Rising popularity of brain fog supplements are believed to improve brain health, mainly those who have vitamin or hormonal deficiencies that contribute to mild to moderate brain fog. We hear reports from Reddit users that brain fog symptoms may go away if you take Vitamin D, Omega-3 or natural herbs such as Tongkat Ali, Ashwagandha or Panax Ginseng.
But does it really work?
Brain fog, characterized by forgetfulness, confusion, lack of focus, and mental fatigue—is commonly associated with imbalances in several key hormones such as cortisol, testosterone, thyroid hormones, estrogen, insulin, and melatonin.
Stress-induced brain fog is largely due to hormonal imbalance or deficiencies that may be addressed through dietary supplements, herbs, rest and exercises.
“Research suggests that vitamin D supplements can help increase vitamin D levels and may help improve depressive symptoms, including brain fog.” said research experts from Healthline.com. Additionally, Omega-3 is reported to have positive antioxidant effects to build more cell membranes in the brain, indirectly improving the brain health.
On the other hand, taking natural brain fog supplements such as Tongkat Ali and Ashwagandha are reported to reduce your mental sluggishness, but it is apparent that higher dose of more than 200mg to 400mg is required improve your focus, or elevate your stress by reducing cortisol (or stress hormones) and increasing your dopamine levels – which claimed to greatly to reduce brain fog if you have mild stress or depressive symptoms.
Nutritionists and dietary experts believe that mixing both coffee and Tongkat Ali may improve mental alertness, mental clarity and reduce brain fog due to the high alkaloid and quassinoids content found in both caffeine and eurycoma longifolia root extract. This helps boost dopamine, serotonin, and testosterone while reducing stress hormone known as cortisol.
Fit athletes and healthy adults may experience occasional mild brain fog due to higher cortisol levels from overtraining / overexercising, forcing them to take natural brain fog supplements such as Tongkat Ali coffee to balance their hormones for faster recovery.
In this review, we tried a standardized Tongkat Ali hot water root extract and our deep-dive assessment was conducted over a course of two weeks at high dose of 600mg daily, 50 minutes of brisk walk daily (or 10,000 steps), with no breaks in between.
Here is what we found:
Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) is a well-researched adaptogenic herb known for its effects on hormonal balance, stress modulation, and energy metabolism – so choosing a supposedly high-quality brain fog supplement is crucial in this experiment.
Here was our protocol:
| Brain Fog Supplement | Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma Longifolia) standardized hot water root extract |
| Daily Dosage | 200mg to 600mg daily |
| Duration | Four weeks with no break intervals |
| Daily Diet | Intermittent 14 hour fasting with Pasta and a bowl of rice with meat, fish or chicken |
| Total Calorie Intake | 2,200 kcal |
| Total Calorie Burn per day | 1,984 kcal |
| Exercise routine | Cardio – 10,000 steps daily (brisk walk) |
| Sleep Time | 12 midnight |
| Waking Up Time | 7am |
| Weight | 78kg |
| Height | 1.75 meters |
| Blood Glucose levels | Normal / Within range |
First day: There was a mild improvement in mood after the first 24 hours taking 200mg of Tongkat Ali. It was akin to the calming sensation after sipping two cups of tea. I decided to increase the dose to 400mg on the next day to see what happens to my body.
Second day: The next 48 hours of taking 400mg Tongkat Ali reminded me of a state of calmness that wasn’t there before, and it doesn’t leave you with a feeling of emotionless like Ashwagandha. I can safely say my mental alertness was improved when driving to work. This is noticeable yet subtle sense of calmness was also helped by a 30 minute walk in the morning before my breakfast. I didn’t feel sluggish, but my long 12 hour shift felt like a new wave of motivation, and admittedly I was eager, joyful and looking forward to complete my work task without the usual rant, huffing and puffing.
Third day: Next 72 hours is when I began to realize a substantial and noticeable difference to how I am managing stress, particularly having to go through an intense divorce, long hours at work and having to do evening walks up on the hill.
Fourth day: I increased my intensity of my exercise by taking 400mg Tongkat Ali with 60 minute of 8km run at a moderate pace of 7:30 min per km to observe any improvements in my brain health. Result was fantastic. Absolute mental clarity in the evening after my dinner and I felt euphoric, coupled with a new wave of motivation the next 24 day.
Fifth day: I joined the fun run organized RunThrough UK and the combo of Tongkat Ali did sustain my new level of mental clarity, with my brain fog completely disappeared. A new found confidence just by regulating my hormone level through this brain fog supplement was an absolute joy. And I continued to feel the same for the subsequent days.
Fast forward after two weeks, there was a significant improvement in my overall mood, motivation and focus. More importantly, I could wake up easily without that sluggishness. My brain fog was totally gone, notably in the morning, evening or even before my bedtime. In addition to that, my daily 10,000 steps (or 7km) is no longer a chore, my legs felt lighter and I felt clear headed after my short easy runs / brisk walk.
Whilst this observation is rather anecdotal, non-scientific by any clinical standard, I can confidently say that Tongkat Ali does work to reduce brain fog. And that is only after taking it religiously for four weeks at a moderate dose of 400mg, 1 capsule (200mg) in the morning, and 1 capsule (an hour before my exercise) in the evening.
That said, looking at the science behind Tongkat Ali’s mechanism of action in balancing some of the key hormones did produce mild to noticeable effects on my overall brain health. And the most significant and noticeable difference was the reduction of brain fog symptoms, which was replaced with a clear mind every morning. Now that was awesome.
Brain fog completed dissapeared but this can only work if you are taking potent standardized Tongkat Ali that are known to reduce cortisol (stress) levels based on clinical trials.
As we reflect on Tongkat Ali’s bioactive ingredients such as eurycomanone, eurypeptides, glycosaponin, these have profound impact on our endocrine system, regulating the hormones and neurotransmitters that help restore our brain health through several mechanisms of action.
If you are in doubt whether Tongkat Ali can or may help brain fog, here are possible explanations on how it works:
🔹 1. Cortisol Regulation
🔹 2. Testosterone Enhancement
🔹 3. Insulin Sensitivity & Glucose Metabolism
🔹 4. Mood & Neurotransmitters
Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma Longifolia) roots may produce multi-targeted effects on testosterone, cortisol, glucose, and neurotransmitters, making it a relative potent natural supplement to reduce symptoms related to hormonal-induced brain fog, especially in men over 35, highly trained athletes, endurance runners or anyone with stress-induced fatigue.
When taken with Vitamin D and Omega-3, Tongkat Ali supplement may particularly useful to reduce brain fog if you are constantly exposed to work stress, personal stress and stress-induced fatigue from overtraining in sports.
Always consult your professional healthcare before taking brain fog supplements if you experience intense brain fog that are related to migraine or other mental health issues.
Alex Kua leads AKARALI’s Global Partnership Community to help athletes, sports communities, and thousand of others optimize their well-being through evidence-based research that enables them to make better informed decisions. His legal and business consulting background underpins the rigorous data-driven approach in his writing – from hours of interviews, real-world performance data, and firsthand experiences of real people – offering actionable insights that connects clinical research, emerging health trends, and real-world applications. He is also an experienced researcher in herbal nutrition, with years of deep technical knowledge on Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia), including quality standards, industry benchmarks, lab tests, clinical trials, and the use of natural herbs by collaborating with top scientists, herbal experts, and nutritionists. As part of the core team behind AKARALI’s knowledge portal, he empowers people worldwide to access the benefits of high-quality herbal nutrition in a way that is effective, sustainable, and safe. He is also an avid runner, with regular participation in local sports communities and running events.
Our articles are third party reviewed by our panel of experts and medical advisors to ensure the facts are accurate and credible. These are validated against multiple source references which include but not limited to research studies, peer-reviewed journals, pre-clinical studies, clinical tests and other credible publications.
Our panel of medical advisors and experts are highly experienced in their individual fields. However, they do not provide any medical advice or recommendations arising from content published in this article.
Disclaimer:
The content published on this website is for educational purposes and should not be viewed, read, or seen as a prescription or constitute any form of medical advice. We recommend you consult your nearest GP or doctors before consuming Tongkat Ali or any products which contain Tongkat Ali. For further information, kindly refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for more information.
