Boosts mental focus -
If you feel your concentration starting to drop, consider a cup of coffee or green tea. A study found evidence to suggest phytochemicals naturally found in matcha, a type of green tea, not only improve cognitive function but can help promote relaxation.
So matcha may be a good option if coffee makes you feel jittery or on edge. How does caffeine affect your body? Some supplements may help promote concentration and improve brain function. However, there is not enough research to confirm that these supplements are effective or safe for everyone.
Also, the Food and Drug Administration FDA does not regulate supplements. This means you cannot be sure of the precise ingredients or how supplements will interact with other drugs. Always check with a doctor before trying any supplements, especially if you have any health conditions or allergies.
Which supplements can help you focus better? Concentration workouts often help children who have trouble focusing. This mental workout involves fully devoting attention to an activity for a set period of time. After completing one of the activities, ask your child to write a short summary or sketch how they felt during the experience.
Young children can simply use words to describe their feelings. Talking about where they lost concentration and how they managed to refocus can help them develop these skills for use in daily tasks. Multitasking has become part of daily life.
It seems a good way to get a lot done, but some scientists have questioned this. Studies have suggested that we are not as good at multitasking as we like to think we are.
For one thing, the brain is not designed to cope with doing two or more things at once. What we are actually doing is switching from one task to another. If you have the chance to tackle one thing at a time, you might find you can concentrate better on each of them. Blocking off time for specific tasks can help you focus on one thing at a time and lower the risk of environmental distractions.
Setting time limits can also help you channel your energy toward the task in hand because you know the time you can or need to spend on it is limited. Researchers looking for ways to help people overcome these challenges have suggested the following tips :.
The Marinara Timer, for example, encourages a person to work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. After four blocks of 25 minutes, the person will take a minute break.
This way, you can focus fully on a task for the allotted time and do something else in the breaks. These allow you to set a goal to not use your phone.
If you use the phone too soon, the tree will die. Other apps allow you to set goals for specific sites each day, such as the news or social media.
Trouble concentrating can relate to things going on around you. Common causes include interruptions from co-workers, distractions from your roommates or family members, or social media notifications.
Some common ones include:. What is stopping me from focusing? Sometimes it takes a trained professional to notice these symptoms.
Many adults living with untreated ADHD have trouble concentrating or focusing their attention for long periods of time. A mental health professional can help diagnose this or any other condition and help you get started on treatment.
Therapy, medication, and other treatment approaches can help improve your symptoms once you have a diagnosis. Some people use prescription or recreational drugs, such as nootropics, to improve their focus, but some of these can have severe adverse effects.
Some ways to improve concentration may work well, while others may not seem to do much for you. Consider giving a range of approaches a try to see what helps. Experts still debate the benefits of certain methods, such as brain training.
But existing evidence suggests most of these tips can promote at least modest improvements in concentration for many people. Just make sure to talk to your doctor if focusing is very hard. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
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A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic? How Well Do You Sleep? This means that a well-functioning gut is essential for sending the brain the kind of chemical signals that keep help us functioning at our best. A poor-quality diet can cause our bodies to release more inflammatory cytokines, which studies show can contribute to inflammation that can wind up damaging the brain.
While inflammation helps protect us against illnesses and repairs the body when you do something like cut yourself, chronic inflammation is a different animal.
Containing both vitamin K and folate, avocados help prevent blood clots in the brain protecting against stroke , as well as help improve brain functions related to memory and concentration. Plus, they have the highest protein and lowest sugar content of any fruit.
Not too shabby! Beets are root vegetables and some of the most nutritious foods for the brain that you can eat considering they help reduce inflammation, are high in cancer-protecting antioxidants and help rid your blood of toxins. The natural nitrates in beets actually boost blood flow to the brain, helping with mental performance.
Plus, during tough workouts, beets actually help boost energy and performance levels. Try them in this borscht recipe. Proving that great things do come in small packages, blueberries and other berries like strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc.
are fruits that experts recommend consuming daily. For starters, blueberries are one of the highest antioxidant-rich foods known to man, including vitamin C and vitamin K and fiber.
Because of their high levels of gallic acid, blueberries are especially good at protecting our brains from degeneration, cognitive decline and stress.
Get your daily dose of brain berries in an omega blueberry smoothie or in a healthy blueberry cobbler. Bone broth is the ultimate food for healing your gut and, in turn, helps heal your brain. This ancient food is full of benefits, ranging from boosting your immune system to overcoming leaky gut, improving joint health and overcoming food allergies.
Its high levels of collagen help reduce intestinal inflammation, and healing amino acids like proline and glycine keep your immune system functioning properly and help improve memory. Bone broth is what I prescribe most frequently to my patients because it truly helps heal your body from the inside out.
Your mom got it right when she told you to eat your broccoli. Along with related veggies like cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts , broccoli is one of the best brain-healthy foods out there thanks to its high levels of vitamin K and choline , which can help keep your memory sharp.
Additionally it contains a number of phytonutrients that protect brain cells against oxidative stress. For a vegetable with such few calories just 16 per cup! Its high levels of antioxidants and polysaccharides act as natural anti-inflammatories and can help alleviate symptoms related to inflammation, like joint pain and irritable bowel syndrome.
Both provide extra benefits and taste great in things like stir fries and soups. Not sure where to begin with eating more celery? Try my easy ants on a log or refreshing super hydrator juice recipes. When it comes to your brain, it can help suppress cells that are responsible for inflammation.
It may also help with memory loss as you age and fight bad bacteria that hang out in your gut. Get your dose of coconut oil in this coconut crust pizza. Real coconut milk and coconut flakes also provide healthy fats and even some fiber for gut support, too.
Not all chocolate is created equal. In fact, dark chocolate can actually be very good for you! Chocolate is chock-full of flavonols, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Studies show cocoa can increase cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood oxygenation — plus it can help lower blood pressure and oxidative stress in the brain and heart.
Most of the chocolate you see on supermarket shelves is highly processed and is not considered a great food for the brain. Skip milk and white chocolates, and opt for a minimally processed dark chocolate with at least 70 percent of cocoa. Satisfy your sweet tooth with these dark chocolate almond butter cookies or chocolate-covered berries.
On the nutritional naughty list for years, egg yolks are finally experiencing their well-deserved day in the sun. Brain fog. Among other symptoms, brain fog may include the following, she says:. This type of cognitive sluggishness can exist for a range of reasons, including stress, poor sleep, nutrition, and more.
Sometimes brain fog may be a signal that your health and wellness regimen needs further attention and professional guidance.
Additionally, there are a handful of lifestyle tweaks — from observations by experts — that may help alleviate brain fog and inspire mental clarity. If you zip from task to task throughout the day, you may not be giving your brain the break it needs to function well.
For example, the aftermath of having COVID may leave you with lingering brain fog , even when you feel physically better, due to possible inflammation associated with the virus, notes Harvard Health Publishing.
Prioritizing your absolute-must tasks while scheduling downtime can help support mental stability while working with the fog, she says.
For example, use the alarms on your phone, schedule reminders through a voice assistant, set up auto pay for your bills, and organize your meetings into a calendar.
This may help take away some of the stress associated with brain fog. For that reason, she recommends a low-inflammatory diet, which roughly means limiting or avoiding highly processed foods and red and processed meats, and sticking to a plant-based or Mediterranean-style of eating that emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats.
Brain fog may be one symptom of certain autoimmune conditions, Wilhour adds. For example, according to the Arthritis Foundation , people with rheumatoid arthritis often report feeling forgetful and unable to concentrate, and separately, anywhere from 40 to 80 percent of people with fibromyalgia and lupus may experience brain fog, per Duke Health.
One study on people with rheumatoid arthritis, and other research on people with multiple sclerosis, showed that an anti-inflammatory diet may help alleviate some of the symptoms of the diseases, including improved cognitive function. In addition, research shows evidence that a low-inflammation diet may be protective for brain health as we age, Wilhour adds.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, for adults, to keep not only the heart in good shape but the brain, too. Research also shows that physical activity induces changes in the brain, such as an increase in gray matter and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a molecule that plays a role in creating neural connections related to learning and memory, per MedlinePlus.
Memory, executive control, and attention may all get a boost when you work up a sweat.
Track Foxus and achievement with a journal. Include 3 things you were mebtal for and 3 things you Boowts able to accomplish Cellulite reduction strategies Hunger and conflict. Start Recharge for Voice Packs day with a cup of coffee. Coffee consumption is linked to lower rates of depression. Set up a getaway. It could be camping with friends or a trip to the tropics. The act of planning a vacation and having something to look forward to can boost your overall happiness for up to 8 weeks!
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