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VIDEO Deepak Chopra: This is the best way to manage stress. Stop multitasking and instead give your full attention to one thing at a time. It's tough to stay mentally focused when you are ruminating about the past, worrying about the future, or tuned out of the present moment for some other reason.

You have probably heard people talk about the importance of " being present. This notion of being present is also essential for recapturing your mental focus.

Staying engaged in the here and now keeps your attention sharp and your mental resources honed in on the details that really matter at a specific point in time. It may take some time but work on learning to truly live in the moment.

You cannot change the past and the future has not happened yet, but what you do today can help you avoid repeating past mistakes and pave a path for a more successful future.

Mindfulness is a hot topic right now, and for good reason. Despite the fact that people have practiced forms of mindfulness meditation for thousands of years, its many health benefits are only recently starting to be understood.

In one study, researchers had human resources professionals engage in simulations of the sort of complex multitasking they engaged in each day at work. These tasks had to be completed in 20 minutes and included answering phones, scheduling meetings, and writing memos with sources of information pouring in from multiple sources including by phone calls, emails, and text messages.

Some of the participants received 8 weeks of training in the use of mindfulness meditation , and the results found that only those who had received this training showed improvement in concentration and focus. Members of the meditation group were able to stay on task longer, switched between tasks less frequently, and performed the work more efficiently than the other groups of participants.

Practicing mindfulness can involve learning how to meditate, but it can also be as simple as trying a quick and easy deep breathing exercise. Start by taking several deep breaths while really focusing on each and every breath. When you feel your mind naturally begin to wander, gently and uncritically guide your focus back to your deep breathing.

While this might seem like a deceptively simple task, you may find that it is actually much more difficult than it appears.

Fortunately, this breathing activity is something you can do anywhere and anytime. Eventually, you will probably find that it becomes easier to disengage from intrusive thoughts and return your focus to where it belongs.

Have you ever tried to stay mentally focused on the same thing for a long period of time? After a while, your focus starts to break down and it becomes more and more difficult to devote your mental resources to the task. Not only that, but your performance ultimately suffers as a result.

Traditional explanations in psychology have suggested that this is due to attentional resources being depleted, but some researchers believe that it has more to do with the brain's tendency to ignore sources of constant stimulation.

Researchers have found that even taking very brief breaks by shifting your attention elsewhere can dramatically improve mental focus. So the next time you are working on a prolonged task, such as preparing your taxes or studying for an exam, be sure to give yourself an occasional mental break.

Shift your attention to something unrelated to the task at hand, even if it is only for a few moments. These short moments of respite might mean that you are able to keep your mental focus sharp and your performance high when you really need it.

Building your mental focus is not something that will happen overnight. Even professional athletes require plenty of time and practice in order to strengthen their concentration skills. One of the first steps is to recognize the impact that being distracted is having on your life. If you are struggling to accomplish your goals and find yourself getting sidetracked by unimportant details, it is time to start placing a higher value on your time.

By building your mental focus, you will find that you are able to accomplish more and concentrate on the things in life that truly bring you success, joy, and satisfaction. Mental focus refers to your ability to concentrate on relevant information in your environment.

This ability allows you to attend to things that require attention, complete tasks that you need to accomplish, and acquire new information. In order to focus, the brain needs to filter out irrelevant information to concentrate on what really matters.

Different types of attention can affect your ability to focus. Selective attention , for example, acts like a spotlight to highlight specific stimuli in your environment.

Sustained attention, on the other hand, allows you to stay mentally focused on something for an extended period of time. Levy D, Wobbrock J, Kaszniak A, Ostergren M.

The effects of mindfulness meditation training on multitasking in a high-stress information environment. Proceedings - Graphics Interface. Brief and rare mental breaks keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements.

doi: By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising.

Effective time management does not come naturally. For that reason, time management books, techniques, and software are a dime a dozen. When guiding your busy [ While difficult to define, perfectionism can drive impossibly high standards and have dangerous consequences. Maintaining that flawless veneer can put your mental and physical wellbeing [ Home Blog Store Team About CCE Reviews Contact Login.

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References Aidman, E. Cognitive fitness framework: Towards assessing, training and augmenting individual-difference factors underpinning high-performance cognition.

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Journal of the American Medical Association , 19 , — Devore, E. Dietary antioxidants and long-term risk of dementia. Archives of Neurology , 67 7 , — Eichenbaum, H. The hippocampus, memory, and place cells: Is it spatial memory or a memory space?

Neuron, 23 2 , — Fissler, P. Jigsaw puzzling taps multiple cognitive abilities and is a potential protective factor for cognitive aging. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience , 10 , Gestuvo, M. Common dietary supplements for cognitive health.

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The odds are high that you will see your colleagues checking screens, texting, and emailing while someone is talking or making a presentation. Many of us are proud of our prowess in multitasking, and wear it like a badge of honor. Multitasking may […]. Many of us are proud of our prowess in multitasking , and wear it like a badge of honor.

Time management. Multitasking may […] by Paul Hammerness, MD, and Margaret Moore. And often, the answer can be found in your daily activities and some areas you can control. These can include:.

These are just a few examples of reasons you may not be able to concentrate. And they largely fall under five primary categories or factors. We are bombarded by a constant flow of information, whether new or old, during the process of doing something.

Researchers have found that our brains are so primed for this distraction that just seeing our smartphone impairs our ability to concentrate. We constantly assess whether the information is useful, sufficient, or meaningless.

The sheer quantity coming in muddles our assessment of whether we actually need more information to make decisions. Scientists have found that lack of sleep can lead to lower alertness , slower thought processes, and reduced concentration. You will have more difficulty focusing your attention and may become confused.

As a result, your ability to perform tasks especially relating to reasoning or logic can be seriously affected. Chronically poor sleep further affects your concentration and memory. Allison T. Siebern from the Stanford University Sleep Medicine Centre notes that if you cannot concentrate on what is at hand, it is unlikely to make it to either your short- or long-term memory.

Have you ever noticed how vigorous exercise leaves you feeling more relaxed and energetic throughout the day? You may feel tightness in your neck, shoulder, and chest and such persistent, low-level discomfort can affect your concentration.

What we eat contributes to how we feel , including our mental sharpness and clarity, throughout the day. Low-fat diets can ruin focus because the brain needs certain essential fatty acids. Other restrictive diets may negatively affect concentration by not providing the nutrients the brain needs or by creating hunger, cravings, or feeling of unwellness in the body that are themselves distracting.

Depending on what you are doing, the environment can affect your focus. Obviously, a noise level that is too loud is a problem, but many people also have difficulty concentrating when it is too quiet. A favorite song quickly has you singing along, happily distracted, while less distinct instrumentals might keep you attuned to the task.

Lighting that is too bright or too dim can affect your vision. A room that is too hot or too cold creates discomfort. Depending on the cause, you may have to temporarily accept that your concentration is low and learn a few tricks to reduce the impact or accept the dips as they come.

If you need help with concentration and think your difficulties go beyond the list above, consult with a professional. Now you know why you need help with concentration.

What can help you to focus better? Eliminate distractions. How do we focus better if we are always bombarded with information? Make a practice blocking time in your schedule to do a specific task or activity. During this time, request that you be left alone or go to a place where others are unlikely to disturb you: a library, a coffee shop, a private room.

Close social media and other apps, silence notifications, and k eep your phone hidden from sight in a bag or backpack. As described in HBR, researchers found that cognitive capacity was significantly better when the phone was out of sight , not just turned off.

Keep Your primary focus is to complete what you need to do. Shutting off both internal and external disturbances can help you to concentrate. Reduce multitasking. Attempting to perform multiple activities at the same time makes us feel productive.

And lower productivity can lead to burnout. Examples of multitasking include listening to a podcast while responding to an email or talking to someone over the phone while writing your report.

Such multitasking not only hampers your ability to focus but compromises your work quality. Practice mindfulness and meditation. Meditating or practicing mindfulness activities can strengthen well-being and mental fitness and improve focus. During the meditation process, our brain becomes calmer and our whole body becomes more relaxed.

We focus on our breath during the process so that we will not be distracted by our minds. With practice, we can learn to use our breath to bring our attention back to a particular task so that it can be done well even if we get interrupted. Get more sleep. Many factors affect your sleep.

One of the most common is reading from an electronic device like a computer, phone, or tablet or watching your favorite movie or TV show on an LED TV just before bedtime. Research has shown that such devices emit light towards the blue end of the spectrum. Such light will stimulate your eye retina and prevent the secretion of melatonin that promotes sleep anticipation in the brain.

Use a filter or "blue light" glasses to minimize such blue light or avoid all electronic devices before bed. Other ways to improve sleep include avoiding exercise late in the day, staying hydrated throughout the day, using journaling or breathing exercises to quiet the mind, and creating a predictable bedtime routine and schedule.

Choose to focus on the moment. It might feel counterintuitive when you feel unable to concentrate, but remember that you choose where you focus. It's tough to concentrate when your mind is always in the past and worrying about the future.

Acknowledge the impact, what you felt, and what you learned from it, then let it go. Similarly, acknowledge your concerns about the future, consider how you are experiencing that anxiety in your body, then choose to let it go.

We want to train our mental resources to focus on the details of what matters at the moment. Our minds go in the direction we choose to focus. Take a short break. This also might seem counterintuitive, but when you focus on something for a long time, your focus may begin to die down.

You may feel more and more difficulty devoting your attention to the task. Researchers have found that our brains tend to ignore sources of constant stimulation. Taking very small breaks by refocusing your attention elsewhere can dramatically improve mental concentration after that.

The next time you are working on a project, take a break when you begin to feel stuck. Move around, talk to someone, or even switch to a different type of task. You will come back with a more focused mind to keep your performance high. Connect with nature. Research has found that even having plants in office spaces can help increase concentration and productivity, as well as workplace satisfaction and better air quality.

ADHD medications Types of ADHD medications used as nootropics include: Methylphenidate, Lisdexamphetamine, Dexamfetamine Brand names: Ritalin®, Ritalin la®, Concerta®, Ritalin 10®, Dexamphetamine tablets®, Vyvanse® Ritalin was introduced during the s to treat chronic fatigue, depression, and psychosis associated with depression.

Methylphenidate affects everyone differently, but the most common side effects may include: euphoria and heightened sense of well-being high body temperature cardiovascular system failure hostility or paranoia irregular or increased heartbeat and palpitations increased blood pressure and respiration increased activity, talkativeness and alertness reduced fatigue, drowsiness and appetite dry mouth, dilated pupils, nausea and headaches increased sex drive feelings of cleverness, great competence, and power.

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