Brain Fog, Low Mood and Fatigue: Could Social Media Be Part of the Picture?

Many of the patients who come to see me are struggling with brain fog, difficulty focusing and concentrating, anxiety, low mood, poor sleep, and fatigue. Of course, there can be many underlying reasons for this. An underactive thyroid, nutrient deficiencies, chronic stress, insulin and blood sugar dysregulation, hormonal changes, poor sleep, and more. That is where my job comes in: to look deeper, investigate what may be going on beneath the surface, and use things like a thorough history and appropriate blood work to help identify the contributing factors.

But there is another factor that almost all of us are being exposed to every single day, and it is one we may not think about as a potential contributor to how we feel, or at least not to the full extent it may be impacting us. You may have guessed it. Social media.

There is no denying that social media has brought many benefits to our lives. It has put an incredible wealth of knowledge and information at our fingertips, allowed us to connect with people across the world, and created a sense of community in a time when many of us feel increasingly isolated. It can be a powerful tool for learning, connection, creativity, and support.

However, what started as a way to stay connected with friends and share pieces of our lives has evolved into something very different. Today, much of what we consume is determined by algorithms designed to capture and hold our attention for as long as possible.

I personally started to notice the impact social media was having on my own life, so I decided to take a break from both Instagram and TikTok for one month, deleting both apps from my phone and iPad. What started as a one-month experiment ended up having a bigger impact than I expected. I eventually re-downloaded Instagram, but almost five months later, I still have not re-downloaded TikTok.

So today I want to discuss how social media use may affect our sleep, mental health, and brain function, and share some of the changes I personally noticed during my one month without social media.

We Were Never Designed for This Much Stimulation

Our environment has changed incredibly quickly. Even just 50 years ago, daily life involved far less constant stimulation and information coming at us. There were natural periods of quiet, boredom, waiting, and being alone with our thoughts.

Today, we carry a device that gives us instant access to entertainment, news, messages, opinions, advertisements, and information at virtually every moment of the day. And unlike many other forms of stimulation, social media is designed to keep us engaged. There is always another video, another post, another notification, or another piece of information waiting for us. Our brains are therefore being exposed to an unprecedented volume and frequency of novelty and social information throughout the day. This can make it harder to experience sustained attention, boredom, quiet, or simply being present with what is happening around you.

To put things into perspective, if you spend two hours per day scrolling on social media, that is 730 hours per year. That is equivalent to more than 30 full days. One entire month of your year.

What is that time replacing? Social media may not just be affecting things physiologically, it is also taking time away from our health habits. Exercise, meal planning, making a home cooked meal, and the rest.

Mental Health and the Comparison Trap

One of the biggest concerns with social media is the way it can influence how we see ourselves and our own lives. Most of what we see online is a curated version of someone else’s reality. Over time, this can create unrealistic expectations around what we should look like, how much money we should make, how productive we should be, what our career should look like, what our relationship should look like, and even how happy we should feel.

And the comparison does not stop there. Social media algorithms are designed to learn what captures our attention and keep showing us more of it. If certain content triggers a strong emotional response, whether that is excitement, anger, insecurity, fear, or envy, we are more likely to engage with it, which can encourage the algorithm to show us more similar content.

A growing body of research has found associations between greater or problematic social media use and anxiety, depression, loneliness, and lower self-esteem. More importantly, studies have been looking at what happens when we actually reduce our use.

What the Research Shows When People Cut Back

A randomized controlled trial published in 2022 found that taking just one week away from Facebook, Twitter (now called X), Instagram and TikTok led to significant improvements in well-being, depression, and anxiety (1).

Another study published in 2025 followed 111 university students who reduced their smartphone screen time to less than two hours per day (their average screen time before the intervention was approximately 4.6 hours per day). After reducing their use, participants experienced improvements in well-being, depressive symptoms, and sleep quality (2).

And in another study, researchers completely blocked mobile internet access on smartphones for two weeks. Participants could still make calls, send texts, and use the internet from a computer, meaning they were not completely disconnected from the digital world. Yet in only two weeks, researchers found improvements in sustained attention, mental well-being, and subjective well-being (3).

Sleep: It Is Not Just About the Blue Light

Another area where social media can have a significant impact is sleep. And while we often hear about the blue light from our phones suppressing melatonin, there is more to the story.

For many of us, social media has become the last thing we look at before bed and the first thing we look at when we wake up. We get into bed intending to scroll for 10 minutes, and suddenly an hour has passed. Research has consistently found associations between higher or problematic social media use and poorer sleep quality, shorter sleep duration, and difficulty falling asleep.

And this matters because sleep is not just about feeling rested the next day. Sleep is when our brains consolidate memories, regulate emotions, support metabolic health, and carry out important processes of recovery and repair. If we are not getting proper sleep, it is affecting so many other aspects of health. If you are curious about the other things that can quietly drain your energy, you may also want to read why so many of us are tired all the time.

What I Noticed During One Month Without Social Media

There are many reasons I decided to delete social media for one month. But to summarize, I constantly felt a sense of feeling “blah”, my memory did not feel as sharp, my attention span was not great (I started reaching for my phone while watching TV or even while eating), and I felt like I was wasting my free time scrolling on my phone.

I kept coming across videos and discussions about how children’s behaviour changed when phones were taken away at school, how kids responded when parents took away their iPads, and how our increasing exposure to screens and social media may be affecting our brains, creativity, attention, and even our ability to think deeply. I decided I wanted to see what kind of impact it was having on my own life.

So, what happened?

The first day, I kept picking up my phone and instinctively trying to open Instagram or TikTok, even when I was not consciously thinking about it. That is when I realized just how ingrained the habit had become. I adjusted pretty quickly after that. And I want to add an important caveat: I have a very social life and great friends, so removing social media did not leave me feeling disconnected or lonely. I recognize that it may be very different for someone who relies more heavily on social media for connection and community.

What I did notice, however, was that I became much more productive, particularly in those little 5 to 10 minute windows throughout the day that normally would have been filled with scrolling. In between patients, instead of checking my phone, I would sign off on a patient chart. If I had some extra time in the morning, I might watch a lecture instead of scrolling. At night, I actually used my downtime to read or watch a TV show. And I stopped accidentally pushing my bedtime back by one or two hours because I had gotten caught in a doom scroll.

But the most surprising change for me was how much easier everyday tasks became.

Usually, when I got home from work, I would give myself 10 minutes to scroll on social media to decompress. Sometimes it stayed at 10 minutes. Other times, 10 minutes became 30 minutes. And what I noticed was that once I finally put my phone down, it became much harder to get started on dinner, a chore, or whatever else I needed to do that evening. I felt like I had to overcome this huge wall of resistance just to get started. I felt like I really struggled with executive dysfunction.

Without social media, I would come home, sit on the couch for a minute or two, let my brain decompress, stare off into space for a bit, and then I would simply get up and do whatever I needed to do. Easy peasy. No dread. No endless procrastination. No feeling like everything was harder than it needed to be. It was honestly shocking. I felt more productive, but I also felt happier. Things that had been sitting on my to-do list for months were suddenly getting done.

I also started watching more long-form content on YouTube. And instead of watching a video while simultaneously picking up my phone every few minutes, I could actually sit and give it my full attention.

Why Not Just Cut Back Instead of Deleting the Apps?

If I did not genuinely enjoy creating and sharing on social media and using it for work, I would seriously consider deleting it for good. Now, you might be thinking: why does it have to be all or nothing? Why not just spend less time on social media? And that is a fair question.

I never considered myself someone who used social media excessively. My total screen time was usually around two to three hours per day, with maybe an hour of that being social media. But for me, it was not necessarily the total number of hours that was the problem. It was the 10 to 30 minute sessions scattered throughout my day. Those little periods of scrolling seemed to make it harder to transition into whatever I actually wanted or needed to do next.

When I eventually returned to social media, I noticed how easily those little scrolling sessions started to creep back in. That does not mean everyone needs to delete social media. But it taught me that sometimes it is not about how many hours you are spending on your phone. It is about what those small, seemingly harmless moments of scrolling are doing to the rest of your day.

When It Is More Than Your Phone

It is also worth saying that brain fog, low mood, poor sleep and fatigue are rarely caused by one thing alone. Screen habits can be a meaningful piece of the picture, and they are often not the whole picture.

Thyroid function, iron and B12 status, blood sugar regulation and shifting hormones can all produce very similar symptoms. That is exactly the kind of thing we investigate together with a thorough history and appropriate lab work as part of naturopathic hormonal health care in Kingston, and, when the pattern points that way, hypothyroidism support in Kingston. If your symptoms have been going on for a while, changing your phone habits and looking under the hood are not mutually exclusive. They work well together.

What Can We Actually Do?

I do not think the answer is necessarily to delete social media forever. For many of us, social media is a part of our work, relationships, creativity and community. Instead, I think the goal is to become more intentional about how we use it, rather than letting the algorithm decide when, where and how often we engage with it.

A few simple things you can try:

• Do not reach for your phone first thing in the morning. If anything, no social media for the first 30 to 60 minutes upon waking.
• Keep meals screen-free. Give yourself the opportunity to actually eat and be present without simultaneously consuming content.
• No phones 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime.
• Turn off unnecessary notifications.
• Create intentional check-in times rather than constantly picking up your phone throughout the day.
• Keep social media apps off of your home screen. Or only use social media on your computer or iPad, and delete the apps from your phone.
• Manage your feed. Unfollow accounts that leave you feeling worse.
• Stop using 2x speed when watching reels and TikToks.
• Try more long-form content such as YouTube videos, documentaries, movies, podcasts and books. Give your brain the opportunity to stay with one idea for longer rather than constantly jumping from one topic to the next within minutes.

And if you really want to see how much social media is affecting you, I encourage you to delete the apps for two weeks. Pay attention to what happens to your sleep, your focus, your mood, your productivity, and your attention span. Then decide for yourself how you want social media to fit into your life.

If the brain fog, fatigue or low mood does not lift once your screen habits change, that is useful information too, and worth investigating. You can learn more about Dr. Bianca Breiding, ND, visit our Kingston clinic, or book an appointment online here.

References

1. Lambert J, Barnstable G, Minter E, Cooper J, McEwan D. Taking a One-Week Break from Social Media Improves Well-Being, Depression, and Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2022 May;25(5):287-293. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2021.0324. Epub 2022 May 3. PMID: 35512731.
2. Pieh C, Humer E, Hoenigl A, Schwab J, Mayerhofer D, Dale R, Haider K. Smartphone screen time reduction improves mental health: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Med. 2025 Feb 21;23(1):107. doi: 10.1186/s12916-025-03944-z. PMID: 39985031; PMCID: PMC11846175.
3. Castelo N, Kushlev K, Ward AF, Esterman M, Reiner PB. Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being. PNAS Nexus. 2025 Feb;4(2):pgaf017. doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf017.