I have trouble concentrating: possible causes and solutions

Lack of concentration has become a serious problem in recent decades. Whether at work, school or leisure, many people complain and wonder: "Why do I have trouble concentrating?".

Despite making an effort to focus attention, it seems that the problem persists and, when it has already become chronic, it turns out to be a source of real interference in the well-being of the person.

Below we will see reasons why this problem occurs, factors that prevent us from concentrating and some tips to change the situation.

• Related article: "The 15 types of attention and what are their characteristics"

"I find it hard to concentrate": a very common problem

Concentration involves consciously and intentionally focusing our attention on a specific goal over a period of time. Good concentration implies having a good ability to block distracting elements of the environment, have a good ability to put all cognitive resources into the task at hand Y prevent our mind from making us lose track of what we have to do.

Concentration is necessary for many everyday activities from day to day. Whether it's driving, playing sports, reading a book, meditating, preparing food, or listening to a friend who needs help. support, concentration is an aspect that we must put into practice to be able to carry out these activities correctly. Otherwise, it can happen to us that we do not know what we are reading, we put salt in our coffee or our friend scolds us because we do not pay attention to him, to give just a few examples.

Of course it is normal not to always have the same degree of concentration. There are days when we are more attentive to what we have to do and other days when we are more scattered. However, when our ability to concentrate is chronically low, for whatever reason, we have plenty of reason to worry. Not being able to pay attention to what is being done can lead to serious problems in our academic and work success, physical health and social performance, both in the short and long term.

At an academic and work level, not being able to concentrate on studies and on the job poses serious problems in learning or keeping a job, respectively. If we have to study for a test but we don't concentrate, our grade will not be very high. When it comes to work, if we don't meticulously do what is asked of us, our boss may not be satisfied with our performance and we risk being fired.

In relation to health, not being properly concentrated translates into a greater risk of suffering accidents of any kind. For example, if you are driving and do not pay enough attention to the road, you may have an accident. serious or, if we are in the kitchen, we may not realize that we have a hot pot because we have overdone the fire. These types of accidents happen every day, with human error being a very common factor.

Regarding the social sphere, not paying enough attention to what our relatives, friends and important people say and do can seriously damage our relationships. We can be considered people who do not care about how others feel, or who simply ignore what they tell us. No one wants to have a friend who, when you talk to him, sounds like you're talking to a wall.

Why can concentration problems arise?

There are several causes that can explain why we do not concentrate. These are the most important.

1. lack of rest

Tiredness is one of the worst enemies of concentration. For our brain to perform optimally, we need to have had a good night's rest, or at least taken a midday nap.

Many people who suffer from concentration problems suffer from lack of rest. Either because they suffer from insomnia, sleep too little or have poor quality sleep, the next day they are not in their full faculties, costing them a lot of everything.

In fact, chronic fatigue due to not sleeping properly is one of the main factors behind accidents and human error.

2. Stress

Chronic stress becomes a factor that harms our physical and mental health. This discomfort translates into cognitive difficulties, one of them being a lack of concentration. The more stress, the more difficult it is to try to calm your mind and focus on what needs to be done.

3. Work overload

We live in a society where the philosophy of multitasking is encouraged, that is, trying to do more than one thing at a time. This, which is interpreted as being highly efficient, can have the opposite effect.

As the saying goes, who covers a lot, squeezes little, that is, doing more than one thing at a time can make us not pay enough attention to each task. The more things we have on the to-do list, the more difficult it is to do them one by one.

The human being, within his great intelligence, has certain limitations, and one of them is the be able to do several things at once. Jumping from one task to another will only waste time, in addition to "spoiling" the brain so that it is only focused for short periods of time.

4. Boredom

Getting bored is not something pathological, on the contrary. Boredom is a fundamental human emotion. However, getting bored is not something we like, especially if it appears in a situation where we need to pay attention.

Having a job we don't like, being in a class with a boring teacher, or not getting enough stimulation of the environment are factors that predispose to boredom and, consequently, to a reduction in our concentration.

When we are bored, what our brain tells us is that we are in a situation that interprets as uninteresting and therefore it would be better to rest or do something else. Thus, it reduces our concentration on the task we should be doing and makes us take refuge in distractions.

Of course, if we have to do an important activity that bores us, it is something that frustrates us, but We also have to make the effort to try to focus our cognitive resources on what they should.

5. Presence of distractors

Some people are more easily distracted than others. the fact that there are distractors nearby does not help.

Whether it's the mobile, which has become the main distraction of the last decade, a book that we like close to us while we study or work or anything else can cause us to decrease our concentration.

6. suffer from attention deficit

ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder with/without Hyperactivity) is a disorder that involves serious problems sustaining attention. Being a disorder, treatment is necessary, both psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological.

Although there is a popular idea that it is an exclusively childhood disorder, it is also present in adulthood. People with this disorder are often described by the immediate circle as distracted, often in the clouds or who do not seem to pay attention. It is not their intention, it is that they suffer from a psychopathological condition.

• You may be interested: "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), also in adults"

How to solve it?

As we mentioned, a lack of concentration can seriously affect our quality of life, our academic and work performance, and also our social relationships. That is why it becomes necessary to solve it when it has become something chronic.

ADHD, sleep and anxiety disorders have among their symptoms the lack of concentration. These disorders require the intervention of a clinical psychologist, psychiatrist and doctor when they occur, with which there is no individual way to "solve" them. However, it is possible to work on the rest of the factors mentioned above.

1. To rest well

It is logical to think that if fatigue is one of the factors that prevents us from concentrating, resting well will help us to finally recover some concentration.

Go to sleep around 10 p.m. trying to sleep between 6 hours and a half and 8 hours is essential in order to have good cognitive resources. In addition, you should avoid drinking caffeinated beverages such as coffee and tea after 6:00 p.m.

If you suffer from insomnia or a serious sleep disorder, you should go to a professional specialized in these problems, so that you can proceed with the proper intervention.

2. put on background sounds

Sometimes, what distracts us are acoustic distractions, such as the son of those downstairs who won't stop crying, our parents who have the television on full volume or the horn of a driver with certain problems of control of the gonna.

These noises are difficult to avoid, since it is not in our power to reduce them, but it is can be used as an acoustic barrier for background sounds. A good resource for this is YouTube, where there are hundreds of videos of sounds of the forest, rain and storm or classical music that can help us block out intrusive noise from the environment.

3. Meditation and Mindfulness

Several studies have shown that meditation and mindfulness improve the ability to concentrate, in addition to reducing levels of stress, anxiety and depression. These activities are ideal if you want to improve concentration, since with meditation you learn to keep intrusive thoughts at bay.

4. Get organized

If we are one of those who try to do everything at once, surprise: it will not work. It is best to organize yourself and prioritize the tasks to be carried out.

It is better to make a planning, putting each task at a time of the day to be done and separated by a quarter of an hour of rest.

In this way we will focus our cognitive resources on one thing at a time, performing fully on it and without making mistakes.

5. Avoid distractors

As simple as it sounds. Leave the cell phone away study or work in a space where they do not come to disturb us, or have a clean table They are simple actions that can help us a lot in preventing us from losing track of what we are doing.

6. Practice physical exercise

In addition to keeping us in good physical shape, practicing physical exercise has many benefits on our brain. In addition to keeping us in a good mood thanks to the action of endorphins, it has been seen that sport improves the ability to concentrate.

Bibliographic references:

• Dunn, B.R., Hartigan, J.A. & Mikulas, W.L. (1999) Concentration and Mindfulness Meditations: Unique Forms of Consciousness?. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 24, 147–165. https://doi.org/10.1023/A: 1023498629385.
• Moran, A. (1996). The Psychology of Concentration in Sport Performers. London: Psychology Press, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315784946