Can't Focus or Concentrate?

Last week, one of my Facebook Fans asked me the following question:

“Hey Michael, if I was having challenges with focus and concentration what would you holistically recommend? I think 25% is distration aka a full plate, otherwise I think 75% of it is genetics !”

Below is my response which I hope may be helpful to others.

Poor focus and concentration can be a result of a variety of problems and conditions such as:

Lack of sleep (insomnia), ADD, yeast infection, nutritional deficiencies, etc. Some women find that they have a particularly hard time paying attention in the last months of pregnancy or during menopause, when insomnia is a common problem. Sometimes it’s as simple as mere lack of geniune interest in the subject at hand.

When your attention takes a detour, the culprit may be one type of distraction or another–worry, stress, hunger–or the cat scratching at the screen door.

HOW TO IMPROVE FOCUS

Here are some professional tips and recommendations that may be helpful to you and anyone with focus and concentration problems.

Irene Colsky, professor of psychology

Miriam Ehrenberg, Ph.D author of “BRAIN POWER” and clinical psychologist

Gail Mattox, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry

Block out distractions!
Shut the door, turn off the TV and take the phone off the hook, and you’ll cut out a lot of distractions, says Dr. Ehrenberg. If necessary, tell the people that you share space with that you’d rather not be disturbed.

Do one thing at a time!
It’s difficult to focus on any one task if you’re working on several simultaneously, says Dr. Ehrenberg. You’re bound to take longer or make more mistakes, because your mind simply can’t be in two places at once. Instead, block out time for each task or project and tackle each in turn.

Take a deep breath!
Anxiety can cloud your concentration, says Dr. Ehrenberg. Deep breathing can help quiet the nagging inner voice that says, “Am I going to be able to finish this? Will it be good enough?” Take a deep breath and hold it for five seconds while pressing your hands and fingers together, palm to palm. Then slowly exhale through your lips while letting your hands relax. Do this five or six times until you relax.

Surprise your brain!
Activities that give your brain a workout–reading books on subjects new to you, solving puzzles, learning new languages or instruments–translate to sharper thinking, studies find.

Experiment with background music!
Some people work best in total silence, while others do better with musical accompaniment, says Dr. Ehrenberg. Research suggests that baroque music–J. S. Bach in particular–is conducive to learning. Go with whatever works for you.

After an hour, take a break!
Getting focused is one thing; staying focused is another. After a while your brain (and the rest of your body) needs a break, says Dr. Ehrenberg. To refresh and refocus, take a quick walk around the block.

Concentrate on exercise!
A regular exercise program–steady workouts of 45 minutes each–can also hone your power of concentration. When researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine put women on treadmills and had them walk until they burned 350 calories, the women reported feeling more clearheaded afterward. This amounts to walking three miles in about 45 minutes, a rate of four miles per hour. Exercise seems to improve the vital flow of oxygen to the brain, Dr. Ehrenberg says. It can also help alleviate distracting anxiety and depression.

Have a snack!
Concentration wavers when your blood sugar levels fall, and frequent small meals keep levels steadiest, says Dr. Colsky. So if you’re about to tackle a task that demands concentration, have a bite to eat–half a tuna sandwich, for example, or some other combination of protein and carbohydrate. Research suggests that a protein-carb combination keeps you more alert than protein or carbohydrate alone.

Remember mineral-rich foods!
Gail Mattox, M.D. says, studies have also linked diets deficient in boron (found in fruits, especially prunes, dates and raisins), iron and zinc (found in red meat) to difficulty concentrating. So if you don’t get these minerals regularly in foods, a multivitamin with iron may help.

I would personally add to the above list of tips that one would do well to consider yoga and regular meditation practices as helpful options. Also if you find your condition to be fairly intense or chronic, I’d recommend you be evaluated for ADD and yeast infection.