A Neurologist Says Crosswords Won't Fix Brain Fog — Here's What Actually Works

The Problem With Popular Brain Games

Millions of people reach for crossword puzzles and Sudoku grids at the first sign of brain fog, convinced they're giving their minds a solid workout. But a leading neurologist says that instinct, while well-meaning, is largely misguided. Many people respond to mental haze by turning to brain games, crosswords, and math puzzles — but according to Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl, a professor of neurology at UCLA and co-founder of Cleopatra RX in Los Angeles, that approach is often misguided.

Speaking at the Livelong Women's Health Summit in New York City in September, Voskuhl offered a direct warning: "You can't just do random cognitive exercises. They've got to fit the problem." And the problem, she argues, is far more specific than most people realize. Games like Sudoku and other number puzzles primarily exercise logic and math skills, so they may not improve word-recall difficulties.

What Brain Fog Is Really Doing to Your Mind

When estrogen levels drop, overall intelligence and basic logic remain completely normal. Instead, the brain takes a hit in two main areas: verbal memory — recalling names and words — and processing speed, meaning the ability to think quickly under pressure. That distinction is crucial, and it's one that most generic brain-training apps completely ignore.

Voskuhl is clear that this isn't a sweeping collapse of cognitive function. "It's not a global problem with the brain," she said. "It's not global brain atrophy, but there are some regions on MRIs and research studies that show that the hippocampus, the memory area, will have some atrophies, some functional connection issues." In practical terms, this explains a frustrating experience many people know well: brain fog typically affects retrieval, not encoding — the word or name is still stored safely in memory, but the brain's search engine is running slowly.

The 60-Second Fix That Actually Targets the Right Problem

To effectively target brain fog, Voskuhl says exercises need to focus on two things: finding words and working quickly. That's where the 60-second drill comes in. Set a timer for one minute and challenge yourself to list as many words as possible from a single category — animals, foods, cities, or verbs. The timer creates a sense of urgency, forcing the brain to scan its verbal network quickly and retrieve words before the clock runs out.

Another powerful exercise is speed reading with immediate recall: read a short article or news story quickly, then close the text and summarize it out loud in two or three sentences. For optimal cognitive training, Voskuhl also recommends rapid recall of information using flashcards or picture prompts. All of these drills share the same core mechanism — they force the brain to retrieve language fast, under mild pressure, mimicking the real demands of conversation and daily life.

Why Personalization Is the Real Key

Voskuhl argues that women should match exercises to the specific skill slipping in daily life, insisting that focused training is more useful than random cognitive apps for midlife hormone-related fog. Blanking on names at a dinner party is a different problem than struggling to find words mid-sentence at work — and the exercise should reflect that difference.

The bigger lesson here is that not all mental workouts are created equal, and the right kind of challenge matters more than busywork. As neuroscience continues to sharpen its understanding of how hormone shifts reshape the brain, Voskuhl's advice points toward a broader shift in how we think about cognitive health: less about doing something — anything — and more about doing the right thing with precision and intention. A timer, a word category, and sixty seconds could be a more powerful starting point than any app store has to offer.