Brain Fog in Interviews (or Any High Stakes Meetings Really)
My counterintuitive method for getting rid of it in 5 steps.
Your mind goes blank. Your pulse races. The question hangs in the air, and suddenly, words feel just out of reach.
You prepared. You practiced. You know your stuff. But in this high-stakes moment — an interview, a client pitch, a big meeting — your brain refuses to cooperate. Instead of delivering a sharp, confident response, you’re battling through the mental fog.
You scramble while the clock keeps ticking.
Why does this happen? And more importantly — how can you stop it?
In this article, I’ll break down the neuroscience behind brain fog in high-pressure situations and show you how to override it with my counterintuitive strategy.
Here’s How Brain Fog Might Look Like for You
“Whenever I talk to interviewers at those Big Tech companies, I feel intimidated”, Kevin told me. He often questioned his abilities and was plagued by self-doubt, especially when faced with interviewers with impressive credentials.
He was so afraid of making mistakes that whenever he made one, his stress levels spiked, causing mental fog to kick in. This had a huge negative impact on his ability to present himself, his skills, and his qualifications well in an interview setting.
Here are 7 other ways how brain fog can affect you in an interview or any other high-stakes situation:
Difficulty Formulating Responses: You might struggle to put your thoughts into coherent sentences, pausing frequently or trailing off mid-sentence.
Slower Reaction Time: Instead of responding quickly, you might take longer to process questions, giving the impression of hesitation or uncertainty.
Forgetfulness: You might forget key details about your experience or something specific mentioned earlier in the conversation. And then you look unprepared.
Mental Fatigue: As the interview progresses, you might show signs of mental exhaustion, like zoning out or appearing distracted.
Difficulty with Complex Questions: When asked multi-part questions, you might struggle to break them down, leading to incomplete answers.
Self-Doubt and Anxiety: Brain fog can heighten anxiety, making you second-guess yourself or overthink your responses. This might entrap you in a cycle of overanalyzing your answers or worrying about how you’re being perceived.
Body Language: Your posture might become tense, and you may fidget or avoid eye contact, signaling stress to the interviewer.
All of this leads to weak performance and missed opportunities. Because, when brain fog affects your communication, confidence, and presence, it makes you appear less competent, less prepared, and less engaged — even if you do have the skills and experience needed for the role.
Your Amygdala Just Hijacked Your Interview
The amygdala is your brain’s threat detection system. In dangerous situations, it overrides rational thinking and triggers an amygdala hijack — an immediate emotional response before your logical brain (the prefrontal cortex) has a chance to step in.
This is a lifesaver in actual life-threatening situations. But in modern settings, like a job interview, it becomes a liability. When the brain equates high stakes (a job offer, financial security, career advancement) with high threat, even when there’s no real danger, it results in a system overdrive — treating an interview like a survival scenario.
And that’s when things get messy.
Mild hijack? You enter fight-or-flight mode. Anxiety spikes, and your brain scrambles.
Intense hijack? You drop into freeze mode. Mental shutdown. Blank mind. Zero words.
This response is often driven by fear of failure, self-doubt, or past negative experiences, causing brain fog just when you need to be sharp.
So what’s actually happening under the hood? Let’s break it down.
1. Amygdala Activation (Amygdala Hijack)
Whenever you face a stressful situation like an interview, the amygdala perceives the situation as a threat — whether it's due to fear of judgment, failure, or performance anxiety. This triggers the fight-or-flight response. The body prepares to react to this perceived threat by releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which help in quick decision-making but can impair higher cognitive functions.
The stress response floods the brain with these hormones, which then divert resources away from the prefrontal cortex.
2. Prefrontal Cortex Disruption
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is crucial for executive functions — things like attention, working memory, decision-making, and self-regulation. Under stress, especially in a high-pressure situation like an interview, blood flow to the PFC may be reduced, impairing these abilities. When the prefrontal cortex doesn’t function optimally, then you experience that dang brain fog, cutting you off from higher-level cognitive tasks like problem-solving, answering complex questions, or remembering details.
As a result, you might find it hard to think clearly, organize your thoughts, or keep your focus on the task at hand.
3. Complete Shutdown
If the stress becomes too overwhelming, your body's freeze response might get triggered. In this response, your brain essentially "shuts down" to protect itself from overstimulation.
It’s a more extreme reaction than the fight-or-flight response and happens when the brain assesses the threat as too much to handle, like in situations of extreme public pressure or feeling completely powerless without having the option to escape.
In this state, you might become disconnected from what’s happening around you. It’s your brain’s attempt at protecting you from overwhelming stress.
4. The Role of Cortisol and Resource Allocation
When the stress response kicks in, cortisol floods your system, triggering several physiological changes that prioritize survival. In fight-or-flight mode, cortisol redirects energy toward essential functions, like the muscles and heart, preparing the body for immediate physical action.
This energy shift helps the body respond quickly, but it also means less energy is available for higher-level cognitive tasks, like thinking through complex problems or recalling specific details.
As cortisol surges, your cognitive functions like memory retrieval and decision-making take a backseat, which is why you might find yourself struggling to remember important points or organize your thoughts during a stressful moment like an interview.
5. Mental Fog as a Result of Resource Redirection
As the body prepares for survival, your brain shifts focus away from higher-level cognitive tasks (like thinking clearly or staying calm) and instead directs energy to fight-flight-or-freeze mechanisms.
This is where the mental fog kicks in.
In essence, your brain becomes "short-circuited," prioritizing quick reactions or playing dead for survival over thinking things through logically, which results in that mental fog that makes it impossible to engage in complex thought or communication.
How to Clear Brain Fog and Perform at Your Best
To manage stress and minimize brain fog, you need strategies that help calm your system and re-engage your prefrontal cortex. In order to do that, you want to make sure your brain feels safe.
Creating an environment of psychological safety is your best bet for fighting against brain fog.
Why? Because when you feel safe, your nervous system remains calm and focused, and that’s when you can use your mental resources for thinking, problem-solving, and performing well instead of managing stress and fear.
Here’s what I do — and highly recommend you do, too — right before and during a high-stakes meeting, like an interview:
1. Prep Yourself With a Pep-Talk
Why it works: A pep talk before an interview is powerful because it helps shift your mindset from fear and self-doubt to confidence and focus. Giving yourself a few minutes to center yourself helps calm the nervous system.
Also, by giving yourself a pep talk, you activate the prefrontal cortex, reinforcing a sense of control and capability.
How to implement it:
Find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed (I usually just use a bathroom).
Stand or sit in front of the mirror, look yourself deep in the eyes, and give yourself a confidence boost. Tell yourself: “I’ve prepared for this. I am capable. I’m here to grow. I can do this.”
Acknowledge that regardless of the outcome, you’ll be okay. “Even if I don’t land this job, this is valuable practice of interviewing, and the right opportunity will come my way.”. This framing helps reduce performance anxiety.
2. Use Your Body: Stand in a Hero Pose
Why it works: Our body language has a profound effect on how we feel. Power poses (like standing tall with hands on hips, chest open, and feet apart) signal to your brain that you’re in control, which reduces stress hormones and boosts confidence.
How to implement it:
Stand tall, place your hands on your hips, and take up as much space as possible for 2-3 minutes. I also like to raise my chin.
Focus on your breath, and feel powerful yet calm.
In that moment, imagine yourself doing well in the interview (visualize success).
3. Visualize The Outcome Instead Of Worrying About It
Why it works: Visualization taps into the brain’s natural ability to simulate experiences, which can help prepare you emotionally and mentally for the real event. It boosts confidence and reduces anxiety by “rehearsing” success.
How to implement it:
Close your eyes and visualize the entire interview process: arriving at the location (or logging on for a virtual interview), answering questions with confidence, and leaving the interview feeling proud of your performance.
Imagine yourself calm and articulate, performing well under pressure. This primes your brain for success.
You’re most likely doing that already by worrying about failure. Use the exact same process, but reverse the script from negative to positive.
4. Practice Deep Breathing
Why it works: Deep breathing signals to your nervous system that you are safe. It helps to regulate cortisol, promoting a sense of calm and control. On top of delivering more oxygen to the prefrontal cortex, allowing you to think more clearly and perform under pressure.
How to implement it:
Before the interview, practice 3-5 minutes of deep breathing. A simple technique is box breathing: inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4, and repeat.
During the interview, if you start feeling anxious or foggy, pause for a few seconds to focus on your breath, bringing yourself back into a calm and centered state.
You can use a subtle 4-second inhale and 6-second exhale to lower stress quickly without anyone noticing.
5. Prioritize Social Connection Over Perfect Presentation
Why it works: Focusing on connecting with your interviewer as a human being reduces pressure on “getting everything right”. When you build rapport, you naturally reduce your stress levels and increase your chances of having a positive interaction.
How to implement it:
Shift your mindset from “I need to impress them” to “How can I engage with this person?”
Ask questions and listen actively to show you care about the conversation, not just your performance. This can make the interview feel more like a conversation than an interrogation.
I noticed interviewers are more eager to give valuable feedback on how you can improve when they get that sense of connection.
6. (Bonus) Chose Well What You Consume: Hydrate, Eat Nutritious Food, And Avoid Alcohol the Night Before
Why this works: Your brain’s performance in an interview is directly influenced by what you consume before it. Hydration, nutrition, and avoiding alcohol help optimize cognitive function, keep your energy levels steady, and reduce anxiety.
How to implement it:
Your brain is about 75% water, and when it lacks proper hydration, neurons don’t fire as efficiently. Drink water.
Alcohol disrupts sleep quality, dehydrates the brain, and impairs memory, focus, and verbal fluency — even the next day. Just don’t drink it.
Your brain runs on glucose, and if your blood sugar crashes, so does your ability to think clearly. Best foods for an interview setting stabilize your blood sugar and energy levels. I love my millennial avocado toast with a side of nuts for this.
Closing Thoughts
Brain fog kicking in in interviews and other high-stakes situations isn’t a sign that you’re incapable — it’s just your brain’s way of trying to protect you. But the good news is, you’re not at the mercy of your stress response.
By prioritizing your psychological safety and implementing strategies like pep talks, power poses, visualization, and deep breathing, you can prevent the amygdala hijack from taking over. These techniques help calm your nervous system, allowing you to show up as your sharpest, most confident self.
When Kevin worked with me, by applying the steps I outlined — along with a Brain Refactor — he reduced his interview anxiety by 80%. As a result, not only did he perform better in high-pressure situations, but the overall quality of his life improved.
So the next time you walk into an interview, remember: You have the tools to clear the fog and regain control of the moment.
Bye bye, brain fog.
Hello, calm confidence.
If you want the results Kevin got, work with me.
Over the past 6 years, I’ve successfully helped ambitious professionals in tech get past interview anxiety, gain confidence, increase their salaries, and open doors to opportunities they used to dream about.
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These are great tips, and not just for interviews. Thank you!
Great tips