before I even picked up my phone, with nothing to show for it except the growing realization that I am, in fact, the problem.

The Wishlist Fantasy: Shopping Without the Shopping

As if scrolling wasn’t enough, I also moonlight as a professional wishlist curator.

Not actual shopping, because, well, money! But filling imaginary carts? A lifestyle.

Items I have absolutely convinced myself I need:

• A ridiculously expensive espresso machine (even though I already consume enough caffeine to be legally classified as a flight risk).
• Fancy workout gear (as if leggings will magically make me love burpees).
• A bookshelf I don’t have room for (but the aesthetic!).

And then there’s the truly delusional part of my wishlist: clothes that are ten sizes too small. As if future me—a glowing, toned, Parisian runway model—will somehow fit into them with ease.

Never mind that current me is lounging in sweatpants, drinking coffee like it’s my only job.

It’s all fun and games until a “one-time-only” sale notification pops up, and suddenly I’m justifying why I need a third pair of running shoes.

(Spoiler: I do not run. I might just trip over my own boobs!)

The Battle Plan: Fighting the Fog, Food Noise, Scrolling, and Fake Shopping

Since living like a feral raccoon fueled by caffeine and regret is probably not sustainable, I’ve developed a plan:

1. Hydration Like It’s a Full-Time Job

• AquaShawn (yes, my water bottle has a name) is back in my life.
• Dehydration makes brain fog worse, and I refuse to let my organs shrivel like forgotten grapes.

I now drink one glass of water for every cup of coffee. (Progress, not perfection.)

2. Protein: The Plot Twist I Didn’t See Coming

• Apparently, food noise is less aggressive when I eat actual protein. Who knew? (Literally every nutritionist ever.)
• Snacks are now missions. Mission: Eat Protein. Mission: Stop Eating Like a Toddler Left Unsupervised in a Pantry.

Eggs, chicken, and Greek yogurt are the new MVPs.

3. Breaking Up with the Doom Scroll & Wishlist Addiction

• Screen time limits are set. Will I ignore them? Probably. But it’s the thought that counts.

Mid-scroll, I now ask: Am I looking for something, or am I just avoiding life? (It’s always avoidance.)

Final Thoughts: We’re All Just Trying to Keep It Together

Look, I don’t have this figured out yet. My brain still lags like bad WiFi. My food noise still screams at me. My wishlist is still filled with items I will never buy.

But I’m trying...

So, if you ever find yourself standing in front of the fridge holding a block of cheese like it’s a crystal ball, or emerging from a scrolling coma wondering where the last two hours went—just know, you’re not broken, you’re just buffering. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find AquaShawn before I convince myself I need another pair of running shoes I’ll never run in..

👉 Tell me— What’s the strangest thing you’ve caught yourself doing mid-brain fog?

 Let’s commiserate together.