Focus. It’s one thing in today’s world that you may find extremely difficult to do, whether you’re working on a school project or preparing for a big presentation at work.
Concentration particularly refers to the mental effort you put into whatever you’re doing or learning at the moment. While often confused with attention span, the latter actually refers to the length of time you use to concentrate on something.
Don’t worry, though, because science has your back. Here are five simple yet radically effective ways to concentrate better – and science backs these tips.
- Perform brain training. Training the brain isn’t just for esports professionals, chess players, or mind athletes that are known for their genius. It can also have a huge impact on your concentration levels. For instance, you may play certain types of games, including chess, jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, and memory games.
- Take a break. This might sound counterproductive, but there’s actually great value in taking a break from the different distractions that affect your ability to concentrate. Lucky are those who have a high working memory capacity, as they can better ignore distractions and carry on with their tasks. For most of us, taking a few minutes of break might be the key.
- Sleep better. Sleep deprivation is one of the nastiest disruptors of concentration, along with other cognitive functions such as memory and attention. Excess sleepiness and tiredness can slow down your reflexes and mess with your ability to do critical tasks that need focus, including driving and operating equipment and machinery.
- Eat concentration-enhancing foods. Avocados help enhance cognitive measures like memory, while walnuts may improve performance on tests for cognitive function. Chocolates are a heaven-sent for concentration, too, particularly their flavanols that offer neuroprotective benefits.
- Try supplementation. Brain-enhancing dietary supplements promise not just to amp up your memory and learning, but also to enhance your focus and concentration to get stuff done. Flavonoids, omega-3s, and many natural extracts have been lauded for the role they play here. Be sure to check with your healthcare provider, though, if you have any existing health conditions or allergies.
