40 | JUNE 30 • 2022 

HEALTH

C

OVID Brain … 
What does that 
phrase mean to 
you? In addition to the fact 
that those words make me 
increasingly 
anxious, I have 
heard them 
used in two 
very different 
contexts over 
the last year or 
so. 
Initially, 
some psychologists began 
using that label to normalize 
and validate the fact that 
with our preoccupation 
with keeping ourselves 
and our loved ones safe, 
particularly during the early 
months of the pandemic, 
our attention was fractured; 
we were not sleeping; we 
were preoccupied and 
constantly multitasking. The 
cumulative effects of this 

made themselves known in 
a myriad of ways. I can’t find 
my keys! Did you see where 
I put my phone? What day is 
it? I can’t remember a thing I 
just read! 
The examples are too 
numerous and diverse (and 
in some cases comical) to 
do justice in the recounting. 
Suffice it to say that people 
were very concerned, 
thinking perhaps they were 
developing a dementia much 
earlier than expected.
As reassuring as it was to 
have this normalized as an 
expected reaction to living 
through truly unsettling 
times, a new meaning to the 
phrase emerged in clinical 
literature in recent months. 

COMPLICATION
FROM COVID
COVID Brain (or COVID 
Brain Fog) is now also 

used to refer to a possible 
complication of COVID-
19. Some people who have 
recovered from COVID-19 
describe a feeling of brain 
fog that persists months 
after resolution of many 
other symptoms. In fact, 
a few recently published 
studies have demonstrated 
that some individuals not 
only experience cognitive 
confusion following COVID 
19 infection, but, in fact, also 
show significant changes on 
brain scans. 
If you are brave enough to 
continue reading, I have one 
more “hard-to-hear” fact to 
share with you. Regardless 
of COVID exposure or 
illness, brain scans can 
reveal changes in our brains 
indicative of cognitive 
decline 20-30 years prior 
to the onset of symptoms. 
That means the time to take 

action is now!
While many of the people I 
speak with are eager to know 
they’re doing all they can 
to preserve their cognitive 
abilities, very much aware 
that having their cognition as 
strong as possible is critical 
to their ability to age well 
and on their own terms, 
many others express an 
unwillingness to discuss the 
topic, fearful of stigma and 
what others might think. So, 
let’s start by addressing the 
stigma. 
All of us lucky enough 
to live a long life will 
experience some form of 
age-related cognitive decline. 
This is not indicative of 
developing a dementia, but, 
nonetheless, may take the 
form of a decline in memory 
that makes us feel forgetful, 
a change in our visual spatial 
skills that may make parking 

Cognitive training can of
 set
symptoms of “COVID Brain.”

Brain Health …
If Not Now, When?

Lynn Breuer

