There are a variety of factors that can influence focus. Sleep, supplements, exercise, games, nature, and diet are all potential influencers of focus. Here’s what you need to know about each one:
Sleep
No amount of willpower can compensate for lack of sleep. Maybe you aren’t a night owl, and you need to go to bed at a reasonable hour. The key to a good night’s sleep is to wake at the same time every day. If you wake at the same time every day, you’ll go to bed at the same time every day, and you won’t have to exert any more effort to achieve eight or nine hours per night. With enough sleep, beating procrastination is tricky, but enough sleep makes concentrating much easier.
Supplements
In light of the last section, melatonin may come to mind. People swear by it, though it’s recommended only for those whose bodies struggle to produce it naturally. Maybe focus stickers can show you how to focus. Supplements won’t necessarily go far without discipline, but they’re a good start if you want to become more productive. Less immediate options include creatine, omega-3s, and ginseng.
Exercise
Exercise has many benefits, but a major one is increased concentration. First, regular exercise can make falling asleep less challenging because your body will have expended some pent-up energy. Daily physical activity can stop or reverse memory loss in older adults and improve children’s attention spans. Exercising a little bit and living a sedentary lifestyle is much better than not exercising. Spend twenty minutes, if that. One needn’t go to the gym every day. One need only perform ten sit-ups, and that will be enough to help one get to sleep later that night. Weaving exercise into your day may help. Before work, take a walk to a coffee shop. Do ten sit-ups in your bed when you get up in the morning.
Games
Games, digital or tabletop, can stimulate the brain in the interest of concentration. One shouldn’t sit around playing video games all day. Still, insofar as gaming is a leisurely activity, it can enhance your ability to spend inordinately large amounts of time on tedious tasks you need to complete! Games like Sudoku and Mahjong can help develop problem-solving and strengthen memory in the short term. In particular, this is important for older people because age affects short-term memory more than long-term memory. Also, tabletop strategy games are not the only way to maintain one’s concentration. Video games that allow you to turn your brain off can help, too. For fidgety kids, concentrating on video games may be a good way of making those kids more focused.
Nature
Our relationship to nature can also affect our ability to concentrate. You don’t have to run a mile outside every day. A simple houseplant in an office space can increase concentration and productivity. A natural presence in any environment presents cognitive and emotional benefits. More literally, plants filter air, thereby improving the air quality of some internal space. Succulents are good candidates for houseplants because one needn’t water them often. Not only caring for a succulent but keeping one on your desk may help you boost your ability to concentrate.
Diet
The American diet is chock-full of grease, sugar, and fat, three items that make everyone sleepy. Replace cookies, chips, and cake with salmon, eggs, and spinach. Eggs may include the yolk, and fish as lean as salmon may also help you feel focused. Lean, protein-rich foods can give you the fuel you need to bring to your desk.
Make sure you drink enough water, too. When you’re low on water, before false hunger and fuzzy vision, energy is the first to go. Staying hydrated can keep distractions at bay. Regarding hydration, caffeine isn’t the worst thing to put in your system. Enjoying four cups of coffee daily can elevate one’s mood and boost productivity. Caffeine is no vice.
While many avoid breakfast these days, breakfast is okay to enjoy as long as it is not secretly dessert. Plain oatmeal, non-fat yogurt, eggs, and whole-wheat toast are great candidates for a breakfast that doesn’t fill you up too much and lets you hit the ground running with plenty of energy. An afternoon slump may come, but at least you’ll have a productive morning.