Evidence-Based Supplement & Herb Guides

Sleep Deprivation vs ADHD: How Doctors Tell the Difference

Understand how doctors separate chronic sleep loss from ADHD by comparing symptoms, developmental history, daytime sleepiness, sleep testing, and the signs that point to one condition, the other, or both.

Poor sleep can make a person look unfocused, restless, forgetful, emotionally reactive, and disorganized. ADHD can cause many of the same difficulties, often for...

Sleep Study for Brain Fog, Fatigue, and Poor Concentration

Learn when a sleep study helps with brain fog, fatigue, and poor concentration, which test may be ordered, what the results can show, and when other evaluations should come first.

Brain fog, fatigue, and poor concentration can come from many causes, but sleep is one of the most common and most overlooked. A person...

Sleep-Deprived EEG: Why It Is Done and What to Expect

Learn why sleep-deprived EEGs are used, how to prepare, what happens during the test, what the results may mean, and when further seizure evaluation is needed.

A sleep-deprived EEG is a brain-wave test performed after you have had less sleep than usual. Doctors most often order it when they are...

SLUMS Test: What It Measures, Scoring, and What Results Mean

Learn what the SLUMS test checks, how its education-adjusted score ranges are interpreted, how it compares with MoCA and MMSE, and what a low result usually leads to next.

The SLUMS test is a brief cognitive screening tool used to look for signs of mild cognitive impairment and dementia, especially in older adults....

SLUMS vs MoCA vs MMSE: Which Cognitive Test Is Best for Older Adults?

Compare SLUMS, MoCA, and MMSE for older adults, including what each test measures, which one catches milder decline best, and what abnormal results should lead to next.

Brief cognitive tests can be useful when an older adult, family member, or clinician notices memory lapses, confusion, word-finding trouble, poor attention, or changes...

Social Anxiety Screening: How Doctors Test for Social Anxiety Disorder

Understand how doctors screen for social anxiety disorder, which questionnaires may be used, how diagnosis is confirmed, and what a positive result usually means.

Social anxiety can look like shyness, avoidance, panic, low confidence, or even irritability, but the clinical question is more specific: does fear of being...

SPECT Scan for Brain Disorders: What It Shows and When It Is Used

Learn what a brain SPECT scan measures, when doctors use it for epilepsy, dementia, and other neurologic questions, how it compares with MRI and PET, and what its limits mean for real-world diagnosis.

A SPECT scan is a nuclear medicine imaging test that shows patterns of activity, blood flow, or specific chemical targets in the brain. It...

STOP-Bang Questionnaire: Sleep Apnea Screening, Scores, and What Results Mean

Learn how the STOP-Bang Questionnaire screens for sleep apnea, how scores are interpreted, what a positive result usually leads to, and where the tool’s limits matter most.

Obstructive sleep apnea can affect far more than sleep. Repeated airway blockage during sleep may contribute to daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, poor concentration, mood...

Suicide Risk Screening: What It Is and When It Is Used

Understand how suicide risk screening works, where it is used, what common tools look for, and what usually happens after a positive screen or urgent safety concern.

Suicide risk screening is a brief, structured way to ask whether someone may be having suicidal thoughts, has recently acted on those thoughts, or...

Tau Blood Tests for Dementia: What They Measure and What Comes Next

Understand what tau blood biomarkers can show, which forms of tau are most clinically relevant, how these tests fit with amyloid, imaging, and CSF studies, and what usually happens after an abnormal result.

Tau blood tests are part of a fast-changing area of dementia diagnosis. They look for certain forms of tau, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s...

Tau PET Scan: What It Measures in Dementia Testing

Learn what a tau PET scan shows, how it differs from amyloid PET and MRI, when it may be used in dementia testing, and what its results can and cannot tell you.

Tau PET is a specialized brain imaging test used in some dementia evaluations to look for abnormal tau protein patterns in the brain. It...

Thyroid Testing for Anxiety, Depression, and Brain Fog

Learn when doctors order thyroid tests for anxiety, depression, and brain fog, which labs matter most, how results are interpreted, and what thyroid testing can and cannot explain.

Anxiety, low mood, poor concentration, mental slowing, and “brain fog” can have many causes. Sleep loss, stress, depression, medication effects, low iron, vitamin B12...

Toxicology Screening in Mental Health and Brain Symptom Workups

Learn when toxicology screening is used in mental health and brain symptom workups, what drug screens actually detect, how false positives and false negatives happen, and when results meaningfully change diagnosis or treatment.

Toxicology screening can be useful when mood changes, confusion, psychosis, memory problems, severe anxiety, or brain fog may be related to alcohol, medications, recreational...

Vanderbilt ADHD Test: What Parents Should Know

Learn what the Vanderbilt ADHD Test measures, how parent and teacher forms are scored, what the results can and cannot tell you, and what usually happens after a positive screen.

The Vanderbilt ADHD test is not a stand-alone medical test. It is a structured rating scale that helps parents, teachers, and clinicians describe a...

Vascular Dementia Testing: Common Tests and Brain Scans

Learn how doctors test for vascular dementia using cognitive screens, MRI and CT brain scans, blood work, and follow-up assessments to separate vascular injury from Alzheimer’s disease and mixed dementia.

Vascular dementia testing is not one single test. It is a careful workup that looks for two things at the same time: clear changes...

Video EEG Monitoring: What It Is and When It Is Needed

Learn what video EEG monitoring records, when doctors use it instead of a routine EEG, how long it usually lasts, what it can diagnose, and what an epilepsy monitoring admission may lead to next.

Brief seizure-like episodes can be difficult to understand from memory alone. A person may stiffen, stare, shake, fall, seem confused, have unusual sensations, or...

Vitamin B12 Deficiency and Brain Fog: When Testing Matters

Learn when vitamin B12 deficiency is a meaningful cause of brain fog, which lab tests doctors use, how borderline results are interpreted, and when symptoms need quicker evaluation.

Brain fog can feel like slow thinking, poor concentration, word-finding trouble, forgetfulness, or a sense that your mind is not as sharp as usual....

Vitamin D and Mental Health: When Testing Is Considered

Learn when doctors consider vitamin D testing for low mood, anxiety, fatigue, and brain fog, which blood test is used, and what a low result can and cannot explain.

Vitamin D is often discussed in connection with mood, fatigue, brain fog, sleep, and overall brain health. That can make a low vitamin D...

What Does a High GAD-7 Score Mean?

Understand what a high GAD-7 score usually means, how the score ranges are interpreted, why screening is not the same as diagnosis, and what follow-up steps doctors often take next.

A high GAD-7 score means you reported frequent anxiety-related symptoms over the past two weeks. It does not diagnose an anxiety disorder by itself,...

What Does a High PHQ-9 Score Mean?

A high PHQ-9 score usually signals clinically important depressive symptoms, but the real meaning depends on severity range, item 9, functioning, diagnosis, and what happens next in assessment and treatment.

A high PHQ-9 score means you reported frequent symptoms commonly associated with depression over the past two weeks. It does not prove that you...