I appreciate everyone's responses. As Mark and Jomar suggest, I have long suspected that I have a subtle neck injury, which I apologize for not mentioning in my original post. Stress is also a factor that I try my best to reduce.

The "concussion clinic" I went to in 2019 referred me to a physical therapist who prescribed various neck stretches, which I used to do daily until recently. I'm not sure if they help, but I figure they can't hurt. Also, I'm not sure what else can be done if it is a neck injury.

Today I studied most of the day, and seemed pretty good until later afternoon when I stopped for the Chauvin verdict (I live near the twin cities). At that point I realized I had an inordinate amount of brain fog that continued to accumulate when I tried to keep working.

Is it normal for brain fog to increase during cognitive work and staring at a computer screen with a neck injury? Also this may be a stupid question, but is it possible to make a neck injury worse by "pushing through" symptoms?

I do notice a very subtle tender/sore spot at the base of my skull on my right side, kind of where the C1/C2 vertebrae that Mark mentioned are located. What other indicators might there be to know for sure that I have a neck injury?

Thanks everyone.