3 Factors that affect Concentration

We have all been through it: sitting at the desk with urgent work and daydreaming. Despite all our efforts, things are not progressing. We know that we must concentrate on the task at hand. We are motivated to do it. But, unable to concentrate.

In this world that has become very digital, there are many distractions. We are bombarded with information, and we feel a kind of obligation to deal with this information that comes to us in various forms. All this turns out to be time-consuming and deleterious for our attention.

The inability to concentrate on the task at hand is one of the modern diseases. Besides, everyone would like to know how to better concentrate and fix their attention. Improving concentration and attention therefore becomes a pressing concern.

What is the focus?

Focus is the ability to direct your attention to what you want. To focus is to take control of your attention. It is the ability to focus your mental energy on a single topic, object, or thought while excluding all other unrelated thoughts, feelings, sensations, or ideas.

This last part of the definition is the one that most of us have a problem with. Focusing involves excluding or ignoring any thought, idea, feeling, or sensation that is unrelated to what you need to focus on. It's ignoring the numbers, beeps and other indicators of new messages, new updates, new likes or new followers arriving at our social network.

Our daily routine is dominated by incessant comings and goings between our phone and our computer. We receive a steady stream of messages on WhatsApp, email, Telegram and all kinds of apps that remain essential to our work. We are constantly looking for information to solve our daily problems or to carry out our work.

All of these distractions affect our productivity. The tasks we do take more time. We don't listen as much as we should. We half understand things when our partner or our colleagues talk to us. We end up misunderstanding them and this leads to conflicts. Our memory is also affected. We forget things or are unable to recall certain information quickly, which affects our personal life and our professional image.

Factors that affect concentration:

Some days it seems our focus is attacked on multiple fronts. In fact, concentration is affected by internal and external environmental factors. To learn how to improve your concentration and memory, you need to understand what disturbs them.

1. Distractions:

We are constantly bombarded with information, old and new. They come to us right in the middle of what we're trying to do. Researchers have revealed that our brains are wired to react to these distractions, that the mere sight of our smartphone keeps us from concentrating. We constantly assess whether the information is useful, sufficient or insignificant. Faced with the volume of information reaching us, confusion reigns, and we wonder if we need more to make our decisions.

2. Lack of sleep:

Researchers have determined that lack of sleep reduces alertness, slows thinking processes and impairs concentration. When you are sleep-deprived, it is harder to focus your attention and confusion can set in. As a result, our ability to perform tasks, especially those that require reasoning or logic, can be greatly affected. If it becomes chronic, poor sleep further affects our concentration and memory.

3. Lack of physical activity:

Have you ever noticed that a good physical exercise relaxes you and gives you energy for the rest of the day? Without exercise, your muscles tense up. Tension invades your neck, shoulders and chest. This limited, but persistent, discomfort can affect your concentration.