How To Prevent "Brain Rot"

 

In 2024, "brain rot" was named Oxford's Word of the Year, reflecting concerns about the effects of modern digital culture on a person's cognitive health.

Many people sacrifice sleep to scroll through social media or binge-watch their favorite shows and consume trivial, low-value content. Excessive online use can reduce focus and memory, negatively affect your mental and emotional well-being, and increase the risk of cognitive decline and age-related neurodegenerative disorders like dementia. It can also contribute to social withdrawal and reduce physical activity.

Today, brain rot has become shorthand for describing the negative effects of low-value digital content—especially on social media.

Common signs of brain rot include difficulty concentrating, social isolation and brain fog (a term for a range of symptoms that cause cognitive impairment, such as the ability to think clearly, focus, concentrate, remember and pay attention. It is often described as a cloudy-headed feeling. Forgetfulness is a common complaint among older adults). 

Adopting healthy habits can help you stay mentally sharp and prevent brain rot.

1. Set Social Media Time Limits

Social media platforms are designed to grab and keep your attention. While scrolling through social media can be entertaining, prolonged scrolling often comes at the expense of your focus, productivity and mental well-being. Excessive social media usage can increase anxiety and depression and reduce your school and work performance. 

Setting limits on your time on social media (i.e. digital detoxes—unplugging and stepping away from electronics for a set period) can help protect your cognitive health, boost productivity and mental well-being.

2. Foster In-Person Social Connections

While online connections can add value and help you connect with people with shared experiences, connecting with friends and family in person is important. Make it a point to nurture offline relationships.

Human connection and meaningful social interactions are fundamental to mental and emotional health. Face-to-face communication and connection fosters deeper bonds, empathy, opportunities for meaningful conversations and emotional support. Strong social ties can improve memory and protect against age-related cognitive decline.

Moreover, spending time outdoors is one of the simplest ways to reduce the effects of digital overstimulation, prevent brain rot and improve cognitive performance.

3. Limit Multitasking

While toggling between work emails, social media and your to-do list may seem efficient, multitasking can be more harmful than helpful.

When you multitask, your brain switches rapidly between tasks rather than performing them simultaneously, straining your working memory and decreasing your ability to focus.

4. Practice Mindfulness

Regular mindfulness practice can help retrain your brain to focus, breaking the habit of mindlessly scrolling through social media or other trivial content.

5. Learn a new skill, read books or engage in creative hobbies

Learning a new skill pushes your brain to adapt and grow, enhancing neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new connections.

Reading is one of the most effective ways to support your brain health. It also strengthens areas of the brain associated with language and imagination, making it a powerful tool against brain rot.

In the meantime, creative hobbies like crafting, drawing, knitting, writing or playing an instrument can keep your brain engaged and foster problem-solving skills.

Moreover, you need to get enough sleep as sleep is essential for brain health. And you also need to eat a nutritious and balanced diet, which can nourish your body and your brain. Consuming high-sugar or processed foods that are low in nutrition can reduce cognitive performance.

In addition, exercise can help you stay mentally sharp while reducing the risk of cognitive decline. It also helps reduce cortisol levels, a stress hormone that can accumulate from excessive digital media consumption and contribute to mental fatigue.