Focus on Reclaiming Your Time

Now that you know that distraction is the main reason we lose focus, let us talk about the various forms distractions can take. In many cases, these distractions may not seem as apparent as imagined but may make you feel scattered or fuzzy. The result is that you may blame yourself for not having more control.

At this point, it is crucial to remember that focus and concentration can change as we age, just like memory and other cognitive functions. However, this is not a one-way street. Certain studies with older individuals show that the capacity for strategic learning or decision-making can improve, offering hope for those striving to enhance their focus and concentration.

Certain habits and situations can impair focus. Most are everyday habits that can be changed with some effort and may become the starting point for you to move ahead with gaining better focus and concentration.

Poor diet and nutrition

Food directly and significantly impacts cognition, which is why a poor decision at lunch can derail an entire afternoon. The body converts everything we eat into glucose, which provides energy. However, not every type of food is processed at the same rate, giving us the power to make informed choices about our diet and its impact on our mental health.

Therefore, a balanced diet that prevents hunger and dehydration can be a powerful tool in maintaining focus. Hunger can have a range of adverse effects on health and behavior, including the ability to focus. It is often linked to low blood sugar, leading to fatigue and low energy levels. As a diabetic, I can attest to the power of a balanced diet, and it is something that I fight continually, but I have found that finding your balance is vital for sustaining focus.

Dehydration, however, can lead to numerous symptoms that can reduce focus, including headaches, fatigue, and low mood. Studies establish that even 1% lower than optimal hydration can cause a lack of focus. Like a balanced diet, balanced hydration is a must. There is a term for overconsumption of water: Water Intoxication. It dilutes the blood and decreases the electrolytes in your body. Which in turn destroys your ability to focus.

So, what are some of the pitfalls you need to avoid preventing hunger and dehydration from setting in?

HHere'sa look:

• Diets for weight loss

Weight loss diets are notoriously bad for focus and concentration. Low-fat diets can be held accountable, as the brain needs essential fatty acids for proper functioning, and these fats deprive the body of such nutrients. At the same time, cutting out important nutrients like proteins is also bad. Protein amino acids are necessary for optimal brain performance, creating brain chemicals that improve focus. It's all about balance.

• Processed foods

Poor nutrition, often in empty calories, does not provide the energy you need. The brain struggles to function or focus on anything properly with insufficient energy. As a result, you may experience mild irritability when you eat processed foods.

For example, processed foods such as cured meat can fog the brain. Consuming salt and protein-rich foods like these dehydrates you, and dehydration can diminish cognitive function.

• Junk foods

Junk food is a whole different story. It comes in a high-fat, high-sugar, and high-calorie package that gets digested relatively quickly. While you may get instant gratification from eating these foods, they don't do much to satisfy hunger.

Instead, since junk foods lack nutrients, the body is forced to use sugar as energy. Given sugar's refined nature, this form of energy is quickly spent, leaving you with a sugar high, which is also experienced as a temporary sensation of energy.

But after the metabolism has used up all the available energy, the surge is followed by a sugar crash accompanied by fatigue, lethargy, focus loss, and a wandering brain.

Hormones at play

Maintaining hormonal equilibrium is key to optimal brain functioning. It may surprise you that a deficiency of specific hormones can significantly change mental focus and processing. This underscores the importance of being aware of and proactive about maintaining hormonal balance for optimal cognitive health.

With hormones out of whack, you may find yourself having difficulty remembering people's names, snapping unintentionally, suffering from mood swings, or even starting to feel depressed. All these and other factors play a part in affecting the way your brain functions.

For women, the one thing to watch out for is estrogen levels. This female hormone can dictate everything from sugar cravings and bouts of fatigue to mood swings. Any imbalance is then seen as impacting mental agility, where low estrogen levels can impair cognitive functions like memory, reasoning, and even mood from running smoothly.

As a result, women may often observe that fluctuations in estrogen levels during perimenopause and menopause may make their memory and attention wax and wane.

Another consideration that falls under hormonal imbalances and one that can impact the ability to focus is hypothyroidism. Low thyroid issues have been directly linked with causing mental fog, concentration issues, depression, and even short-term memory loss.

Maintaining an optimal balance of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone is essential since all three hormones act directly on nerve cells in the brain. Collectively, these hormones can help facilitate neurotransmission, protect cells from neurotoxins, and improve blood flow in the brain. Any imbalance could significantly decrease cognition, mental focus, and the ability to sustain concentration.

Lack of sleep

This common issue does not get the proper attention it deserves. Insufficient sleep significantly affects the mind, and focus becomes compromised. When you don't sleep well, your thoughts slow down, and you become less alert even though you can't shut your mind up. This affects your ability to concentrate and can confuse the mind enough to prevent you from performing tasks that require complex thought.

Too many people today see the lack of sleep as a badge of honor, necessary for advancement at work or socially. However, this is nothing more than an excuse because we feel we are invincible. Trust me, NO ONE is invincible. If a hyperactive, no-sleep person is your hero, start watching how they act and the decisions they make because it will eventually require supplemental support, and that may include drugs, alcohol, or other stimulants. That creates a downward spiral.

Also, feeling sleepy during the day can cut into your working memory, a vital focus component. The sensation makes you less vigilant and reduces the speed and accuracy of mental tasks.

Stress

While memory and cognitive functioning gradually diminish with age, people with persistent or higher levels of stress are especially vulnerable. Stress's adverse effects on memory can cause the brain to freeze and completely lose track of focus. This can happen in any scenario, from students studying for an exam to introducing a friend and forgetting their name mid-way through introductions.

Focus caves into stress in these situations, as thinking gets so preoccupied with stress-inducing stimuli that other thoughts fail to emerge. This impairs working memory, which is linked to short-term memory retention.

Lack of physical activity

Regular exercise releases brain chemicals that are key for memory, and a lack of them can impact focus and concentration. Exercise stimulates areas of the brain involved in memory functions. Physical activity releases a chemical called BDNF, or brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which rewires memory circuits so they work better.

As such, 30 minutes of exercise can help increase BNDF. But doing so once a week will not help. Exercise must be a regular part of daily routine to reap cognitive benefits.

Surrounding environment

The environment where you are sitting down can quickly become distracting when trying to concentrate. Multiple diversions could be present, such as loud noises, bright lighting, visual disruptions, and even temperature inconsistencies.

I prefer to work and write in silence, without any background noise. This allows me to remain focused longer and end the day relaxed, knowing that I have accomplished what I need.

Even though they may seem trivial, these environmental variables can play an essential role in sustaining focus.

Quality of information

Another common distraction is the quality of information you need to process. If the information is relevant to the task, it will likely keep your focus engaged, but you can quickly become distracted if you don't have the correct information to work with. Issues like an incomplete email, a skipped step, or a misleading phone message can mess up your focus as you try to make sense of the situation.

I have seen too many projects tank because the premise was based on inaccurate, flawed, or corrupted data and assumptions. Nothing will distract you more than dealing with the fires created by these avoidable issues.

Conclusion,

We can control many distractions if we are willing to put in the work, examination, and actions necessary to effect change in our lives. None of these are new, nor are they radical. Yes, you can buy supplements that we may think will have the same effect without sacrificing anything other than a lot of money.

Many supplements for seniors only offer a placebo effect. However, they're worth trying if they work for you and have minimal long-term effects. As we continue to talk about focus, we will turn to its benefits in the following article.

I am beginning to see the physical damage that a desire for instant gratification and convenience has done to me in the last 78 years, and while some say it may be too late to change, at least I'll die trying to improve.