Poor Concentration
Poor Concentration
In most cases, these intruders are quickly banished from your mind so you can concentrate on the task at hand. But as you get older, it becomes harder to filter out these distractions and stick to a project, organize your thoughts, or follow the flow of a conversation, says Richard Restak, M.D., clinical professor of neurology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C, and co- author of The Longevity Strategy: How to Live to 100 Using the Brain-Body Connection. Poor concentration also can affect your memory. So if you’re doing the laundry, for instance, you may forget all about a boiling tea kettle in the kitchen until the smoke alarm goes off.
“It’s just a natural part of aging,” Dr. Restak says. “As you get older, it is simply going to take more effort to concentrate on complicated tasks like reading. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it, you just have to develop some new strategies.” Here are a few ideas.
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Other Wise Ways
Keep your eye on the prize. Resist the temptation to get distracted. If you’re paying bills, for instance, and need to go into another room to get some stamps, do that and immediately go back to your bill paying. If you do find yourself getting distracted while hunting down the stamps, pause, take a deep breath, and ask yourself, “What am I really here for?” Doing that will refocus your attention on what you really need to get done, Dr. Chafetz says. Otherwise, you may still be cleaning out your desk when the post office closes.
Zzzone out. Try to get at least six to eight hours of sleep daily, suggests Laura Slap-Shelton, Ph.D., clinical psychologist with a specialty in neuropsychology at Jeanes Hospital in Philadelphia. When you’re tired, you’ll have more trouble concentrating. Taking a brief nap in the middle of the day helps some people keep their minds focused on necessary chores and tasks.
Quiet your mind. Meditation is a simple and terrific way to boost your powers of concentration, Dr. Slap-Shelton says. “The mind is a noisy place, talking to itself and responding to all sorts of stimulation in the world around it,” she says. “Meditation quiets the mind and can help filter out all the annoying distractions that make concentration difficult.”
To try it, sit in a comfortable chair and begin to slowly breathe in for a count of four to eight seconds, allowing your diaphragm to expand fully, Dr. Slap-Shelton says. Hold your breath for several seconds, and then slowly breathe out as much air as you can. To see if you are breathing from your diaphragm, you can rest your hand on your stomach and feel it expand and contract as you practice your breathing. Whenever a distracting thought pops into your mind, just notice it and let it go, and keep your attention on your breathing. If you do this simple exercise twice a day, your ability to concentrate may improve, Dr. Slap-Shelton says.
Light a candle. Guided imagery can help focus your mind, says Elizabeth Ann Barrett, Ph.D., R.N., professor and coordinator of the Center for Nursing Research at Hunter College of the City College of New York in New York City. To try it, close your eyes and breathe out through your mouth and in through your nose. Breathe out long, slow exhalations and breathe in normally, but with shorter inhalations than exhalations. Notice that you are beginning to relax. Breathe in a feeling of confidence that can improve your concentration, and breathe out the fear that you will be distracted.
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Managing Your Meds Any medication that causes drowsiness can dampen concentration, says W. Steven Pray, Ph.D., R.Ph., professor of pharmaceutics at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. In particular, be wary of: • Over-the-counter sleeping tablets that contain diphenhydramine (Nytol, Unisom) • Over-the-counter antihistamines with diphenhydramine (Actifed, Benadryl) • Antipsychotic medications such as risperidone (Risperdal) or haloperidol (Haldol) • Tranquilizers like hydroxyzine (Atarax, Vistaril) • Antidepressants such as imipramine (Tofranil) • Antianxiety medications like diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), and other drugs known as benzodiazepines |
Now imagine that you are lighting a candle. Focus on the flame and notice that any distracting thoughts cause the flame to flicker, Dr. Barrett says. Concentrate on seeing the flame burn brightly without flickering. Dismiss all distracting thoughts that create flickering. Each time you see a flicker, return to the steadiness of the flame. Notice how you can keep the flame burning brighter for a longer and longer time with fewer and fewer flickers. Keep watching the flame burning brightly. When you feel ready, open your eyes.
Do this exercise three times a day (morning, noon, and evening) for 21 days, Dr. Barrett suggests. After 21 days, the maximum effectiveness through one episode of repetition is over. Take a break to mark that one cycle is over. After seven days, begin again. Ideally, this 21-day cycle of guided imagery will become habit forming.
Clean out the attic. Store just a few bits of information in your head, Dr. Chafetz suggests. The more information you try to keep in your brain, the more distracting thoughts you’ll have and the harder it will be to concentrate. So if you haven’t done so before, start writing down phone numbers, birthdays, and other facts that you don’t need every day.
Play mind games. Give your brain a good workout with chess, checkers, crossword puzzles, or board games like Scrabble at least twice a week, Dr. Chafetz says. These fun, mind-stretching activities can help keep your concentration in tip-top shape.