Brain Fog Is Rising In People Under 40 — A New Study Shows This Is Driving It
Key takeaways
- Author: Ava Durgin May 18, 2026Assistant Health Editor By Ava Durgin Assistant Health Editor Ava Durgin is the former Assistant Health Editor at mindbodygreen.
- The biggest rise isn’t happening among older adults—it’s showing up in people under 40.
- So, what’s going on and what can we do about it?
Why this matters: practical guidance grounded in recent research or expert insight.
Author: Ava Durgin May 18, 2026Assistant Health Editor By Ava Durgin Assistant Health Editor Ava Durgin is the former Assistant Health Editor at mindbodygreen. She holds a B.A. in Global Health and Psychology from Duke University.Image by ZHPH Production / Stocksy May 18, 2026Lately, it seems like everyone I know has had a moment of walking into a room and completely forgetting why. Maybe it’s too many tabs open—both on our laptops and in our brains—but it turns out this sense of mental fog isn’t just anecdotal.
According to a new national analysis published in Neurology, serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions (what researchers call cognitive disability) has quietly become the most commonly reported disability among U.S. adults.
Even more striking? The biggest rise isn’t happening among older adults—it’s showing up in people under 40.