What makes you focus more

Get helpful tips and guidance for everything from fighting inflammation to finding the best diets for weight loss Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School. Recent Blog Articles. Why is topical vitamin C important for skin health? Preventing preeclampsia may be as simple as taking an aspirin. Caring for an aging parent? Tips for enjoying holiday meals. A conversation about reducing the harms of social media. Menopause and memory: Know the facts.

How to get your child to put away toys. Is a common pain reliever safe during pregnancy? Can vaping help you quit smoking? Print This Page Click to Print. Free Healthbeat Signup Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox! Sign Up. Close Thanks for visiting. The Best Diets for Cognitive Fitness , is yours absolutely FREE when you sign up to receive Health Alerts from Harvard Medical School Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle, with ways to fight inflammation and improve cognitive health , plus the latest advances in preventative medicine, diet and exercise , pain relief, blood pressure and cholesterol management, and more.

I want to get healthier. Close Health Alerts from Harvard Medical School Get helpful tips and guidance for everything from fighting inflammation to finding the best diets for weight loss Close Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School. Maintaining focus is equally about taking care of your mental space and your body, as it is grinding through work. By eliminating distractions, investing time in maintaining physical and mental wellness, and instituting healthy habits, you can improve your productivity.

Multitaskers might seem superhuman, but they pay a big price, according to a Stanford study. In a sample of Stanford students, about half identified themselves as media multitaskers. The other half did not. The test examined attention spans, memory capacity, and ability to switch from one task to the next — and the multitaskers performed more poorly on each test. Everything distracts them," Clifford Nass, who was a researcher for the study, said in a Stanford press release.

If the saying "practice makes perfect" is true, then meditation is a sure way to enhance focus because it takes a great deal of concentration. Scientific experiments agree. One study at the University of North Carolina, for example, revealed that students who meditated for just 20 minutes a day for four days performed better on certain cognitive tests.

Another study found that people who meditated regularly were less likely to engage in "mind-wandering" and were generally happier. The researchers of the study suggest that this was because long-term meditators exhibited a lower amount of what's called default mode network activity DMN — a function of the brain linked with attention issues, anxiety, and depression.

If you'd like to learn how to start meditating, read our beginner's guide on how to meditate. Exercises like running , swimming , and weight lifting aren't just good for the body. They promote brain health, too, which is important for memory capacity and concentration, according to John Ratey, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

In particular, scientists think regular exercise may help stimulate the release of a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor , which some research suggests helps rewire memory circuits to improve their functioning. To-do lists not only help you prioritize what tasks you need to get done first, but they can also serve as a record of the loose ends. Moreover, incomplete work could eat away at your concentration. This stems from something called the Zeigarnik Effect , which is the tendency to remember incomplete tasks instead of completed ones.

Researchers explored this Zeigarnik effect in a study which found that participants who could plan their work and complete tasks one by one were more likely to stay focused than those participants who were made to go from task to task without completing them.

If you're feeling groggy, grab a cup of joe or other caffeinated substance. Studies suggest that caffeine may, in moderate doses , help to boost focus — particularly in those of us who are fatigued. But don't get overzealous with the coffee , or you might get the caffeine jitters , which typically reduce your ability to concentrate.

You can also try a cup of tea , which won't give you the quick buzz like coffee but can provide you energy for a longer period thanks to the L-theanine chemicals in it that our bodies metabolize throughout the day.

You might have heard that watching cat videos on YouTube can improve productivity. Well, that's true Whether it's watching cat videos, taking a walk , or a brief nap , it is critical to take the occasional break from work. In one study , 84 subjects were asked to perform a simple computer task for one hour. Those who were allowed two brief breaks during that hour performed consistently for the entire time whereas those who weren't offered a break performed worse over time.

Another widely-noted study analyzed the decision making process of 1, judges and found that more "favorable rulings" were made by judges during the beginning of the day and after they took periodic food breaks. Essentially, this study explored how "decision fatigue" i. The right background music is ultimately what works for you. Some experts argue that no music is best for productivity because it minimizes the opportunity for distractions.

Whereas other studies have found that listening to background music without words offers better performance compared to white noise or silence. And still another study found that the time spent on a certain task was longest when listening to no music. Whether you are alerted to text or an incoming call by an alarm, vibration, or trendy ringtone, a cell phone notification can distract you enough to impair your ability to concentrate on a task. In fact, the distraction caused by a notification is just as off-putting as using your cell phone to make calls or send a text message, according to research.

A team discovered that while notifications are short in duration, they tend to trigger task-irrelevant thoughts or mind wandering that damages task performance. The team explained that task performance takes a hit because humans have a limited capacity for attention that needs to be split between tasks.

The researchers also emphasized that just being aware of a missed text or call can have the same effect. If you need to stay on track and focused, it might be worth either turning off your cell phone, setting it to silent, or putting it away somewhere that you cannot see it. The curiosity of checking personal social media accounts can often be overwhelming, but research indicates that there are negative consequences when using social media during office hours.

Approximately 2. Using social media during working hours has been revealed to have an adverse effect on self-reported work performance and concentration, and the well-being of the organization. Fighting the urge to use social media while you need to concentrate may help to improve your productivity and concentration. Other research demonstrates how to take the best type of break to boost energy, motivation, and concentration.

Researchers recommend taking:. Taking breaks earlier in the day and doing preferred activities lead to better health, job satisfaction, and revival of energy, motivation, and concentration.

Workers also experienced fewer headaches , eyestrain, and lower back pain after their break. Our environment plays a significant role in how well we are able to concentrate.

It is known that by decluttering your home or tidying your desk, your mind also feels more orderly, free, and able to think more clearly. Design your own work space. Whether you have full control over the design of your work space or can embellish your desk with just a few personal items, having control over our work environment can help to improve productivity. A study compared people who completed a series of tasks in a bare and functional office space, an office decorated with plants and pictures, and an office in which the individual designed the space.

People who were in a space with plants and pictures were 17 percent more productive than those in bare office, while those who designed their own spaces were 32 percent more productive than the workers at a functional desk. Listen to Baroque classical music. Play natural sounds.

If Baroque music is not your thing, playing natural sounds could also benefit concentration. Researchers revealed that playing sounds from nature in the office, such as flowing water, could enhance cognitive abilities and optimize the ability to concentrate.

Inhale rosemary aroma. Research has suggested that exposure to rosemary aroma may improve speed and accuracy of cognitive performance. Problem-solving exercises, brain training methods, and even video games could all have a positive, negative effect, or no effect at all on concentration, depending on which study you read. Recent research has indicated that people who often do word puzzles, such as crosswords, have better brain function later in life. Researchers found direct relationships between how often pople used word puzzles and the speed and accuracy of performance on tasks assessing reasoning, memory, and attention.

A study has emphasized that it matters what type of brain training you are doing to improve memory and attention. Participants who practiced dual n-back demonstrated a 30 percent improvement in their working memory — almost double the gains made by the complex span group. Dual n-back is a memory sequence test wherein individuals have to remember a sequence of auditory and visual stimuli that are updated continuously. Playing video games has been shown to cause changes in many regions of the brain.

Researchers discovered that video game use altered the brain regions that are responsible for visuospatial skills and attention and made them work more efficiently.

Physical activity, dietary choices, and weight are all factors that can contribute to how well you function and your concentration levels. For example, if you skip breakfast, it is unlikely that by lunchtime you will be able to perform tasks to the best of your ability due to hunger pangs. Looking after your well-being, staying active, and eating concentration-boosting foods can all help toward improving concentration.