In today’s fast-paced world like ours, it is truly a task to keep up with what happens around us. In the era of social media and trends, it is no surprise that the global attention span and concentration of individuals have deteriorated. People can no longer read entire books, watch long videos, or even go through huge articles. So, let’s see if you can get through to the end of this article!
Disabilities that reduce the attention span of individuals
Some people have less attention span due to their underlying conditions and disabilities. Some of the disabilities and causes which reduce the attention span of individuals are as follows:
ADHD
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD is a chronic disease that is usually diagnosed into childhood, and continues through adulthood. Children with ADHD have trouble paying attention, and controlling their impulses. Hyperactivity is a symptom of ADHD, but not everyone with hyperactivity has ADHD. Children will ADHD score poorly in their tests, and spend a considerable time of their day in daydreaming. Adults with ADHD change employers frequently, and have relationship problems. People diagnosed with ADHD have short periods of hyper focus, restlessness, and anxiety, time management issues, and forgetfulness.
Depression
People with depression have difficulty concentrating, and are usually disturbed by thoughts of suicide. They cannot concentrate properly, and cannot hold their focus. They experience a loss of interest in day-to-day activities, and lose pleasure from the things that used to make them happy.
Head Injury
People who have sustained a brain injury experience attention problem. Concussions and skin fractures are common in head injuries. The symptoms of these injuries include headache, dizziness, confusion, memory loss, seizures, and personality changes.
Learning Disabilities
Common learning disabilities include dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia. Symptoms of these vary in different disabilities, but some of the shared symptoms include poor memory, poor reading, and writing skills, eye-hand coordination difficulties, and being easily distracted.
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that cause social, behavioral, and communication challenges. This disorder is diagnosed in childhood and causes problems in emotional, social, and communication skills. It also causes problems in perception, memory, and attention. People also have troubles relating to others, restrictive and repetitive behaviors, and difficulty in expressing needs.
Why is the Global Attention Span Decreasing?
The smartphone culture and social media have had quite an impact on our life. We have been influenced in ways we cannot even have imagined 20 years ago. While the phone was introduced with the primary aim of calling, today it serves way more purposes than just calling. The distractions we face daily are unquestionable and inevitable. If you think about it, we are pretty much distracted the entire day. One notification is all it takes to waste at least 30 minutes on our phone. If we start calculating the actual time that we waste on our phones, it’s interesting how we would at least start feeling unproductive. The emerging world of trends and reels poses another problem of attention. This started with the concept of making short videos and the next thing you know; everyone is binging these videos the entire day. We have started living in a fast-paced world where everyone is in a hurry. We need easy access to everything. People have more things to focus on now but in a short span. We want to know everything, but we don’t want to spend time on it. Content has been exhausted and overused and we need something that catches our eyes and keeps us engaged. You cannot blame social media for all of it, but it has pushed the process way faster. According to a study, the attention span had reduced to 8 seconds. We find it difficult to hold on to the information longer than 8 seconds and that is a little sad.
Why should you increase your concentration?
It is tricky to answer this that everyone’s attention span is decreasing, why should you try to increase your attention span? Let us look at some of these reasons.
It helps you to comprehend the information better.
It helps to remember information faster, and for a longer duration.
It reduces your ability to be distracted by distractions.
It gives you peace of mind, and the ability to choose your thoughts.
It improves your self-confidence, and gives you inner strength.
It provides you with decisiveness and inner happiness and satisfaction.
Tips to increase the attention span and concentration
Improving concentration can be easy, but requires consistency and dedication. The tips might look simple but they need to be followed regularly for you to see the results. Some of the tips to increase attention span and concentration are as follows:
Training your brain
Playing sudoku, crossword puzzles, jigsaw, memory games, and scramble can improve your memory and concentration. 15 minutes a day on brain training exercises increase concentration. This game can be played by children and adults. Playing video games also increases selective attention.
Improving sleep
Sleeping properly that is for 7 to 8 hours increases concentration. Not getting enough sleep regularly causes problems, and also affects mood and performance. People underestimate the value of sleep, and work for long hours which affects concentration.
Exercising
Regular exercise increases concentration. Daily exercises are very beneficial for the brain, and enhance attention and concentration in just 4 weeks. It is not necessary to do heavy workouts to get the results. Moderate or mild exercises are enough. A lot of people find the gym boring and, in such cases, one can either engage themselves in some fun activity or practice any of their hobbies which involves physical work.
Meditation
Meditation is one of the most effective ways to not only improve concentration but also mental peace and stability. Practicing mindfulness exercises that focus on attention and concentration helps in the memory and cognitive abilities of individuals. Living in a crowded and noisy world, mediation allows an individual to escape from the chaos and take out some time in peace.
Music
Turning on the music while studying or working improves concentration and other brain functions. It is crucial to listen to songs that do not have lyrics. Listening to classical music or nature sounds beneficial. If you do not enjoy classical songs, you can also listen to ambient or electronic music. The music should be soft to avoid distraction. It is also necessary to avoid choosing music that you love or hate as it can end up distracting you.
Healthy diet
Having a healthy diet improves memory and concentration. It is important to avoid eating processed foods, too much sugar, greasy, oily, or fatty foods. To boost concentration, one can try eating fatty fish, eggs, blueberries, and spinach. Staying hydrated by drinking lots of water and juices also improves attention. Starting your day well by eating a healthy breakfast adds to the process of increasing attention, memory, and concentration.
Practicing concentration workouts
Certain exercises help children to concentrate who have trouble focusing. These exercises involve fully devoting attention to an activity for a set period. These activities can involve drawing or doodle for 10-15 minutes, setting a timer, and trying to blink as little as possible. After these activities, children can be asked to describe where they lost their concentration and how they refocused on the activity again.
Takeaway Message
Some other ways to increase concentration include assessing your mental focus, avoiding multitasking, taking breaks at regular intervals, setting up a green environment to help refresh the mind, and practicing self-care exercises. Improving concentration is specifically important for a generation like ours where we have big dreams and goals to achieve. Living in a fast-paced world, we often overlook a lot of information that can be important. Increasing our attention and concentration not only allows us to regain our short-lived attention span but also helps us to remember information better. In the olden days, people used to remember phone numbers because they did not have the technology, but today, technology has beaten us. We can hardly remember 3-4 numbers maximum. It is time we take our power back and allow the human mind to play its magic. We mustn’t lose our powers in the world of trends and social media and work towards truly achieving our fullest potential.
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