Attention
How long can you stay focused on one topic, idea, or behavior? Go ahead and try it. Try focusing on something simple, such as breathing for a minute or two. Now see how long it takes for other thoughts to swarm your mind and break that concentration. Don’t beat yourself up if this exercise is difficult for you, often we train our brain to work this way unintentionally. As we grow and develop, we start to notice more and more going on in our world outside of our own experiences. Continually working to keep engaged with the latest news, texts, and emails often leads us into dividing our attention into many different places. The trouble occurs as we do this for long periods of time. Our brain then begins to operate in a state of divided attention all the time.
A state of divided attention
Is using our brain to focus on several different things a bad thing? Thinking is one of the main exercises our brain goes through on a day-to-day basis. When we divide our attention, this multiplies the effort considerably. Therefore, we can tire more quickly and are less productive with complex thoughts and experiences. Imagine enjoying your favorite meal while thinking about having to do your taxes later that day. Chances are you will begin by enjoying your meal. Then you’ll notice your meal less while your brain thinks through your tax information. The less attention that goes into eating, the less enjoyment and less memorable the experience is. In this sense, the more your attention is divided, the duller each thought and experience will be. The more attention that is focused on any task, problem, or experience, the more efficient your brain will be with processing and remembering it. If focused, people tend to find more enjoyment out of their activities – even with something boring like chores!
Take a Break
Our brain is capable of amazing things and being able to work on several tasks, almost simultaneously, is one of them. However, just like any good worker, our brain does not do this well without taking breaks. For our brain, one of the major functions is producing thoughts. For our brain to “take a break” we would need to have it slow down or reduce the number of thoughts it is producing. Keep in mind we cannot stop our brain from producing thoughts, but we can work to reduce those thoughts. The result of this reduction of thoughts is increased focus on the present moment. When our attention is completely focused on what is going on in our immediate environment and/or internal experience, our brain is able to rest. Being in the present moment, or practicing being in the present moment, is a practice called mindfulness. This simply means that when a person is doing any type of “mindful” activity, they are trying to stay in the present and reduce the number of thoughts.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a broad category of practices that work to improve attention by focusing on the present moment and the present experience. This can range from meditation, eating, yoga, walking, and almost any activity you can think of −as long as the individual is practicing being in the present moment. Not only does this help your brain rest, but it also will improve your brain’s performance when tackling tasks and problems afterward. Another benefit is your brain will improve its ability to pay attention to anything you wish. Mindfulness is a practice of improving attention. If you have trouble paying attention, mindfulness may be the answer. If you would like professional help to improve your attention in your everyday life, call to make an appointment today.