Make sure you are getting proper sleep: Sleep deprivation can adversely affect the brain and cognitive function. A 2000 study, by the UCSD School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in San Diego, used MRI technology to monitor activity in the brains of sleep-deprived subjects performing simple verbal learning tasks. The study showed that regions of the brain’s prefrontal cortex displayed more activity in sleepier subjects. Depending on the task at hand, the brain would sometimes attempt to compensate for the adverse effects caused by lack of sleep.

Adjust your environment: Create a study spot where all you do is study, for instance a secluded desk of some kind. Remove distractions by turning off the ringer on your phone.

Colour: A study from the journal ‘Science’ provided some intriguing results about how colours affect concentration. The study suggested that green lights improve concentration, and also claim that that the colour blue can wreck your concentration!

Play brain games: If possible, for at least 10 minutes each day play some brain games. They will prove a good habit that helps you have fun and get the benefits of staying alert too.

Set a time limit: Be honest with yourself, you know best what your limitations are and establish a time limit for activities.  This strategy will really help you stay focused on the material.

Motivate yourself with rewards: If concentration is a hard thing to achieve, it may be due to a lack of interest or dislike towards the task you have. It may help you to set up a reward system, be it your favourite show or something nice as soon as you complete your task,  like a lovely orange to gobble down from your lunchbox.

Enjoy!

The “Food for Thought” Lunchbox also comes with two pots, so you can put other treats in there…maybe some grapes, nuts, seeds or yogurt.

Here are some suggestions that we have collected from our customers about how to enhance concentration:-

A quiet environment prevents unwanted noises from distracting your attention. Also, to avoid distractions, try to position yourself away from doors and windows, phones, TV’s or other sources of noise. Maybe get yourself a set of earplugs (we’re actually working on the design for some rather natty ones)

A structured environment provides the conditions to avoid distractions.  Working in an organised space, where you can readily find what you need, helps focus your attention on what you are doing. Thats one of the reasons that we worked on designing the Supercase!!

Clear objectives will help you define the main focus, prioritize the sections of the project and concentrate on the most important parts.

Divide up tasks - begin with breaking the project into smaller activities and establishing a clear sequence of actions. It will be an investment to save hours of your working time.

Set a deadline in order to focus on the essential and speed up your working time.

The last but not the least is to maintain a healthy body that can support optimal brain functions. And of course, get hold of some concentrate goodies!!

The Bottlecoolerpenholder – will remind you to drink plenty of water.

Obey the Mug of Authority! And stay focused with your work!

Check out our product range on the Concentrate website

Cheerybye!

Be “here and now”

Try to see things – even the most uninteresting and common things- as if for the first or the last time. In terms of concentration, it refers to giving increased interest to a task we may consider too boring or too tiresome for us to complete.

Avoid procrastination

Procrastination is the most versatile enemy of concentration. Frequently, small distractions and entertaining activities consummate precious time. Even if our excuse is being tired the brain will be more responsive to our efforts if we push it a little bit more. Children should try to sit in the front of their class rooms were they will be solely focused on the teacher and the lesson, and even be able to participate in discussions regularly. They can try using the Concentrate Voting Ruler in class!

Put a number on it

Establishing some kind of ritual- especially using a number system- it will help make your objective measurable and achievable. It all depends to our perception on the particular task: if we consider it difficult, “breaking” it into number makes easier to accomplish. The mind works better if we trick it with small steps. So, just choose a number, like three or five and say to yourself: for example; “I will work out for three more minutes in the gym” or “I’ll read five more pages of this book before i go to bed”…you get the picture.

Establish your limitations

Assign tasks with precise time parameters that tell you when to start and when to stop doing them. Write down a to-do-list and try to stick on it, a diary can be very beneficial too. Putting things on paper usually equals to a “black-on-white” commitment that will make us keep our promise.

We hope this helps!

The good news is that it relatively simple to exercise those little grey cells – phew.

Here are some tips:-

Reading – This is the best “mind sport” for cognitive training. If it were in the Olympics it would be the 100m. If it were Tennis it’d be Wimbledon. If it were cheesy TV presenting – it’d be Noel Edmonds! Clearly the levels of difficulty vary significantly, but challenging reading material can extend our vocabulary and help form new neural pathways as we explore new concepts.

Using your creativity: be it a piece of design, a DIY project, a spot of gardening or creating an art piece, exercising your imagination and creativity, and drawing upon your short term “working memory” to work towards an envisaged goal, is shown to physically change the brain. (To be specific, Olesen et al showed it to increase dopamine receptor binding potential. After publishing his findings Dr Olesen went on to put up some shelving and painted a nice picture for Mrs Olesen)

Eating wisely- a diet rich in antioxidants- will help protect your brain cells. Physical activities maintain a good blood flow to the brain, along with oxygen and water molecules.

The social dimension is also important. Throughout our evolution, intelligence has been shown to be linked to the quality and quantity of human interactions. Consequently, relations with other people are helping you to maintain healthy connections among brain cells! – How poetic.

Cheerio.

Here are some simple but efficient how-to-focus recommendations.

• Start with a good night’s sleep (at least 8 hours every night). If you don’t rest enough your mind can’t concentrate enough.

• Food is also important to help you stay focused. A healthy breakfast (two simple slices of toast, fresh orange juice with pulp and a nice serving of hard boiled egg, for instance) gives you a fresh start.

What can you do to train your mind?

• Set your goals. If you write down the subject of the class from the beginning, you can also set goals for yourself, identify the area of knowledge you’ll learn about and find ways to stay focused as long as possible.

• Concentrating on a subject is aided by note taking. You need to listen carefully, then identify key points in your teacher’s discourse and “pin” them on a piece of paper. Search for key phrases such as, “This is important,” “This is the main idea,” “This will be on the test,” etc.

• Even if friends may not feel the same, gently but firmly avoid chit chats and similar distractions. As long as you are in class, concentration is your priority.

• Become more focused by getting involved in class discussions. Answer teacher’s questions intently and share your opinions, when solicited. You can simultaneously show your knowledge and increase your attention to the subject.

• If you don’t understand something, ask a question. Everyone may face a difficulty from time to time, but not everyone will have the courage to admit it.  You can find a solution and also increase motivation.

• Attitude is the key to staying focused: believe that you can do it and you will. Try visualize yourself in the future, especially when achieving your dreams and be that person you see in your future.

Sudoku Rules

Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3×3 square.

Sudoku Tips

* Start with number one and pencil in all options around the grid before moving on to number 2. When worked your way up to number nine, simply go back to the beginning and start with number one again

* Concentrate on the 3×3 mini grids, rather than rows and columns. They give up a lot of clues.

* If you’ve completed seven numbers in a row or column, then obviously the two boxes that are left must be one of the two remaining numbers left over. That row or column often passes through a mini-grid where you also have two options. Frequently, you can deduct exactly where the two leftover numbers go.

Whether we are in class or at home, alone or in a group, we often need to pay attention to tasks. If you have difficulties in focusing, we have some suggestions on how to maintain attention.

Athletes keep pushing their limits constantly, especially when loosing focus. When you feel like giving up the task, choose a number, like five, and stimulate yourself to read five more sentences or listen five more minutes and so on, depending on the area you meet your focus obstacle.

Don’t let concerns take over your mind, keep focus on one task at a time. That means prioritize and voluntarily dealing with problems instead of letting exhaustion take over your brain. Write down these pressuring tasks and keeping in mind only the most important at the moment.

If you think it would be easier to start or to continue a task LATER, be aware! It’s just procrastination fooling you to lose focus and once you do that things will actually prove to be harder to complete.

Old-school methods are still working for modern brains. If you feel like really loosing it, simply use your hands to bring attention back. Cup your hands around the eyes to block the sight of distracting surroundings or stimuli.

And sometimes do just the opposite: look at things you usually ignore as if it was for the first time. It’s incredible how the attention concentrates, so try this as a daily exercise: choose something familiar and watch it with new eyes.

Everyone wants to know the right thing at the right time, to find ingenious solutions to puzzling problems, in a word, to act smarter. This goal is not so far as we may imagine, even if we are not born with an extensive database of “how-to’s”. Instead we have the entire life to practice our natural ability to solve problems that psychologist have baptized “intelligence”.

Modern people believe in multitasking, but the old-fashioned focus on what you’re doing still works best. Concentrating our attention on the main things helps us learn and adapt quicker to the situation.

We should use those methods of learning we are keen to. Put into good practice the inborn abilities, whether they are mostly intellectual or practical. If we have them, there’s no point in pretending we are good at something totally opposite.

A book a day keeps your intelligence awake. Ok, likely not an entire book, but a daily reading routine is what teaches us something new, like new ways of dealing with common tasks. Try about an hour /40 pages of literature, non-fiction, scientific books, whatever makes your day and try the real thing instead of e-books.

Seems like a luxury, but creative activities are accessible for the artist in every one of us. The hobbies you enjoy are the seeds of creativity – don’t waste anything!  You will see things from new angles, change perspectives and eventually come up with out-of-box solutions!

Answer to the riddle last week: ‘Are the spots in the centre the same size?‘: They are the same size!