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By Paige Greenfield
Men's Health

You know you should take a few deep breaths when you feel stressed. Instead you inhale a doughnut (or five). Strange? Not at all. Your strained brain craves instant gratification, often in the form of a quick fix like food or alcohol, says James Herman, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at the University of Cincinnati. "These things activate reward pathways while quieting the amygdala, the emotional, overwrought area of your brain."

The trouble with the Krispy Kreme cure, besides the inevitable risk of obesity and the powdered sugar on your neckties, is that it's really just a stress Band-Aid. In the long term you may feel more mentally steamrolled than ever. And when your psyche suffers, so does your body. In fact, in a new Oregon State University study, researchers found that chronically stressed middle-aged men were almost 50 percent more likely to die during an 18-year period than those who experienced fewer stressful events. Which of these guys do you want to be?

Good choice. Now follow this plan for replacing your current so-called coping strategies with techniques that'll feel like a shiatsu massage for your mind.

5 Hidden Causes of Stress

How you cope: Down a dessert
There's a reason you equate sugar with serenity. When you consume the sweet stuff, your prefrontal cortex, a part of your brain that helps control emotions, is activated, says Herman. The danger of a sugar binge: Men with higher anxiety are also more likely to have elevated glucose levels, according to scientists in Japan. In fact, the American Diabetes Association warns that long-term stress may push your blood-sugar levels into the diabetic range if they're already higher than normal.

Do this instead: Savor a small portion of ice cream
The stress-busting benefits of dessert are due more to the flavor than the fat and calories, says Herman. "High-calorie foods often taste better, but calories aren't necessary for food's effects on stress." Buy a single-serve treat and take half an hour to eat it; savoring the flavor can extend the calming effect.

14 Worst Desserts in America

How you cope: Pour a drink
After a few shots of Jack, the office jackass is the last person on your mind. When alcohol enters your bloodstream, it seems to activate reward pathways for temporary relief. Ultimately, though, it may intensify your depression, says William Pollack, Ph.D., a Men's Health mental health advisor. In a University of Chicago study, stressed-out men injected with alcohol felt anxious longer than guys in a placebo group. Booze may disrupt your body's calming process, prolonging the mental misery.

Do this instead: Self-medicate with music
A study in Nature Neuroscience found that listening to favorite tunes or anticipating a certain point in a song can cause a pleasurable flood of dopamine. Listen to a few songs in a row several times a day. "These doses of dopamine can lower your stress, removing the trigger that causes you to seek alcohol," says Edward Roth, M.T.-B.C., a professor of music therapy at Western Michigan University.

How Music Fights Depression

How you cope: Play Call of Duty all night
The lure of a record-breaking kill/death ratio isn't the only thing keeping you up till 3 a.m. Stanford researchers found that playing video games stimulates the brain's mesocorticolimbic system, a key reward region. And the more you win, the more the area lights up. The downside: Most video games are sedentary and mimic the competitiveness of a stressful job, which may negate any brain benefits, says Michael Addis, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Clark University.

Do this instead: Build a fence
Learn to braise meat. Practice the ukulele. Activities that give you a sense of mastery can also activate the mesocorticolimbic system, deploying a rush of dopamine. Plus, as you practice your new skill, you enter a healthy psychological state known as flow. "You lose track of time and are completely immersed in what you're doing," says Addis. "It's incredibly relaxing to the mind."

How to do Everything Better

How you cope: Drive too fast
Why do guys love Vegas? Or consider cliff jumping a worthy pastime? The same reason they speed: Risk taking produces a surge of endorphins, which numb pain, says Cleveland Clinic psychologist Michael McKee, Ph.D. But if you chase those thrills while you're stressed, they could kill you. Your judgment tends to become clouded, so it's harder to take calculated risks, explains Addis. "You're more likely to put yourself in unnecessary danger."

Do this instead: Hightail it to the gym
But don't default to your regular workout. If you're bored with your routine, you may not experience the normal post-gym endorphin rush, making exercise less effective as a stress fighter than it could be, says Addis. So try something new: Sign up for a martial arts class, check out an indoor rock-climbing center, or go mountain biking. These activities combine physical exertion with a bit of benign risk taking.

The Best Workouts to Relieve Stress

How you cope: Bury yourself in work
It's tempting to battle the stress of a massive workload by immersing yourself until it's done. Don't do it. "Concentration and productivity suffer when your brain doesn't have a chance to unwind, relax, and reset," says McKee. And your work performance may not be the only thing to suffer. In a new British study, people who worked 11 or more hours a day were nearly 70 percent more likely to develop heart disease over a 12-year period than those who worked 7-to 8-hour days.

Do this instead: Take a 60-second vacation
Each hour, spend a minute perusing a funny blog. (We like passiveaggressive notes.com.) Periodic breaks help you process and absorb new information, increasing your efficiency, says McKee. During your hiatus, take 10-second breaths, inhale 4 seconds, exhale 6, to bolster your heart's ability to recover from stress.

10 Ways to Beat Stress at Work

How you cope: Hibernate in your cave
If stress makes you want to retreat and hole up at home, here's why: Research shows that men generally favor the fight-or-flight stress response, whereas women are more likely to "tend and befriend" when they feel stressed. Which way is better? A 2009 British study linked social isolation with a more prolonged spike in heart-straining systolic blood pressure after a stressful event, and higher stress-hormone output throughout the day.

Do this instead: Watch the game with your buddies
And don't spend halftime bitching about your boss. Venting can actually be counterproductive; with men, it often turns into a stress-inducing "who has it worse" showdown, says Addis. Besides, the social aspect alone is enough to activate your brain's GABA receptors, which control fear and anxiety, in turn triggering feelings of calm and satisfaction, says Pollack.

More Links:
19 Ways to Live a Stress-Free Life
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From the outside Amanda Beard’s life looked picture perfect: multiple Olympic medals, including two golds, and a successful career as a model. But on the inside, Beard was miserable. No matter how beautiful she looked to everyone else, Beard would gaze into the mirror and see someone who was fat, ugly -- and a failure.

By the time she hit college she was plagued by bulimia and depression. She took up cutting her arms with a razor to calm her frayed nerves. No one knew what was happening because she seemed so successful both in the water and out  --  and because she couldn’t share her feelings and fears.

"I went too deep": Olympian relates battle with cutting

“I felt like an idiot saying I was struggling so much inside because I was an Olympic athlete,” Beard told TODAY’s Ann Curry Wednesday. “I was having a great career. I had my own house. There were all these great things going on in my life, but on the inside, I was hating everything about me.”

It took years of therapy and the love of a husband Beard calls her “white knight,” to bring the Olympic swimmer back to a healthy place. And now she’s sharing all her struggles in a memoir, “In the Water They Can’t See You Cry.”

The pool was Beard’s only refuge. “I had difficulty showing any sort of emotion outside of the pool,” she told TODAY. “As soon as I jumped into the water and put my goggles on, I felt like I could let everything go. I could cry my eyes out. I could have those emotional moments. It was my way of meditating and kind of dealing with [everything].”

Beard hopes that her book will help other women and girls feel better about themselves no matter how pressured they feel to look thinner and more beautiful.

“I want them to understand that you don’t have to live up to expectations other people are putting on you,” she told TODAY.com. “And you shouldn’t be ashamed or embarrassed about how you feel. If things are bothering you, it’s OK to speak about things and to get help so you won’t get depressed or start cutting or become bulimic. You want to learn the right way to cope with things.”

Beard won her first gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics when she was just 14 years old. It was a lot for the young teen to absorb. What was even harder was coming back to her normal life once the Olympics were over.

“I think the pressure really started then,” Beard told TODAY.com. “Like all the other high school girls I wanted to be perceived as beautiful and thin and perfect. And that was magnified by the media. I wanted to live up to what the media was saying.”

Making matters worse were the media reports leading up to Beard’s second Olympics in Sydney in 2000. “A lot of them talked about how I’d put on weight,” Beard told TODAY.com. They said I was washed up. And I took it to heart.”

No matter how bad Beard felt about herself, she was still able to swim her best. “For the most part I separated the swimming and my personal life,” she said. “I could have the most crazy personal life and still swim well. I think that’s one of the reasons why no one thought anything was going on or wrong with me.”

And a lot was going wrong. She was often depressed and agitated. Her relationships with men were tearing her apart. She remembers when she first started cutting after a fight with a boyfriend.

“It kind of just came on by accident in the middle of an argument,” she told TODAY.com. “I started digging my nail into my hand and I realized after the fight that that I had dug my nail in so hard that I had drawn blood. My initial reaction was not shock and horror, but a calming relief. And that is how I started cutting myself.”

Years later, Beard realizes the cutting and the bulimia were her ways of coping with the pressure and her low self-esteem. “I didn’t know how to deal with the things I was going through –- emotionally or anything,” she said. “I found ways to deal with things but they were not very healthy.”

It wasn’t until she finally started sharing her inner torment with the boyfriend who eventually became her husband that things began to turn around.

“He’s my best friend,” Beard told Curry. “He’s the person I could totally lean on and expose everything about myself. And he still stood by me. And that impressed me. And I knew this person loved me no matter what.”

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Weird symptoms that could signal something serious

Fresh from a tour of duty in Iraq where he earned a Bronze Star, Ryan Gallucci didn’t expect a simple job interview to be such a memorably unpleasant experience.

“I was interviewing with a P.R. agency when my military service came up. Some of the questions got a little prying.  ‘Oh, so what did you do over there? And what was that like?’ ” 

Though he was called back for subsequent interviews, Gallucci said the experience left a “sour taste in my mouth.” Now the deputy legislative director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization, Gallucci suspects the interviewer for that other job may have been more curious about his mental health than his experiences in Iraq.

Research shows he may be right: Some employers are wary of hiring veterans because of potential mental health issues.

“There’s a whole host of questions you can’t legally ask, but I must say that somehow in interviews it comes out,” says Jim Pabis, a Colonel in the New York Army National Guard and Iraq combat vet who runs an executive search firm in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Nearly half of employers -- 46 percent -- said PTSD or other mental health issues were challenges in hiring employees with military experience, according to a 2010 Society of Human Resource Management survey. And a 2011 survey of 831 hiring managers by the Apollo Research Institute found that 39 percent were "less favorable" toward hiring military personnel when considering war-related psychological disorders.

About 20 percent of Iraq or Afghanistan veterans will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder brought on by living through extremely stressful or life-threatening events; the more tours of duty, the greater the risk of PTSD. It can be devastating if untreated and lead to depression, panic attacks and drug abuse, and can increase the risk of suicide. Veterans commit one in five of all suicides in the U.S.

Yet recent high-profile news about veteran violence and its possible links to PTSD may speak louder than realities of the illness. It’s treatable, rarely leads to violent acts and is not uncommon -- six to eight percent of Americans will develop PTSD in their lifetime.

“In the first place, most veterans do not develop PTSD. The minority that do have the same kinds of reactions of people exposed to a hurricane or a car accident,” says Josef Ruzek, Ph.D., director of the dissemination and training division at the National Center for PTSD. 

The PTSD fear factor isn’t new. “We’ve seen the stigma of the crazy war veteran before.  It was especially harsh after Vietnam, when the nation didn't really have the kind of support for men and women who serve in the military that they have today,” says Gallucci.

That support, which includes attempts by the Department of Veterans Affairs to educate the public about PTSD and to encourage affected vets to seek treatment, may have unintended consequences. More civilian employers know that servicemen and women are at greater risk for PTSD.

“There’s been a major cultural shift in how soldiers speak up about the mental toll of war, but also a potential backlash against our attempt to de-stigmatize PTSD,” Gallucci says.

Finding a civilian job can already by a hurdle, particularly for Iraq-war era vets. Unemployment rates have been consistently higher for this group than non-civilians of the same ages.  According to a recent report by the Department of Veterans Affairs, male veterans ages 18 to 24 who have served since September of 2001 have an unemployment rate of just over 29 percent, compared 17.6 percent of nonveterans of the same ages.  

There’s no evidence that the higher unemployment rate for young vets is due to fears about mental health issues. In fact, research shows there is a positive bias toward hiring a veteran if she or he has a clearly transferable, comparable skill set to a non-veteran, says Meredith Kleykamp, Ph.D, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Maryland, who researches consequences of military service and is married to a veteran.

There may also be a discrepancy in how veterans perceive they are being treated, Kleykamp says, versus how they actually are.

“So few people are actually serving in these wars.  There may be employer ignorance. And vets may feel there is a lack of understanding from people and employers that they meet,” she says.

Still, while experts welcome greater public awareness of the difficulties veterans may face, that growing understanding might work against them when it comes to presumptions of mental health.

“Civilians may feel like, ‘How could he not be damaged by something like that?” Kleykamp says.

For more on Hiring our Heroes, an initiative from NBC News and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that aims to get veterans back into the workforce, click here. Learn more about job fairs for veterans here. Below, watch NBC's Janet Shamlian discuss job fairs for spouses of veterans.

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• Surprising reasons you're tired all the time
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By Julie Evans
Prevention

We all tend to blame fatigue on a too-busy lifestyle. And much of the time we’re right.

If you feel tired all the time, don’t blow it off. Give yourself about 2 to 3 weeks to make some lifestyle changes. Get more sleep, trim your social calendar, eat more wholesome foods, drink more fluids, take a multivitamin, and cut back on caffeine and alcohol.

"If you're still feeling the symptoms of fatigue after those changes, then you need professional help," says Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, an internal medicine doctor in Atlanta. Excess exhaustion could be the sign of a more serious medical condition that can  be treated. Here are the 7 most common problems to know about.

Try This First: Tricks to Sleeping Better Every Night

1. Anemia

This condition is more common in women with heavy periods or who don’t consume enough iron. 

The fatigue caused by anemia is the result of a lack of red blood cells, which bring oxygen from your lungs to your tissues and cells. You may feel weak and short of breath. Anemia may be caused by an iron or vitamin deficiency, blood loss, internal bleeding, or a chronic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, or kidney failure. Women of childbearing age are especially susceptible to iron-deficiency anemia because of blood loss during menstruation and the body's need for extra iron during pregnancy and breastfeeding, explains Laurence Corash, MD, adjunct professor of laboratory medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

The symptoms: Fatigue is a major one. Others include extreme weakness, difficulty sleeping, lack of concentration, rapid heartbeat, chest pains, and headache. Simple exercise, such as climbing the stairs or walking short distances, can cause fatigue.

The tests: A thorough evaluation for anemia includes a complete physical exam and blood tests, including a complete blood count (CBC), to check the levels of your red blood cells. It's also standard to check the stool for blood loss.

Quick Energy-Boosting Tricks 

2. Diabetes

More than a million people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes every year, but many more may not even know they have it.

Sugar, also called glucose, is the fuel that keeps your body going. And that means trouble for people with type 2 diabetes who can't use glucose properly, causing it to build up in the blood. Without enough energy to keep the body running smoothly, people with diabetes often notice fatigue as one of the first warning signs, says Christopher D. Saudek, MD, professor of medicine and program director for the General Clinical Research Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The symptoms: Aside from exhaustion, other signs include excessive thirst, frequent urination, hunger, weight loss, irritability, vaginal yeast infections, and blurred vision.

The tests: There are two major tests for diabetes. The fasting plasma glucose test, which is more common, measures your blood glucose level after fasting for 8 hours, usually first thing in the morning. With the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), blood is drawn twice: just before drinking a glucose syrup, then 2 hours later.

Power Breakfasts That Lower Your Blood Sugar

3. Thyroid Disease

When your thyroid hormones are out of whack, even everyday activities will make you feel wiped out.

The thyroid gland, about the size of the knot on a man's tie, is found in the front of the neck and produces hormones that control your metabolism. Too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism), and metabolism speeds up. Too little (hypothyroidism), and metabolism slows down.

The symptoms: Hyperthyroidism causes muscle fatigue and weakness, which you may notice first in the thighs. Exercises such as riding a bike or climbing stairs become more difficult. Other symptoms include unexplained weight loss, feeling warm all the time, increased heart rate, shorter and less frequent menstrual flows, and increased thirst. Hyperthyroidism is most commonly diagnosed in women in their 20s and 30s, but it can occur in older women and men too, says Robert J. McConnell, MD, codirector of the New York Thyroid Center at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

Hypothyroidism causes fatigue, an inability to concentrate, and muscle soreness, even with minor activity. Other symptoms include weight gain due to water retention, feeling cold all the time (even in warmer weather), heavier and more frequent menstrual flows, and constipation. Hypothyroidism is most common in women over age 50. In fact, as many as 10% of women past 50 will have at least mild hypothyroidism, says McConnell.

The tests: Thyroid disease can be detected with a blood test. "Thyroid disorders are so treatable that a thyroid test should be done in all people who complain of fatigue and/or muscle weakness," says McConnell.

4. Depression

More than "the blues," depression is a major illness that affects the way we sleep, eat, and feel about ourselves and others.

Without treatment, the symptoms of depression may last for weeks, months, or even years. So it's important to recognize the warning signs and get help.

The symptoms: We don't all experience depression in the same way. But commonly, depression can cause decreased energy, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, problems with memory and concentration, and feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and negativity.

Surprising Ways Depression Boosts Your Health 

The tests: There’s no blood test for depression, but your doctor may be able to identify it by asking you a series of questions. If you experience five or more symptoms below for more than 2 weeks, or if they interfere with your life, see your doctor or mental health professional. Your doctor may also recommend a thorough physical exam to rule out other issues.

• Fatigue or loss of energy
• Sleeping too little or too much
• A persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood
• Reduced appetite and weight loss, or increased appetite and weight gain
• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
• Restlessness or irritability
• Persistent physical symptoms that don't respond to treatment, such as headaches, chronic pain, or constipation and other digestive disorders
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
• Feeling guilty, hopeless, or worthless
• Thoughts of death or suicide

5. Rheumatoid Arthritis

This autoimmune disease is not always easy to diagnose early, but there are some subtle clues to look for.

RA happens when your immune system turns against itself and attacks healthy joint tissue, sometimes resulting in irreversible damage to bone and cartilage.

The symptoms: Many symptoms (such as fatigue, low energy, loss of appetite, and joint pain) are shared by other health conditions, including other forms of arthritis such as fibromyalgia and lupus. Also, anemia and thyroid disorders, which also cause fatigue, are even more common in people with RA, according to John Klippel, MD, president and CEO of the Atlanta-based Arthritis Foundation.

Rheumatologists look for at least four of the following criteria in diagnosing RA: morning stiffness in and around the joints lasting at least 1 hour before maximum improvement; at least three joint areas with simultaneous soft tissue swelling or fluid; at least one joint area swollen in a wrist, knuckle, or the middle joint of a finger; simultaneous involvement of the same joint areas on both sides of the body; lumps of tissue under the skin; and bone erosion in the wrist or hand joints, detected by x-ray.

The tests: A thorough physical exam by a rheumatologist can provide some of the most valuable evidence of the disease, but there is also a test for the presence of rheumatoid factor, an antibody found in the blood. About 80% of people with RA test positive for this antibody, but the test is not conclusive.

Important Questions About Arthritis, Answered 

6. Sleep Apnea

You could have this sleep-disrupting problem if you wake up feeling tired no matter how much rest you think you got.

Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. In the most common type, obstructive sleep apnea, your upper airway actually closes or collapses for a few seconds, which, in turn, alerts your brain to wake you up to begin breathing again. Someone with obstructive sleep apnea may stop breathing dozens or even hundreds of times a night, says Roseanne S. Barker, MD, former medical director of the Baptist Sleep Institute in Knoxville, TN.

The symptoms: Sleep apnea is often signaled by snoring and is generally followed by tiredness the next day. Because sleep apnea can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke, it's important to be tested.

The tests: This involves an overnight stay at a sleep clinic, where you'll undergo a polysomnogram, which is a painless test that will monitor your sleep patterns, breathing changes, and brain activity.

Are you sleepy today? How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Talk about this story on Facebook. 

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by Cindy Kuzma
Men's Health

It may be hard to look on the bright side when you’re mid-divorce or post-pink slip. But traumatic life events can actually benefit you in the long run, according to a new research review.

Compared with people whose lives have been a cakewalk, you’re tougher if you’ve faced a few challenges, points out the study in Current Directions in Psychological Science.

This resilience changes your body and mind so you’re less likely to be overwhelmed by the next stressful situation, says study author Mark D. Seery, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University at Buffalo. “Experiencing some adversity may create a sense of mastery over past adversity, teach coping skills, establish effective social-support networks, and promote cell growth in brain areas relevant for coping,” he says.

Outsmart Financial Stress

Even physical pain may be easier to take. In one experiment discussed in the paper, Seery and his colleagues asked men and women to report the number of traumatic events—including illness or death of a family member, a natural disaster, or being assaulted—they’d endured in their lives. Participants then plunged their hands into ice-cold water.

Those who’d faced a few challenges—“more than zero, but not a high number, either”—reported less pain during the dunk and also had fewer bad feelings afterward. In another study, people who had experienced some negative events were less disabled by back pain than those who either faced lots of adversity or none.

Life's Biggest Little Stressors

It’s similar to the way you get stronger after a workout, Seery says. “Just as the body requires exertion to improve fitness, there is no opportunity for toughness to develop if someone has never coped with stress; likewise, physical overexertion can be harmful, and too much stress disrupts toughening,” he says.

It’s not completely clear exactly how many, or what type, of bad experiences build resilience instead of pushing people over the edge. And it’s not likely you’d start chasing tornadoes just to make stress at work seem more manageable. But you can use the findings to encourage yourself in the midst of a struggle, Seery says.

“Things may seem bad now, but there really can be a silver lining. Not only might the current difficulty eventually dissipate, but it is possible to emerge better off than you were before,” Seery says. “According to our results, experiencing even very serious, negative adversity can help someone to be more likely to be resilient—and thus better off—in the future.”

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Having too much on your to-do list could mean you're setting yourself up for distractions and forgetfulness.

By Gini Kopecky Wallace
Prevention

You walk into a restaurant to meet a friend and remember you were supposed to meet somewhere else. You leave your boss's office and, quick as that, forget the deadline she gave you for a new project. You had your keys in your hand, you were just holding them, and now they're gone — again. What's going on? Here, nine possibilities for why your mind is wandering, and expert advice on how to get your concentration back.

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1. Your numbers are low.
Fuzzy mindedness could signal a vitamin or hormone deficiency, especially if you're also feeling unusually tired. For example, hypothyroidism – too-low levels of thyroid hormone – could be to blame, says Robert Orford, MD, consultant at the Mayo Clinic's Preventive Medicine Division in Scottsdale, AZ. "If there's a deficiency in thyroid hormone, metabolism slows, which reduces blood flow and cellular function in various parts of the brain," Dr. Orford says. B-12 deficiency and related anemia can have similar symptoms. Most people get plenty of B-12 in their diet, but an underlying condition such as Crohn's or celiac disease can prevent your body from absorbing it.

Try this: Schedule an appointment for a physical with a doctor who'll take time with you. Make a list of any other health changes you've noticed that could help pinpoint the source of your problems concentrating. "You want a comprehensive medical exam, including blood tests," says Dr. Orford. Also ask your doctor to test for cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol, metabolic syndrome or prediabetes: if left untreated, they can cause cognitive decline.

Play a Fun Brain Game to Train Your Mind

2. Your hormones have gone haywire.
If you're nearing the end of your baby-making years, your inability to think clearly may signal the start of perimenopause — that run-up to menopause when menstrual cycles become irregular and estrogen drops. Lack of concentration is a common complaint of perimenopausal women, says Kimberly Pearson, MD, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Women's Mental Health. "They describe it as feeling fuzzy. That's the word a lot of women use. They feel like their vocabulary is diminishing, like they're not as sharp, not as crystal clear."

Try this: If other signs point to perimenopause (hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness), consider short-term hormone replacement therapy to get you over the hump. "Women who go on replacement notice such a shift," says Dr. Pearson. "They say, 'Oh my God, I have my brain back.'" If HRT is out because of the health risks involved, ask your doctor about the possibility of taking a low-dose, concentration-boosting stimulant such as Ritalin instead. "And exercise seems to help everything," says Dr. Pearson.

3. You've changed your meds.
Anti-depressants can affect mood and concentration when you go on or off them. Antihistamines, sedatives, and anti-anxiety medications can cause lingering drowsiness, and antidepressants, beta blockers, and other medicines can cloud your mind. People who take statins sometimes notice a loss of mental clarity, says Dr. Orford. A daily dose of Coenzyme Q10 may counteract this effect. As for sleeping pills — please.

Try this: Write down all the meds you take or recently stopped taking and review this list with your doctor. Ask if any of them are known to cause concentration problems when people go on or off them, or mix them with other medications, or take them long term. Educate yourself about the drugs on your list so you can have a more fruitful discussion. Go to the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Health, MedLine Plus, and DailyMed Web sites for good information.

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4. You're quitting smoking.
Yaaay! Two things to remember when you're tempted to cheat: 1. The more and longer you smoke, the more gray matter you lose. That's proven. The sooner you quit, the more you maintain. 2. Yes, you'll have trouble concentrating as you go through nicotine withdrawal, says Christopher Kahler, PhD, professor of behavioral and social sciences in the public health program at Brown University. It's a common complaint. But that passes, and the mental-health boost you get from quitting more than compensates: You did what? You quit smoking? Wow. "There's a lot of psychological benefit to it," he says.

Try this: The happier you feel when you tackle quitting, the more likely you are to succeed, says Kahler. His tips for boosting mood: Track three good things that happen to you each day and write about them each night. Write a letter of thanks to someone you never thanked for something and deliver it. If you can spend some of the money you save by not smoking, skip the material purchases and do something fun with a friend. Shared experiences generate lasting happiness.

5. Your diet has deteriorated.
What you eat can have a major impact on mental clarity, says Laura Middleton, PhD, assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. Bad eating habits increase your risks of obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol and related ills that can impair cognitive function, and being overweight or obese makes it harder to stay active, which is essential for brain health.

Try this: Middleton's motto is "If it's good for the heart and cardiovascular system, it's good for the brain." She advises sticking to the principles of the Mediterranean Diet: A diet high in fish and vegetables and lower in meat, saturated fat and processed foods. If sweets and other junk food are your downfall and you're able to cut back, magic can happen: Brain fog, energy crashes, hunger pangs may dissipate.

6. You think busy means fit.
You may be incredibly busy, but if you're stuck at a desk or behind the wheel of a car most of the day, you won't be engaged in the kind of physical activity your mind needs. To stay sharp, you need to keep moving. Among other things, exercise increases production of a substance called brain-derived neurotrophic factor that helps the brain rewire itself and slows formation of plaques that accompany Alzheimer's disease. Start exercising, and you could feel sharper and more able to focus within a month. "It takes a few weeks to get into it," says Middleton, "but then positive changes happen quickly."

Try this: Shoot for 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity three to five times a week. "If you can build to an hour, that's great," says Middleton, and weight training also seems to improve brain function. Middleton and her colleagues found in a recent study that being active throughout the day may do more to help keep your mind sharp as effectively as purposeful exercising. "Anything that contributes to movement matters — doing chores, gardening, getting out of your chair to stretch," she says.

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7. You have anxiety overload.
Your boss gave you a bad evaluation and you know she has to cut staff, the IRS wants to audit your taxes, and your doctor wants to order another round of tests. And you wonder why you can't concentrate? Of course you can't. That's how the brain responds to real or imagined threat. We become hyper-alert to our surroundings ("Shhh! What's that?"), but ask us to focus on a task or follow a conversation, and forget it.

Try this: If you can't concentrate because you're too busy worrying, stop and do something fun to clear your head, says Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, PhD, professor and chair in the department of psychology at Yale. Go for a walk, try a new recipe, play with the dog. Now think of one small thing you can do to address your worry and do it, even if it's just talking to a friend. Taking small, positive actions reduces the psychological stress that destroys concentration and bathes the brain in harmful stress hormones. Taking action can also stimulate healthier brain function. A 2009 study found that when people suffering from depression were helped to take small steps toward re-engaging in life, not only did they start feeling better but areas of their brain associated with motivation and pleasure that had been under-active revved back up. "And this is without medicine," says lead author Gabriel S. Dichter, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine. "Just changing behavior jump-started the brain to function in a healthier way."

8. Your plate overfloweth.
You work ten-hour days and stop to check on your widowed mom on your way home. You're chairing the church fundraiser again this year because you did such a great job last year and everybody begged you to do it again. You've got to get the invitations out for your daughter's birthday party, the dog needs to go to the groomer, you need a haircut, and your in-laws are arriving next weekend for their annual visit. Even if you're not super-worried about any of these things, having too much on your to-do list could mean you're setting yourself up for distractions and forgetfulness. "It happens to men and women," says Dr. Orford. "They have so much going on they can't keep up. Their minds get overloaded."

Try this: "I try to take regular little breaks," says Nolen-Hoeksema. "I'll program my Blackberry to buzz me to stop for five minutes and breathe and regroup. It really helps me take a step back, which can be hard to do, and often I'll realize, 'I could delegate that,' or 'This isn't that important' or 'I can put this off.'"  Carrying a written reminder to "Stay focused" or "Get back to Number 1," whatever that means to you, can help, too. Saying "no" may not come naturally but you can build your skills. "It takes practice and realizing that the world doesn't cave in," says Nolen-Hoeksema. Working with a buddy helps. Hers is her husband. "We have a deal that when I say 'no,' he gives me a treat. If it's a small thing, it might be a candy bar. If it's a big thing, he takes me to dinner. Or I just email him and say, 'I said "No,"' and he emails back, 'Congratulations!'"

10 Tricks to Reboot Your Brain

9. It's just the way you're wired.
If a new job or relationship is making your problems with focus, organization, time-management and follow- through newly apparent to others, but the truth is they're not at all new to you — you've been struggling with them all your life — you could have undiagnosed Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). You don't have to be hyper to be a candidate, says J. Russell Ramsay, PhD, co-director and co-founder of the Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Symptoms can take many forms, including impatience, distractibility, forgetfulness, impulsiveness, and having trouble finishing tasks.

Try this: Rate yourself on the World Health Organzation's Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale. If you score high, "it's worth following up with a specialist," says Ramsay. Visit add.org or chadd.org to find one in your area, or ask a specialist in childhood ADHD for a referral. Meds work, and finding the right one is your first priority. But old habits and defenses die hard. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help you replace them with healthier coping skills. Focused attention meditation — focusing on a sound, image or your breath and bringing attention back to that focus when it strays — helps, too. A 2009 study found that new meditators who practiced daily for three months were more able to stay focused and dismiss distractions with less effort and without making their brains work so hard.

More Links:
Boost Brainpower 24 Hours a Day
10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp
Breakfasts That Jump-Start Your Brain
The Brain-Power Workout