the art of concentration

What the Dickens?

2012-02-08T01:13:00.001-08:00

"Today's children have very short attention-spans because they are being reared on dreadful TV programmes. They are not being educated for long attention-spans." So says Charles Dickens' biographer, Claire Tomalin in yesterday's Independent newspaper.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/every-pupil-should-read-dickens-says-minister-but-hes-too-hard-says-the-authors-biographer-6579525.html

I disagree. The ability to concentrate is innate, but like a muscle has to be flexed to extend its use, and reading Dickens is in fact a good way of helping our kids to do this.

Why?

Because Dickens writes in brilliant, episodic bursts designed to grab the attention with his larger-than-life characterisations, lots of dialogue, vivid descriptions and emotionally engaging plots. He wrote for the ordinary person, not the intellectual or the academic, and his storytelling reflects this making it more accessible than might be imagined at first glance. And, in spite of the possibly daunting extent of his books, the length of each chapter is actually quite short.

Great Expectations, for example, may be 440 pages long, but it's divided into 59 chapters, averaging 7.5 pages for each chapter. Any young person who can sit through a 30-minute episode of the BBC soap EastEnders will have no trouble romping through a few chapters, as a 15 year old I once coached found. He had to read Great Expectations for his English GCSE and was daunted by the task. How are you going to go about this, I asked? A chapter a day, was his initial, doeful suggestion. Pointing out that, given the number of chapters, this would take a while I suggested he read for as long as an episode of EastEnders a day, 30 minutes. Which he did, and discovered that he could easily do it and completed the whole book in his half term (7 day) break. He was delighted with himself, not least because he had enjoyed reading, and reading a classic like Dickens, and consequently found his GCSE work much easier having read the whole book. An additional pay-off.

So let's not patronise our young people and say they don't have what it takes to make reading Dickens possible. Instead, let's actively encourage them to read Dickens' novels for enjoyment and see them extend their ability to concentrate and improve their attention span.

And even if you've not read Dickens by the age of 11, there's still time. Dickens is one of those authors that can be read time and time again. His books are timeless in spite of their historical settings, because like any great fiction it is the lie we give to truth.

The Whitehall ll study - what to do?

2012-01-12T03:26:00.000-08:00

The recently published Whitehall ll study, which focused on 7,000 British civil servants over a 10 year period, showed that amongst this group mental dexterity and brain power deteriorated earlier than was once thought.

There is no doubt that here in the Western world we are, on average, living longer, which creates an associated risk of age-related decline in our mental powers – but the news is not all bad. It was once thought older people lose thousands of brain cells every day, but this has now been contradicted by more recent studies. While neurons in some areas of the brain, like the basal forebrain, do decrease in number as we age, most neurons in the cortex are retained – while the hippocampus is capable of generating new cells until the day we die, if stimulated. Cell process can change, but this fine-tuning may result in gains in wisdom and patience.

While there is a sense of ‘use it, or lose it’ there are some effects of ageing on the brain that we can’t escape, because our bodies are deteriorating too. Our sensory organs – eyes and hearing, in particular – tend to deteriorate, too and with it the inclination to expose ourselves to new stimuli. The decline of other body systems will also have a similar effect. Our digestive system, for example, becomes less efficient at absorbing the nutrients we need from the food we eat, while the endocrine system becomes less efficient at responding to hormonal messages. Brain cells are also extremely sensitive to oxygen levels and, with a degree of arteriosclerosis typical of the ageing process, a reduced blood supply to the brain reduces the oxygen supply. A low-level but continuous oxygen deficiency will lead to a decline in neurons.

Without continuous external stimulation, new brain cell production slows down and with it brain plasticity because, as research has shown, it is the plasticity of the new brain cells that helps old brain cells function better. Neuroplasticity refers to the continued changes that can occur in the brain as the result of exposure to new experiences and learning opportunities, referred to by neurologists as ‘experience-dependent plasticity’. This was seen to occur after injury to the brain, where plasticity allowed new functional and structural changes to take place to compensate for the damaged area. This is what makes rehabilitation so important, and creates the possibility for regaining some, if not all, previously damaged function.

It was previously thought that the adult brain was hard-wired and no longer capable of new development. It had been thought that after critical periods of development, there would be no more change and that the sensory pathways were fixed, even while areas like the hippocampus – concerned with processing memory – continued to produce new neurons. Exposed to enough opportunities, it seems, we go on learning, process what we learn, and apply that learnt experience – all of which encourages the formation of new neurons in the hippocampus.

As we age, we tend to be exposed less to new experiences, become less active, and become less sociable so our opportunities, unless actively sought, for brain stimulation quite naturally decline. We are just less likely to try new things, so overall our opportunities for external stimuli decrease. But when older people are given tests that depend on vocabulary, general information and well-practised activities, they show negligible age-related deterioration. So while both low response times and short-term memory impairment contribute to lower scores on standard tests of intelligence for the elderly, removing this difference equals this out.

The Whitehall study shows that reasoning, memory and verbal fluency were the three main areas of cognitive ability affected. But when I read the following from India Knight’s piece in the Sunday Times on January 8^th 2012, describing what she was trying to do all at the same time, one could perhaps see why: “How can we be expected to remember anything at all, when we are multi-tasking to such an insane degree?” she wrote. “As well as wondering what to write about, I was also thinking about my elder son’s university offers; my younger son being late for school; how to re-hang the door of a kitchen cabinet that has come off its hinges; where to collect my daughter from… what to make for supper… I was also on Twitter, having six conversations at once and reading hundreds more, and the doorbell rang twice…” and so she goes on.

Six things that might help:

· stop multi-tasking, focus on one thing at a time

· eat nutritiously 3 times a day, sit down and relax while eating

· exercise – even a daily, 20 minute walk in natural daylight will help

· anxiety & depression create additional stress hormones that are neurotoxic: so address the worries in your life & learn to let go

· maintain good relationships with people you actually see & talk to

· sleep – good restful sleep is restorative, make it a priority every night

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jan/06/memory-loss-begins-at-45-says-study

You're really stressing me out!

2011-11-14T02:45:00.000-08:00

Researchers from the University of Hawaii, led by Professor Elaine Hatfield, discovered that second-hand stress can be passed from person to person in the workplace - and it seems to be contagious.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/10/passive-stress-at-work-just-as-contagious-as-a-cold_n_1085758.html#s451010&title=Build_In_Planning

Washing your hands isn't going to deal with this sort of contagion, but recognising those personality types you work with that cause you stress may help.

"We call it 'people poisoning' and we describe the culprits as stress carriers," says Dr Chandra Patel, stress expert and author of The Complete Guide to Stress Management (Vermilion). "They induce stress in others without suffering it themselves."

Behavioural scientist Dr Robert Bramson has identified seven key personality types who cause difficulties and stress for those around them. Work out which category your tormentor fits into, the theory goes, and you can find coping strategies to reduce the stress they cause you.

1. Know-it-all experts ~ these can be divided into two types: those who might know what they are talking about and those who 'become' experts on the basis of very little information but present it with such authority that it's difficult not to feel overwhelmed by them.

2. Super-agreeables ~ they come across as good humoured and willing, but never deliver. They are exasperating because they agree everything in an effort to be liked, but constantly let you down.

3. Indecisive stallers ~ one of the most stress-inducing types, especially if you are dependent on their decision making to get your job done.

4. Pessimists ~ no matter what you say or how you present it, they always respond negatively and often respond with such conviction that it's difficult not to get hooked into their negative agenda.

5. Silent unresponsives ~ this type purposefully use silence to negatively control situations, undermining others, and it can be a form of passive aggression or a spiteful refusal to co-operate.

6. Hostile aggressives ~ basically these are the office bullies, who aim to get their own way by being hostile, using ridicule or sarcasm. Criticism tends to be personal and stress is induced by confusing, frustrating or even frightening you.

7. Complainers ~ constant whining while refusing to take steps to change those things they complain about is super stressful because they suck you in while ignoring helpful suggestions and wasting your time.

Whether it's your boss or a co-worker or someone who reports to you, identifying what it is about them that triggers a stressful response can help you see how to deal or avoid it.

It's also helpful to review your own behaviour, too and see what your default position is and how this might cause stress to those around you. None of us is infallible, all of us are human, but given how much time we spend at work - in the UK an average of 48 hours a week, way over the European standard - we owe it to each other to facilitate each other's and our own best use of time. Actively trying to reduce second-hand stress in the workplace helps us all concentrate and work better, more effectively and in less time.

Addicted to love... of Blackberrys, iPhones & other handheld devices!

2011-10-20T02:53:00.000-07:00

Remember when someone called the Blackberry a Crackberry, apparently referencing its addictive properties? Emails, texts, Twitter & BBM are all great means of staying in touch - but do you ever feel that this virtual communication is dominating your life, getting in the way of what really matters - your real relationships with partners, family and friends?

Way back in 2005, a 19 year old from Paisley was treated for his addiction to electronic communication, which had cost him £4,500 in a year of sending around 100 texts a day, his job when he was sending up to 500 emails a day, and his relationship when his girlfriend could no longer cope with the barrage of messages.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/oct/15/news.mobilephones

And also in 2005, a study from Hewlett Packard expressed alarm that 62% of British adults appeared addicted to their email - even checking messages during meetings, after working hours and on holiday - behaviour we now mostly consider as normal!

Tom Stafford, lecturer in psychology and cognitive science at the University of Sheffield and co-author of Mind Hacks, identified what it is that makes this so addictive. "Both slot machines and email follow something called a 'variable interval reinforcement schedule' which has been established as the way to train in the strongest habits," he says. "This means that rather than reward an action every time it is performed, we reward it sometimes, but not in a predictable way. So with email, usually when I check it there is nothing interesting, but every so often there's something wonderful - an invite out or maybe some juicy gossip - and I get a reward."

Now you understand the psychology and how you've been snookered into this addictive behaviour, it might make it easier to resist. Not least because if you are trying to get something done - a book read, a movie watched, an essay written, homework done - these constant interruptions seriously restrict your ability to concentrate and, in the long term, add to your personal stress.

I have worked with teenagers who tell me that they just can't turn off their phones, day or night, for fear of missing out. And when I see someone texting during a movie I just think - why can't you allow yourself some time out, some uninterrupted "me" time, for just 90 minutes? Or couples in restaurants not talking to each other but checking their messages or Twitter alerts, unable to drag themselves away from the demands of this insatiable device, and I wonder how it was that the idle thoughts of someone you don't actually know became more important than those of the person you're with?

In 2008 it was reported that Madonna and her then husband Guy Ritchie slept with their Blackberrys under their pillows. She apparently said, "It's not unromantic - it's practical." Six months later the marriage was over.

There's no doubt that it's brilliant to be able to have such immediate communication when we need it, but sometimes it's important to literally switch off from the virtual world and re-engage with the real world, before we lose sight of what really matters.

Breakfast

2011-10-12T13:05:00.001-07:00

A boiled egg with dippy toast fingers may not be your choice for breakfast, but its combination of protein and carbohydrate will set you up well for the day.

But if your idea of breakfast is a black coffee and a cigarette or a latte and muffin, en route to work, you could be doing your body and your brain a serious disservice.

"The body's natural reaction to low blood sugar is to compensate by increasing adrenalin output," says psychologist and director of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology (INPP) Sally Goddard Blythe. "Such a biochemical combination can affect attention, concentration and impulse control. In the long term, sharp swings in blood sugar levels increase irritability, fatigue and bouts of hyperactivity."

Do you really need more stress in your life, detrimental to your body, your brain and - somewhat inevitably - relationships with those around you, from your family to your work colleagues?

Slow release carbohydrates, combined with some protein to further reduce insulin surges, provide the fuel you need to start the day. Not only that, you are less likely to get a desperate urge for a sugar hit mid morning, when grabbing a full fat latte and muffin 'snack' could earn you a quarter of your daily calorific intake.

So what to choose to break your overnight fast and get your day off to a good start? A boiled egg and wholegrain toast is an excellent choice. But porridge oats, with skimmed milk and fruit is another choice. Oatcakes and cheese, perhaps? A bagel and avocado? Skimmed, live yoghurt with apricots? My personal choice is a helping of rolled oats, sunflower seeds (high in zinc), a handful of nuts (walnuts for omega-3, brazil nuts for selenium, almonds for magnesium) for protein and blueberries (lots of vitamin C and antioxidant anthocyanin) with some skimmed milk.

And if breakfast is important for grown-ups, imagine how much more important it is for children whose smaller, growing bodies and higher energy needs demand regular, nutritious meals.

So if all else fails, as you rush for the door thinking breakfast is a luxury you don't have time for, at least grab yourself that ultimate in fast food - a banana. Your body and brain will thank you for it.

Don't try harder, try differently

2011-08-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

If at first you don't succeed try, try and try again, goes the old adage - but doing the same old thing often yields the same old results and what is really needed is to try differently.

The same goes for concentration. Can you improve concentration by trying harder, or is trying differently what you need to do?

Often what we have to do doesn't really interest us; we find it boring and when we're bored our minds wander and we lack concentration. So on those occasions, what can we do differently? The answer lies in finding a way to create interest by sticking with it long enough to create context and points of reference that relates to something that will tweak our imagination and stimulate us to take the next step.

What we also know is that trying differently can create a change in the way the brain functions, and this could actually make it easier to concentrate. Even allowing for all the variables - personality, temperament, intelligence, age, etc. - you can change your brain's function by the way you behave, and your behaviour by the way your brain functions. "That's what learning is," says Professor Richard Davidson, director of the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Anything that changes behaviour changes the brain."

The suggestion here is that if you want to improve your concentration, try differently: change your what you do and how you do it. Think about taking a different approach, one that allows your brain to engage, respond and make connections in a different way - the difference could just be turning off external distractions, focusing for five minutes longer than you usually give yourself, or not multi-tasking - but whatever the difference, see what a difference it could make to your ability to concentrate.

So don't try harder, try differently.

www.theartofconcentration.co.uk

Is being a stress junkie affecting your concentration?

2011-06-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

The link between stress and concentration is an interesting one, and it’s worth taking a moment or two to understand what happens in your body and brain to prevent concentration when you’re stressed.

Confronted by circumstances we see as threatening in some way, our brain short-circuits conscious thought to 'red alert' mode. This automatic response is created by the amygdala, an almond shaped gland located deep within the mid-brain – and is a great response when faced with a sabre-toothed tiger, but not so useful when you discover your tax return has exceeded its return-by date.

We talk about something being gut-wrenching for a reason. The gut is also affected by the 'fight or flight' hormones generated in response to the amygdala’s red alert because, God knows, you’re not going to have time to eat when running for your life. Besides, you are going to need the blood supply concentrated in your legs rather than your stomach in order to get away fast, and your heart will need to pound to get it there. Plus which, your breathing rate rises to get that additional oxygen you’re going to need into your lungs. All of which is happening rather unnecessarily while you are sitting at your desk with those stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol flooding your body and compounding your panic further. Know the feeling?

Not only that, but when we get into long-term patterns of stress, it somehow re-sets our stress thermostat and it takes less to set off our red alert reaction. And, because we also have amazing powers of adaptation, we adapt to these constant, over-elevated levels of stress hormones as far as we can. It begins to feel 'normal' to be functioning in a constant state of stress. In fact, we can become almost addicted to it and seek to recreate the apparent comfort this known state creates, by which time we fit the label: stress junkie.

And while functioning in this way, sleep becomes difficult because those same stress hormones that can power your legs are also designed to keep you wide awake and running away from danger, not chilling out and drifting off happily into the land of Nod. Lack of sleep is itself very stressful. Result: more stress.

Now imagine functioning at full stressed throttle like this for days, weeks, months on end and its effect on your body and mind becomes clear. If you did the same to a high performance car, the phrase 'burn out' might come to mind. Long term stress just isn't sustainable without detriment to health. Great for acute situations where you may need to concentrate your physical and mental prowess to react to danger, stress is hopeless for sustained concentration or for enabling you to focus without the internal distraction of red alert warning signals going off.

Now it becomes clear why concentration, which is aided by a calm, collected mind, becomes tricky when we are stressed. So if you want to concentrate better and benefit from that, look at how to reduce the stress in your life.

Having identified the situation, what can you do? If you’ve been functioning in stress mode for a period of time, it’s hard initially to switch it off. Your body has got used to the feeling, so you may have to be quite deliberate in creating time to readjust, and consciously build in down time, either through non-competitive exercise, meditation or some other physical therapy that helps release you from the physical sensations of stress.

Once you begin to release the body from its grip, it becomes easier to release the mind from stress, improving its ability to concentrate. It may take time, but consciously doing so will pay dividends in terms of physical and mental wellbeing - and concentration.

Revising for exams

2011-04-28T04:18:00.000-07:00

As the weather improves, for many young people exams loom. In the UK, GCSEs, AS levels and A levels are a big reality check for most 16 to 18 year olds over the summer, and many face the prospect with apprehension, knowing that the one word they are going to hear a lot of over the coming weeks is REVISION. But what's the best way to revise?

First of all, understanding that revision really means to revise what is (or should be) already known is helpful, and to understand what this might mean for different subjects. Fact-led subjects like the sciences, history and geography, demand just that - facts remembered that can be drawn on to answer the questions that come up in exams. Other subjects require ongoing knowledge, like maths or languages, which is where practicing these skills is helpful. Identifying what each subject is going to need in terms of revision can be a helpful first step.

Then there is the mapping out of a revision timetable that most students find invaluable. Some are able to do this on their own, but for most - and teenagers in particular - this sort of organisation is a learnt skill and requires help, as many can feel overwhelmed.

* Map out what needs to be done, creating a revision timetable with realistic daily goals leading up to the exams, allowing enough time to avoid feeling stressed too close to the actual exams.

* Make sure the notes, past papers, books and other sources from which to revise, are available to revise from. Check with teachers and make sure everything needed is in hand.

* Utilise natural learning styles. Auditory learners find that reading or saying things out loud, recording these and playing them back to listen to, may help things stick. Visual learners find taking notes or making diagrams a useful way to remember as they revise.

* Allow enough uninterrupted time during a revision period to reach a point of concentration where information is actually retained and transferred from working memory into long term memory, from where it can be retrieved when taking the actual exam. Without this process occurring, the possibility of actually remembering what has been revised is limited. This means revision periods of 20-30 minutes minimum, building on this to stay concentrated for up to 90 minute before taking a break (although for most teenagers, this will take practice!).

* Take time to wind down before sleep, however. The brain works best when well-slept, and chronic tiredness just exacerbates feelings of being overwhelmed.

* Cut out distractions - all of them! - during each allocated revision period. This means turning off mobile phones, instant messaging, email, Facebook and other social networking sites, and making revision a primary and exclusive focus. After every interruption, it takes at least 5 minutes to concentrate fully again. Much better to focus exclusively for an hour, then take a 15 minute break, than work for 3 hours with constant interruptions that prevent the brain from retaining information.

* Schools and colleges often run revision sessions which can be a good way of concentrating on subjects that need extra focus.

* Regular exercise in between daily revision sessions - just taking a walk, going for a run, swimming, playing football - are all excellent ways to relieve physical and mental tension, and also increases the brain's ability to work well.

* Eat well - the brain thrives on complex carbohydrates to keep it going, and lots of fluids to stay well hydrated, but avoid highly caffeinated drinks (like Red Bull) that can hype the body up and increase feelings of stress.

For parents, this can be a difficult time as they watch their moody teenager avoid ways of getting down to the revision that they feel is necessary. Wallpaper parenting, as I call it - being around but not too interventionist - can help. Create a calm atmosphere that is conducive to study, keep meals regular, help devise a revision timetable, encourage some time out and bedtime at a reasonable hour, but avoid increasing stress by being heavy handed.

It can be a tricky time, especially as the teenage years often coincide with a general lack of confidence about life, which can be exacerbated by exam stress, but learning how to revise and work independently in preparation is a useful lesson for later studies at college or university.

Schools and colleges are very keen to help their students to do their best, so if in doubt about what you can do to support your child, check in with them about what might be helpful.

Further information on how to concentrate from The Art of Concentration, published by Rodale priced £9.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Concentration-Enhance-reduce-achieve/dp/1905744439/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303999103&sr=1-1

Long hours culture

2011-04-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

Research published today suggests that those who regularly work more than 11 hours a day put themselves at increased risk of heart disease. In fact, their risk of heart attack goes up by a whopping 67%, according to a study from University College London which has been tracking the health of 7,000 civil servants since 1985.

This suggests a working week of 55 hours, rather than the 40 hour week one might suppose. Apart from the obvious question about what it was that civil servants found to do for 11 hours a day, it also begs the question as to how effective anyone can be when working such long hours. It's a well-established fact that working long hours is bad for both concentration and productivity, as well as health.

But the UK has the longest working week in Europe. The average hours worked by full timers in the UK is 43.5 a week, in France it's 38.2 hours a week and in Germany it's 39.9. And - get this - their productivity rates are higher, even though they work shorter hours. The European directive is for a maximum of 48 hours a week, and 1 in 8 British workers does more than this.

And a report published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2009 showed that those workers clocking up more than 55 hours a week have poorer mental skills, including short-term memory and ability to recall words, than those working fewer than 41 hours. Researchers concluded that the extreme tiredness and stress engendered by the long hours culture was as bad for the health as smoking, a known risk factor not just for heart disease but also for dementia.

In Japan they call it karoshi and in China they call it guolaosi, but there is no word in English for working yourself to death. But time and time again, it has been shown that not only is working long hours counter-productive in terms of effectiveness, it should now come with a Government health warning.

It's not a happy scenario, but it does provide useful ammunition when countering the demands of the pervasive long hours culture and the blight of presenteeism which is often an attempt to cover-up poor performance.

As Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University Management School says, work smarter not longer - you'll concentrate better and get more done.

Concentration and memory

2011-03-28T14:32:00.001-07:00

I'm often asked about the link between concentration and memory, and it got me thinking.

Certainly, if you concentrate you can improve your memory. Lack of attention to what you are doing makes it difficult to remember doing it. That's one of the downsides of multitasking.

When you multi-task you rely on working memory, the memory you need to look up and dial a phone number, for example. It works well for that, but if you want to remember something you did today for another time, you need to concentrate well enough to allow the transfer of information from working memory to long term memory, from which you can retrieve it later.

This is really all memory training is, but it takes practice.

In 2008, health psychologist David Moxon from Anglia Ruskin University carried out a behavioural study that showed our attention span was now five minutes and seven seconds, compared to 12 minutes a decade previously. Not only that, the research suggested that this lack of attention and "five minute memory span" was costing Brits £1.6 billion worth of damage a year from domestic accidents - burnt out kitchens, lost keys, and over-run baths amongst them!

The same research showed that the 1,000 participants cited stress (18%) and "decision overload" (17%) as the main reasons for poor short-term memory and flagging attention span. But it's not age-related: the over-50s out-performed the younger age groups.

The good news is that your concentration levels, attention span, and memory can all be improved. As a result of this research, Moxon put together a series of exercises, a daily memory workout, reproduced here:

9 am

Memorise one friend's phone number from your mobile phone each day -- this will help expand your memory's capacity.

12 noon

Instead of reading the newspaper over your lunchtime break, complete a Sudoku or crossword puzzle -- this requires you to maintain concentration and will increase your attention span.

4 pm

Make a tea round for at least six of your colleagues without making a note of the details -- this requires you to hold multiple details in your mind.

6 pm

Write a shopping list but don't refer to it when you're in the supermarket -- you'll find that you remember more and more items each trip as your memory improves.

8 pm

Write a diary each night listing five key positive things that occurred during the day -- recall of events is key to keeping the mind fit and healthy.

The benefits of chess

2011-03-12T02:24:00.000-08:00

How can you play chess if you're blind? I asked Ray Charles when I interviewed him in Paris in 2000, knowing his reputation not only as a musician and singer but also as a chess player of great skill.

"Aw, well, honey," he replied in that wonderful voice like wood smoke over maple syrup. "I ain't no Spassky or Fischer - but being blind has nothing to do with playing chess. It has nothing to do with sight. It has to do with memory and strategy and where the pieces are on the board. I can just touch the board and see where the horse is, where the bishop is, or the pawns. There's no luck in the game. None. That's why I like it. And that's the great thing about chess: everyone starts with the same amount of pieces. You either out think your opponent or he out thinks you."

They surely do, but some are better able to manipulate those carved wooden pieces than others. And like many skills, chess can be learnt and practiced and improved, yielding unexpected benefits in concentration, logical thinking, spatial awareness and socialisation, as research has shown.

There is something rather romantic about a game that features kings and queens, bishops, knights, castles and pawns. Sixteen pieces in all, two players, specific moves and 64 spaces in which to execute them. The rules are there, the limitations are set, but within these a combination of logic, memory and imagination create possibilities and outcomes that are infinite although the ultimate aim is the same: to checkmate the king.

Personally it's a game I struggle with. I am neither as ruthless or strategic as I need to be. I can only plan about three moves ahead and my ability to anticipate my opponent is poor. Both my children learnt to play before they were five, and before preconceived ideas about chess being anything other than fun got in the way of their ability to plan whole games and play with lethal efficiency. They were soon able to run rings around me, and pronounced me an unfit opponent, preferring to try to outwit each other.

It is also a game that provides intellectual challenge and development in surprising places - prisons, refugee camps, schools for the excluded. You can play this game as an equal even if the odds of life have been stacked against you. You can develop skills in chess and apply them elsewhere. You can compete, and win, even if you're blind, as Ray Charles discovered. He learnt in hospital when he took himself off heroin, cold turkey, and he played for the rest of his life.

And even if I play poorly I love it for its opportunity and challenge. I love chess purely for the idea of it, for the possibilities it evokes, and its ubiquity as it turns up time and time again in fiction and in fact as a metaphor for life.

10 Top Tips for Concentration

2011-02-28T02:23:00.000-08:00

A quick reminder of what you can do to improve your concentration ... achieve more ... and reduce stress ...

1. Turn off all the external distractions you can – music, mobile phone, email alerts – and close the door to your work room, giving off a signal that interruptions are currently unwelcome.

2. Don’t multi-task. Except for very mundane tasks, when you try to do too much at once your concentration and hence your brain’s ability to transfer information from working memory to stored memory, which you can retrieve later, is impaired. Learning French verbs while chatting on MSN might appear to get the job done, but you’ll remember little tomorrow.

3. Eat breakfast – the brain needs fuel, especially after a night’s sleep. For best results choose porridge for its slow-release energy, or combine protein with carbohydrate to stabilise blood sugar levels.

4. Drink more water. Your brain is 80% water and relies on good hydration for its neurological transmissions.

5. Learning new activities that link and challenge your mental ability is particularly effective in generating new brain cells – what the scientists call neurogenesis – and helping concentration. And these new cells will also help energise old brain cells, by firing them up and making new connections, so it’s doubly effective.

6. Get enough sleep. When we are tired we rely on stress hormones to keep us going – great in the short term, but detrimental to concentration in the long term.

7. Listen more actively – we hear with our ears, but listen with our brains –listening more purposefully helps concentration.

8. Omega-3 EPA is good for brain function, so supplement if necessary because it’s hard to get enough from modern diets even if you eat oily fish regularly.

9. If you’re finding it hard to concentrate on something – whether it’s the book you’re reading or the flat-pack you’re trying to assemble – allow yourself enough time to engage with what you’re doing in order to aid your concentration.

10. Physical exercise is good for the brain for two reasons – one, it helps us relax and a relaxed brain concentrates better and two, physical exercise itself produces a hormone that actively supports brain cell activity.

www.theartofconcentration.co.uk

Brain waves

2011-02-21T08:15:00.000-08:00

Talking to a friend today, I was reminded of how useful it is to recognise and tap into different "brain waves". If we do this, learning to identify and utilise the different capacity of the brain's waves, we could not only achieve more, but achieve more easily.

There are four main types of brain waves: Alpha, Beta, Delta and Theta, and a fifth - Gamma - that also deserves a mention. Brain waves work a bit like the gears on a car engine, shifting brain activity up and down according to what we are trying to do. Delta (seen only in deep sleep) is a bit like first gear, Theta (light, dreaming sleep and drowsiness) the second, Alpha third, and Beta fourth - with Gamma for a high performance fifth gear.

As with driving, skillful use of gear change can get the best performance out of a car. When we are driving a complex route, we operate mainly in Beta, dipping in and out of the more relaxed state of Alpha - which is good for creative time-out and a bit of restorative daydreaming. Just as there is no benefit to driving in only one gear, we need to create balance and opportunity to match the right level of brain wave for what we are trying to do.

Gamma brain waves are those that resonate at a higher frequency than Beta - typically at 40 Hz and above - and these have become more easily identified since the introduction of digital electroencephalography (EEG) as analog EEG was restricted to around 30 HZ. So although Gamma waves have always existed, they were previously not recognised on monitoring equipment. They are associated with a state of hyper-alertness, perception and integration of sensory input, usually seen in those who train for peak performance in a physical or intellectual capacity, as they are evidence of extreme levels of concentration and focus. But for the rest of us, a good example is when time seems to "slow down" during a car or other accident, for example. This is the brain entering a phase of Gamma waves where our survival may be dependent on the fastest of information processing and reaction times.

For many of us, life is just one long round of Beta wave activity, which is tiring and, in the end, counter-productive as it's impossible to deliver continuously well when utilising only one wakeful state (if you drove a car continuously in fourth gear, you'd wreck the engine). Certainly, consciously working towards more balance between Beta and Alpha waves means a more creative way of concentrating, problem solving and working. Balancing between the two, and dipping into Gamma wave activity occasionally, could serve us even better. Along with lots of Theta and Delta waves at night!

Daydream believer

2011-02-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

Einstein did it. Mozart did it. But will you make the time to daydream and see what it might yield?

Writing a book on the art of concentration became extremely focused on the pursuit of those constructive activities that produced tangible results. Where the aim was to replace distraction with focus, procrastination with achievable outcomes. But when I looked at what might also free up the brain to improve they way we live and work and concentrate, another theme crept up on me: that of checking out to check in. Freeing up the mind to make its own unique connections. To allow the opportunity for the unfettered creativity that it is capable of. That "Eureka" moment.

Sure, there was still a need to remove those distractions that the habit of multi-tasking can produce, but this could create the space not only to concentrate on executing some task or hit some deadline, but also to merely stand and stare. To be in the moment. To allow the mind to wander and wonder. And see what might percolate through... what genius solutions might be lurking behind some of the restrictions of our results-driven way of being.

I began to see that by concentrating better in order to get things done, there might be more time to daydream! And that this might be constructive and beneficial.

Why do our minds drift off anyway? Modern brain-scanning techniques show that when this happens, the temporal lobes of the brain are actually busy processing long-term memories, like some automatic data-storage facility.

Daydreaming allows the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain involved in problem-solving, to do its work. "Mind wandering is actually a very involved task," says psychologist Jonathan Schooler, who is researching this at UC Santa Barbara. "You leave the here and now and focus on more remote concerns that nevertheless might be more important. We've been focusing on the downside of this [daydreaming] but we need to think about the upside."

It also allows us to envisage the next step in an idea or plan. To play it out, visualise it and see what it might look like. Making it more real and more possible. Every big idea starts with a "What if..." thought, but you need the head space to consider and develop it. To allow the creativity the subconscious mind is capable of.

Archimedes was taking a bath when he finally solved the seemingly intractable problem of measuring the volume of objects with precision. Einstein's theory of relativity began with a daydream on a sunbeam, which led to the realisation that the earth was curved...

Learn to breathe easier with Resperate

2011-02-15T05:04:00.000-08:00

When we are stressed, anxious, frightened or angry, our breathing pattern speeds up and becomes quite shallow, using only the upper part of our lungs. In the short term, it's a useful part of our 'fight or flight' response, helping us deal with whatever it is that's disturbing us. In the longer term, it can become an habitual but unhelpful way of breathing, because instead of our mind telling our body that we need to cope with an emergency, the way we are breathing actually conveys to the mind that we have a continuous reason to feel anxious, panicked, etc.

Understanding this can be a useful first step toward using the way we breathe to consciously help regulate how we feel - both emotionally and physically. But it's not always easy to learn to do this, which is where Resperate can help.

Designed primarily to help those with high blood pressure to lower it, the Resperate device works by providing feedback on how you are breathing. It measures your breath rate while playing classical music, then slows it down to encourage a slower pace. It acts as a breathing coach, and used several times a day can help restore a calmer way of breathing. You can actually see how well you are doing, even before you begin to feel it.

With regard to the lowering of blood pressure, nine peer-reviewed medical publications listed on the Resperate site, along with more anecdotal reviews from doctors and users, provide testament to its effectiveness.

I was told about Resperate by a uniquely qualified Ericksonian psychotherapist, Annette Poizner (www.annettepoizner.com), who was telling me how I could improve my lung energy - and why it was important!

For me, if you are (as one professional once put it) a 'managed type A personality' it can be very useful to have some physical evidence that your mindfulness, meditation or other practice, is effective. Like anything else, it demands some commitment, but it's really no hardship to sit quietly and take some time out - whether the result you want is to lower your blood pressure or calm your thoughts.

www.resperate.co.uk

Foods for concentration

2011-02-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

I'm often asked what foods help improve concentration and what 'superfoods' should we be eating and what supplements should we be taking...

So here goes.

Basically your brain needs glucose as fuel to function, which the body sources from carbohydrate, and doesn't much care what sort except that it be regular and continuous.

However, if you rely on simple carbohydrates like a bar of chocolate or a packet of crisps, to the exclusion of much else, then you get a carbohydrate surge which induces an insulin surge, which can then cause the sort of mood swings that make concentration difficult. Or you get a headache. Or an energy slump. All of which is much more noticeable in children. Complex carbohydrates - oatmeal, wholegrains, bananas, pulses and beans, nuts, brown rice - are a better option, as they also contains lots of other beneficial nutrients.

So to keep the brain concentrating, complex carbohydrates and adequate hydration (because the brain is 90% water and is happiest well-watered) is a good place to start.

After complex carbohydrates and water, here are my other recommendations.

Protein

Eggs, for example, which contain the micronutrient choline (an essential precursor for acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter in the brain) in the yolks, and also found in soybeans, lentils, oats, sesame seeds and other sources. One of the benefits of combining protein like an egg, with complex carbohydrate like wholegrain bread, is that this also helps manage insulin surges.

Antioxidants

You've heard it before, but antioxidants help mop up free radicals, the damaging by-product of cellular activity in our bodies. Fresh fruit and vegetables - lots of them, the more brightly coloured the higher they are in antioxidants. So this is why blueberries, pomegranates, sweet potato, beetroot, spinach, etc. sometimes get dubbed 'superfoods' because they are high in antioxidants. Aim for a rainbow diet. And green tea, also high in antioxidants - my daily favourite is Mighty Leaf's green tea with jasmine.

And because I also believe in a little of what you fancy doing you good... I'm pleased to report that dark chocolate is high in antioxidants. My treat is Green & Blacks organic dark chocolate with ginger... who knew something so delicious could also be good for you.

Essential fatty acids

From oily fish, with the recommendation that you eat at least two portions a week. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are just that, essential and you can't manufacture them yourself. What you're aiming for is omega-3 EPA and omega-3 DHA. Forget omega-6, from vegetable sources, the majority of Western diets are supersaturated with omega-6 already, and it competes with omega-3 for absorption.

Caffeine

This is the most widely consumed pharmacologically active substance in the world - trimethylxanthine, to give it its chemical name - but in small doses can give you a short-term kick helping your brain to focus. However, it will also stimulate your central nervous system and in excess will affect your sleep patterns, give you a racing heart and possibly palpitations, and it's addictive. Make caffeine your friend and not your enemy. Drink freshly brewed coffee and limit it to a couple of cups a day at the most, and avoid drinks like Red Bull like the plague.

Supplements

I'm not big on supplements, which should always be used to supplement a good diet rather than compensate for a poor one. Eating a balanced and varied diet, with lots of the above, should help ensure all the nutrients and micronutrients you ordinarily need, and forestall the necessity for masses of supplements. However, there are times when supplementation might be a useful option. Omega-3 EFAs are one nutrient that can be hard to get enough of even from a good diet, but choose your omega-3 supplements with care because there are lots out there that actually deliver very little active ingredient. Vitamin B can sometimes be a little deficient, especially as we age and our ability to absorb it from our diet deteriorates. Dietary iron is sometimes deficient in women of reproductive age, giving rise to sub-clinical iron deficiency anaemia which can cause symptoms of fatigue, muddled thinking and forgetfulness - and short-term supplementation to improve haemoglobin levels can be helpful.

And your most important meal of the day? Breakfast. You've heard that before, too - but there's no doubt about it, you'll concentrate better if you eat breakfast.

Rediscover your inner sloth

2011-01-25T05:40:00.000-08:00

Back in 1931, economist John Maynard Keynes looked past the economic pessimism of the day to a time of abundance, when we would be freed from the relentless demands of work, and able to "pluck the hour virtuously and well". And in 1966, Japanese sociologist Ikutaro Shimizu talked about the "coming of the leisure age".

What happened?

Instead of finding time to stand and stare, in spite of all our labour-saving devices, we have created ways to become busier and busier with less and less leisure time. Now, on top of work, there is no reason to ever stop... No reason not to shop online at midnight, answer emails in the bath, text as we watch a movie, upload our Facebook status when at dinner with friends...

Instead of creating time for leisure, we are abusing time. When you find yourself booking a "speed yoga" session, it's time to pause for thought.

Last week someone told me that if he turns off his email alert/phone/computer in order to concentrate, he feels disconnected (literally) and vulnerable. It no longer feels normal to him to focus unimpeded on one piece of work at a time. What could he do?

If this is how you feel, it's time to take some time to stand and stare. You know no one ever died wishing they'd spent more time at the office.

Embrace life in the slow lane: how to take your foot off the gas

* leave holes in your diary rather than filling every moment with activity, easing the pressure on your time

* set aside some time every day when you turn OFF all electronic connectivity - it's amazing how much more you can get done without interruptions, creating more time to...

* find one activity that is difficult to hurry - t'ai chi, doing the crossword or sudoku, gardening, listening to a whole album of music while doing nothing else - and do it regularly

* eat your meals sitting down at a table at least once a day, without TV, radio or other interruptions

* monitor the speed at which you are doing something - typing, driving, reading, talking - and slow it down

"When it comes to slowing down, it is best to start small," says Carl Honore , author of In Praise of Slow. "Cook a meal from scratch. Take a walk with a friend. Read the newspaper without switching on the TV. Add massage to your lovemaking. Or simply take a few minutes to sit still in a quiet place."

You can't hurry marmalade...

2011-01-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

You can't hurry marmalade... like love, mama said, you just have to wait... (it don't come easy, it's a game of give and take) and like the song says, you have to trust the process. The same goes for marmalade...

First, you have to wait for the briefest of seasons - from mid to late January - when the Seville oranges are available, and if you miss it you have to wait another year... it's about the only fruit that can't be found all year round.

I particularly like the ritual of making marmalade when the days are bleak and spring still feels unlikely, a gap between Christmas excess and January abstemiousness, filling my home with the scent of warm citrus and evoking summer when outside the skies are the colour of old saucepans.

I make my marmalade by boiling the oranges whole for a couple of hours. Then when they're cool they are much easier to handle - scooping out the flesh and pips, finely cutting the softened peel, reserving the original water in which to add all the ingredients and bring it to the boil.

It takes time, methodical time, and it's a process that can't be hurried. From sourcing the seasonal oranges, to checking the recipe, bringing out my preserving pan, boiling the fruit, sharpening my knife, working my way through each of the oranges... Then bringing it all gently to its boiling point - 220 degrees F, 105 degrees C - and maintaining that fast, rolling boil until it works its alchemy and reaches the point at which it sets.

I only make marmalade once a year, so the process hasn't become routine and I have to remind myself of each step, especially what it looks like when it reaches that setting point. I like the way I have to concentrate, watching as the syrup in which the now translucent slices of rind are bubbling, until it changes colour and tempo and shows me it's done.

You can't hurry it, that moment of magic when the combination of oranges, water and sugar becomes marmalade. Just give it time, no matter how long it takes...

Just like love.

How better posture improves concentration

2011-01-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

What your posture has to do with your ability to concentrate may not be immediately obvious, but if you have a sedentary job, you may want to consider how you sit when you work.

You may also want to think about sitting on an exercise ball, or add a wobble cushion to your chair, while you work. Experts think that the micro-movements your body needs to make to adjust will do more than just improve your core muscles and posture, it can also make you concentrate better.

Why?

When you sit on an exercise ball, you are constantly making tiny, subconscious physical movements to maintain your balance. “Movement awakens and activates many of our mental capacities,” says neurophysiologist Carla Hannaford, who has studied the relationship between movement and learning. “Movement integrates and anchors new information and experience into our neural networks.”

It’s this subconscious mental activity that lies at the core of the science behind the benefit of the exercise balls, which has seen some schools in America replace their hard chairs with them. “The tiny movements kids make while balancing stimulates their brains and helps them focus,” says Dr. John Ratey, a Harvard University professor and author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Apparently some children with attention disorders have a ‘sleepy cortex’, and exercise combats that mental disengagement. “Just by using their core muscles more, they’re flipping (their cortex) on,” says Ratey. “This causes the prefrontal cortex to get turned on, which does a lot of things, including inhibiting impulses.”

So if you thought that sitting in front of a desk for any length of time just caused poor breathing patterns, restricted circulation, muscular strain and repetitive strain injuries (RSI) – think again. Swapping your chair for a posture ball, or sitting on a wobble cushion, could make all the difference to your concentration levels as well as your aching back.

Plato's concern

2011-01-12T03:33:00.000-08:00

‎When was the last time you heard a parent complain about their child reading too much?

400 years BC, this was a concern for Plato. He was as worried about the impact of reading and writing on the brain as we are now about digital technologies.

"For this invention of yours will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn it, by causing them to neglect their memory, inasmuch as, from their confidence in writing, they will recollect by the external aid of foreign symbols, and not by the internal use of their own faculties..."

There is no halting progress but all these new-fangled inventions, from the printed book to the iPhone have their up and down sides. The key is making the most of them without losing sight of the necessity for balance.

Any new technology is a good servant but a bad master, so it's worth teaching ourselves and our children the use of the metaphorical "off" button, too and the benefits of concentrating on one thing at a time rather than perpetual multi-tasking.

A little something I concentrated on earlier...

2011-01-03T06:32:00.000-08:00

Ruby the Musical Star, seen here on display at the Royal Opera House shop, London is the follow-up book to Ruby the Ballet Star both written by me, and illustrated by Anne Holt.

Both books tell the story of an indomitable guinea pig called Ruby who refuses to be put off from her aim and who learns that if at first you want to succeed, you have to concentrate on what you what to achieve, and find a way to do it...

Ruby is neither physically nor constitutionally blessed to immediately excel at either ballet dancing, or playing in the orchestra.

In the former she finds practice (10,000 hours anyone?) the route to success. In the latter, she finds that perseverance in finding the right instrument leads her to the triangle, an essential instrument for the playing of Liszt's Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat major - otherwise known as the Triangle Concerto. Such an instrument suits her perfectly, in spite of her short arms and long whiskers, and all is well. Ruby achieves her aim of playing in an orchestra and is a lesson to us all...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ruby-Musical-Star-Ting---ling/dp/1857075218/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1294065760&sr=8-5

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ruby-Ballet-Star-Twirly-whirly-Pop-up/dp/1857074653/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Cooking and concentration

2010-12-27T08:29:00.000-08:00

I come from a family where we cooked. My mother, a doctor, cooked every day from scratch. Vegetables were prepared, meat casseroled, sauces made, stock bones boiled, cakes baked. She bought locally, she used seasonal vegetables (often grown at home) and knew what to do with left-overs. We made our own bread, chutneys, marmalade. What I learnt from her, in easy familiarity in a family kitchen, I find is fashionable today.

For years, my cooking was more functional than fun. With children to feed, and working fulltime, I still did as she did and cooked a meal every day from scratch. I still do. But now, with a bit more time on my hands, I am cooking more thoughtfully, enjoying it more and becoming more experimental. Now my pleasure is no longer purely in the end result and feeding my family – who have always loved food and never been picky over vegetables or difficult to please – but now there’s something more.

When making a cake, I cream the butter and sugar by hand, marvelling at the alchemy that transforms these two simple ingredients into a creamy, whitened base to which I gently add the beaten eggs, emulsifying the fat and whisking in the life, before adding the flour and placing it in the oven for its final transformation.

Now I watch TV cooks in the way I once watched my mother. Seeing Nigel Slater transform black bananas into a cake, I was soon in the kitchen creating a concoction of ground roast hazelnuts, chunks of dark chocolate, along with those black bananas, and the result was a spectacularly delicious take on my usual, rather perfunctory banana loaf.

I have my mother’s old, 1950 Penguin copy of Elizabeth David’s A Book of Mediterranean Food (with original ‘decorations’ by John Minton), which makes wonderful reading, alongside my ancient Delia Smith and more contemporary Nigella Lawson, lurking amongst other cookbook treasures.

But it is the slow, methodical putting together of ingredients that pleases me now. Taking the time to measure, weigh, sift, whisk, beat, tear, chunk or chop ingredients, meditating almost on the process as step by step I create the small daily miracle that could be a jar of marmalade, a loaf of bread, a Moroccan stew, an orange and lavender cake – or a freshly boiled egg with hot buttered toast. The alchemy that is creating and cooking food is a wonderful way to concentrate the mind.

Spanish edition

2010-12-14T14:42:00.000-08:00

Spanish edition to be published on January 18th 2011... and I shall be in Madrid for publication to promote the book.

www.theartofconcentration.co.uk

Was your granny right - is fish good for your brain?

2010-12-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

Regular research studies suggest that eating fish is good for you because it supplies a source of omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs), but you could be forgiven for wondering why there's so much fuss about them. Just how essential are they?

Very, is the short answer. Omega-3 EFAs are critical for our health, and the development and function of our brains in particular. We have to get them from our food, as we can't manufacture them ourselves.

Why do we need omega-3s?

While Western diets tend to provide excessive omega-6 fatty acids, many are relatively lacking in omega-3. This matters, because the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in our diets should be around 3:1 or less, but for most of us it's nearer 10:1 and in some cases as high as 20:1. Not only that, omega-6 competes with omega-3 for conversion to its respective EFAs, so a high intake of one can leave us deficient in the others.

"What's more, some people are more susceptible to a low ratio," says neuroscientist Dr Alex Richardson, a senior research fellow in physiology at Mansfield College, Oxford, and a member of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids. "And some people may also have an in-built inefficiency in their conversion process, making them even more susceptible to deficiencies. Symptoms of low omega-3 status, which we know can affect neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin in the brain, can include mental health problems ranging from depression, mood swings and anxiety to behavioural problems like ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia."

Could we get enough from our diets?

Cold-water fish like mackerel, herring, tuna, salmon and sardine are an excellent direct source of the omega-3s our brains need, and the current Food Standards Agency recommendation is that we eat four 140g portions of oily fish every week. But when was the last time you ate a herring? If we followed these guideline we would get enough omega-3, but it's not quite as simple as that. "Many things can contribute to low omega-3 status," says Dr Richardson. "One is our high intake of not only omega-6 but hydrogenated and trans fats, found in highly processed junk foods that are high in vegetable fats. These can block the conversion of omega-3s, as will a lack of any one of the co-factors necessary for conversion - vitamin B3 and B6, vitamin C, magnesium, and zinc, to name a few. Stress and some viral infections can inhibit conversion, while excessive drinking and smoking both help destroy these crucial fatty acids. So it's imperative that while upping your intake of omega-3, you cut out the junk."

Can EFAs help improve our mental health?

Dr Joseph Hibbeln, of the National Institutes of Health in the US, published research on fish oils and depression in The Lancet as long ago as 1998. He claims omega-3 deficiency may have an affect on mental health, and suggests that the increase in depression rates could be linked to our vastly increased use of vegetable oils, and the corresponding increase in omega-6 and depletion of omega-3. Other studies have shown that 1g of EPA (an omega-3 fatty acid) every day can be as effective as Prozac and Seroxat in tackling depression - without the side effects.

How much do we need?

The recommended therapeutic dose of EPA is 1g per day for those with mental health problems or 500mg for those without. That's 1g of EPA, not 1g of oil, something to consider if you're buying supplements. "Supplementation isn't necessarily a bad move, if you're improving your diet and cutting out processed foods," says Dr Richardson. "But only if you take a supplement that gives you what you need. Cod liver oil provides some omega-3, along with vitamins A and D, but this and ordinary fish oils can also contain a lot of saturated fat. And if you took enough to obtain 1g per day of EPA, you would risk vitamin-A toxicity. Livers detoxify, and as cod swim in some pretty polluted waters, it's worth checking that your supplement carries no risk of containing mercury, PCBs or other contaminants."

What's the vegetarian option?

"Flax seeds and flax oil provide the omega-3 fatty acid ALA, but this still needs conversion to EPA and DHA, another fatty acid, whereas fish oil doesn't," says Dr Richardson. "The body isn't good at making this conversion, because it's so dependent on numerous co-factors. Some knowledgeable vegetarians therefore choose an algal-source DHA supplement in addition to plenty of flax seeds or oil and green leafy vegetables that provide ALA."

What are the other benefits?

There is also some research-based evidence to suggest that omega-3 EFAs, which have an anti-inflammatory affect, also help protect against coronary heart disease, as well as Alzheimer's Disease and rheumatoid arthritis. There's even evidence to suggest that omega-3s can help with benign prostate disease. As far back as 1986, Dr David Horrobin published research in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showing that exposing cancer cells to EFAs like EPA inhibited growth and could enhance the effects of chemotherapy. "Omega-3 EFAs are no miracle cure," says Dr Richardson. "But their benefits are increasingly relevant in our malnourished, stressful and ageing society. We ignore this at our peril."

So your Granny was right... fish is good for the brain.

www.fabresearch.org

Slow down...

2010-10-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

You know the feeling. From the moment the alarm clock goes off to the time you set it again, is increasingly a blur. Somehow you get through the day, but by the end of it you can hardly remember what you've done, let alone who you've seen or what you've eaten. Life in the fast lane, it would seem, is running away with you.

Trying to do too much, too quickly, in an effort to stay on schedule may be a symptom of 21st century living, but it's beginning to take its toll both emotionally and physically.

The have-it-all dream has turned to a do-it-all nightmare and for women in particular who are trying to manage their lives. So much so that in a Top Sante survey 43% of women said they took time off work for stress, while nine out of 10 said that they had too many roles to juggle in their lives.

It was to examine questions like why we continue to live like this, even when we know it's detrimental, that Carl Honoré wrote his book, In Praise of Slow. It describes a worldwide movement emerging to challenge the cult of speed.

"The book came about because of a series of articles I wrote about the Slow Movement in the National Post [a Canadian newspaper]. When I was seriously contemplating the 'one-minute bedtime story' to read to my son in an effort to reduce the time it took to read to him I realised it was all too easy to get sucked into the cult of speed. I wanted to find out what others were doing about it."

The 21st century was destined to be the age of leisure, according to pundits ranging from John Maynard Keynes to Alvin Toffler, but somehow all that our many labour saving devices and information technology has done is to raise the stakes. Do more, and do it now - there's no excuse not to get things done in the shortest possible time. There's no need now to ever stop in our 24/7, 365- working-days-a-year society.

"We think that life is about doing things," says Christopher Hansard, a leading practitioner in Tibetan medicine and director of the Eden Medical Centre in London. "And we confuse 'doing' with 'being' and start to define ourselves by what we do, rather than who we are. In addition, all this 'doing' creates an excessive production of the stress hormone adrenaline, to which we then become physically addicted, so the high levels of adrenaline start to feel normal. The danger of that is that it affects us physically and emotionally. Physically, excessive amounts of stress hormones affect the bowel, leading to digestive problems while the brain is affected by what are, in effect, neurotoxins and cognitive function is reduced. Emotionally, we react with irritability and anxiety. And if we continue, then spiritual and physical burnout is inevitable."

Even the search for wellbeing can become frenetic, as we rush from work to the gym to therapist to the organic supermarket. We have to learn to use the 24-hour society to our advantage, not our detriment. As Honoré found, there is a "slow movement" and it's growing.

The home of the Slow Food ethos is Italy, launched in 1986 by the culinary writer Carlo Petrini, after a McDonald's opened near the Spanish Steps in Rome. Now, Slow Food has over 100,000 members in over 132 countries and promotes indigenous cuisine and supports small local producers www.slowfood.com

But food isn't the only thing to be celebrated and savoured slowly. How intimate can a couple get if their sex life is limited to five minutes, twice a month? This is not say that everyone should be having Tantric sex, but merely to state the obvious: that sometimes it's good to share time with someone you care for. An increasingly speedy life can become an increasingly isolated one.

"Another danger is that we inadvertently impose on our children the idea that only meaningful activity is valid," says Honoré. "So children are whisked from pillar to post with additional maths lessons, music appreciation, language classes - no wonder so many of them are chronically over-tired and showing signs of clinical stress. Proponents of 'slow schooling' advocate time to chill out and be bored, so children can have time to process events in their life, start to utilise their imaginations and find their own motivations. Some schools have even gone so far as to stop giving homework, believing school is for work and home is time to relax."

"When it comes to slowing down," he continues. "It is best to start small. Cook a meal from scratch. Take a walk with a friend. Read the newspaper without switching on the TV. Add massage to your lovemaking. Or simply take a few minutes to sit still in a quiet place."

www.carlhonore.com

Embrace the slow: how to decelerate

* Leave holes in the diary rather than striving to fill every moment with activity. Easing the pressure on your time will help you to slow down.

* Set aside a time of day to turn off all the technology that keeps us buzzing - phones, computers, pagers, email, television, radio. Use the break to sit quietly somewhere, alone with your thoughts. Or try meditating.

* Make time for at least one hobby that slows you down, such as reading, painting, gardening or yoga.

* Eat supper at the table instead of balancing it on your lap it in front of the TV.

* Always monitor your speed. If you're doing something more quickly than you need to simply out of habit, then take a deep breath and slow down.

Spanish edition

2010-10-18T04:56:00.001-07:00

Spanish edition published January 2011

Mindfulness meditation helps teenage boys

2010-09-12T04:40:00.000-07:00

Two phrases you seldom see in the same sentence – ‘mindfulness meditation’ and ‘teenage boys’ – but new research from Cambridge University’s Institute of Wellbeing found how extremely beneficial it was when they introduced one to the other.

Researchers found that after a four-week course in mindfulness, the 155 boys (aged 14-15 years old) were found to have increased feelings of wellbeing, defined as the combination of feeling good (including positive emotions such as happiness, contentment, interest and affection) and also an increased sense of functioning well.

“More and more we are realising the importance of supporting the overall mental health of children,” said Professor Felicia Huppert at the university’s Institute of Wellbeing, who conducted the study. “Our study demonstrates that this type of training improves wellbeing in adolescents and that the more they practice, the greater the benefits.

“Importantly, many of the students genuinely enjoyed the exercises and said they intended to continue them – a good sign that many children would be receptive to this type of intervention.

“Another significant aspect of this study is that adolescents who suffered from higher level of anxiety were the ones who benefited most from the training.”

For the research, students in six classes in two independent schools in the UK, were taught what is termed ‘mindful awareness’, or mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way of consciously bringing attention and focus to the here and now, bringing awareness to our experience in the moment of experiencing it, but without passing judgement about it. This consisted of four 40-minute classes, one per week, which presented the principles and practice of mindfulness.

The classes covered awareness and acceptance of what they were experiencing, and taught the students how to practice bodily awareness by paying attention to their breathing, noticing all the sensations involved simply in walking, for example. They were also asked to practice in their own time, and were encouraged to listen to a series of exercises, designed to improve concentration and reduce stress, on a CD or mp3 file for eight minutes a day.

All students also completed a carefully compiled short series of online questionnaires before and after participating in the research. The questionnaires measured the effect of the training on changes in mindful awareness, resilience (the ability to modify responses to changing situations) and their sense of psychological wellbeing.

Researchers found that although it was a short programme, students who participated had increased levels of wellbeing as a consequence, and these were proportional to the amount of time they spent practicing their new skills.

“We believe that the effects of mindfulness training can enhance wellbeing in a number of ways,” said Professor Huppert. “If you practice being in the present, you can increase positive feelings by savouring pleasurable ongoing experiences. Additionally, calming the mind and observing experiences with curiosity and acceptance not only reduces stress but helps with attention control and emotion regulation – skills which are valuable both inside and outside the classroom.”

As the mother of two, teenage and older, I say - let's hear it for the boys!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/10/the-secret-life-of-britains-teenage-boys

The benefits of boredom...

2010-09-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

It may sound a contradiction in terms, but boredom can actually have its benefits. Being bored can provide the opportunity for a creative hiatus, and even be the motivating factor behind your next great idea!

Boredom is said to fall into two categories, situational and repetitive. Situational boredom describes those occasions when hanging about with nothing to do is necessary: waiting for a bus, for example. Repetitive boredom occurs from doing the same routine task over and over again. This can include some activity you once enjoyed, but which now palls.

Sometimes we experience boredom because we have developed a need for instant gratification, part of our do-it-now/have-it-now mentality. Many activities, like surfing the Net, can play into this. How much time have you spent doing just that in a futile bid to avoid boredom? Maybe you would have been better off accepting you were bored, then used this stimulus to find something you really wanted to engage with.

But while it is often condemned - 'the Devil finds work for idle hands', as the old adage goes - being bored provides some useful 'time out', allowing us the opportunity to clear the mind and see what percolates up. To mull over, consider, reject and re-consider, ideas and possibilities.

For children especially, being kept relentlessly busy is counter-productive. Without the experience of boredom, how can you learn the self-motivation to alleviate it? It's an important and necessary stage of intellectual development.

Don't fight it, when boredom comes knocking, but succumb to it and see what it yields. Akin to daydreaming, which research has shown to be an active state of brain function, boredom can even be a great motivator. Instead of filling every minute of your day with activity that might prohibit the possibilities for boredom, take a risk on being bored, and see what happens.

Maybe we should see being bored as the transitional state it is - a brief period between completing one activity or process, and starting the next. A welcome pause. An opportunity for reflection. A moment to collect and re-focus our thoughts. No more nor less than that. And certainly not something that has to be fought against.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/rhodri-marsden-the-lost-art-of-boredom-2048870.html

Make the humble houseplant your friend

2010-08-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

FACT: People working indoors with houseplants in their line of vision do tasks a staggering 12% faster and are able to concentrate better than people who don’t have plants in the room.

Read the full report @ Plants4Life

http://plants4life.org/

Breathe life back into concentration...

2010-07-21T02:16:00.000-07:00

Although we do it automatically, breathing is something that we can also consciously control, making it one of the simplest methods of regaining physical and mental focus... and an aid to concentration.

Plus it's the single most useful tool we have for stress management, and immediately available to us all.

So how we breathe is very important.

But most of us breathe poorly: we tend to over-breathe, taking three or four breaths using only the upper part of our lung capacity, when one good breath using all would serve us better. This shallow breathing is very tiring, not only because we expend unnecessary energy to do so, but because we reduce our oxygen intake per breath. In its extreme form, over-breathing becomes hyperventilation, which can lead to panic attacks.

Breathing isn't just about taking oxygen in either, it's also about getting rid of carbon dioxide from our bodies. Shallow breathing alters the oxygen/carbon dioxide balance in the blood making it more acidic, and over time our muscles feel chronically tired and weakened from this acidic effect. Tired muscles also overcompensate by tensing up, increasing physical tension overall, which makes us feel emotionally tense and stressed.

Shallow breathing is also part of our 'fight or flight' response, causing the secretion of stress hormones. So in the same way that shallow breathing actually makes us more stressed than we might otherwise feel, so breathing more calmly will de-stress us, because the very act of consciously regulating our breathing sends a message from the body to the brain that everything is now OK, the emergency is over, and it can stop pumping out all that unnecessary adrenalin and cortisol!

Poor breathing patterns can set up their own vicious circle, for sure - and affect us both physically and emotionally. But the great news is that one simple change, how you breathe, can make one huge difference to how you feel.

Try the following exercise to get you started

lie comfortably on the floor, knees bent, chin tucked in - what Alexander Technique teachers call the 'constructive rest position' - or sit upright in a chair, legs uncrossed, feet flat on the floor
consciously relax your neck and drop your shoulders, rest your arms by your sides with your palms turned upwards
breathe long and gently through your nose, into your belly until you see it gently rise, for a slow count of 5
pause, and hold that breath for a count of 5, then gently exhale through your mouth for another count of 5
while doing this, try to clear your mind of all other thoughts, or if this is difficult close your eyes and visualise a pebble dropping into a pool of water and gently sinking down
repeat this breathing cycle 10 times, then see how your regular breathing adjusts
you can also use this breathing technique at any time you feel tense or stressed, or as the basis of any meditation practice

Bear in mind that poor posture always cramps our breathing, while tension in the muscle with which we breathe, the diaphragm - the sheet of muscle that divides the chest from the abdominal cavity - will also create tension around the aorta, the main artery carrying blood through the centre of our bodies. Tension around the aorta can also elevate blood pressure.

So there are just too many good reasons why you should take a look at your breathing and change it for the better.

Many physical activities also help improve breathing techniques - singing, swimming, T'ai Chi, yoga, walking meditations, playing a musical (wind) instrument, for example - but improving your breathing will immediately improve your overall health and wellbeing, your mental focus... and your concentration!

Slow reading...

2010-07-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

Unsurprisingly perhaps, our ability to concentrate long enough to read for much more than a minute (according to one professor's assessment of her students) is being eroded by our hyperactive online habits. So how can we regain the ability to concentrate on reading again? Slow reading is being advocated as the answer.

Thinking about this, I'm reminded of one 15 year old I coached who was aghast at having to read a whole book - Charles Dicken's Great Expectations - and was overwhelmed by the thought of this half term project set by his English teacher. This was someone who had never before read a book for pleasure, and I wasn't sure that reading Dickens was going to persuade him to do so either. We discussed how he might approach it and what goals he could set himself in order to achieve the task. He suggested a chapter a day, but the book had very short chapters - and 59 of them - so a chapter a day was only going to mean seven chapters over the week. Added to which, given the shortness of each, a chapter a day wouldn't allow him enough time to engage with the story, get into the language (which he wasn't used to) or start to enjoy the process of reading, which I felt was going to be key to his success.

Could you manage 30 minutes a day, reading? I asked. Without interruptions? Looking doubtful, he agreed he would try. I explained that he had to give himself a chance and however boring he found it initially, he had to try and persevere so that he could start to engage with it. 30 minutes is only the same length of time as an episode of EastEnders (a BBC TV programme he enjoyed) I said, and although he still wasn't entirely convinced, he agreed to give it a try.

When I saw him next I asked how it had gone. "I finished the whole book!" he told me, obviously really pleased with his achievement. I congratulated him and asked him if he had enjoyed the story. He pulled a bit of a face and said he thought he probably wouldn't choose to read another Dickens, but overall it had been OK and - here I was delighted - what else could he read? *

It wasn't just about the books, although my view is that reading opens up a whole new world you possibly couldn't access any other way, but it also allows people to practice their concentration skills in a meaningful and pleasurable way. For this young man, reading Great Expectations showed him that he was capable of concentrating when he chose, and he could apply this skill elsewhere to things that didn't immediately grab his attention - it was just a matter of practice.

Lesson learnt.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/15/slow-reading

* I gave him a copy of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, which he really enjoyed.

Take a walk... and boost your brain...

2010-07-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

What goes on inside your brain when you exercise? That question has preoccupied a growing number of scientists in recent years, as well as many of us who exercise. In the late 1990s, Dr. Fred Gage and his colleagues at the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute in San Diego elegantly proved that human and animal brains produce new brain cells (a process called neurogenesis) and that exercise increases neurogenesis. The brains of mice and rats that were allowed to run on wheels pulsed with vigorous, newly born neurons, and those animals then breezed through mazes and other tests of rodent I.Q., showing that neurogenesis improves thinking.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/your-brain-on-exercise/?apage=2

New rules for office gossip…

2010-07-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

Gossip can be a lot of fun and is often a feature of office politics - so it’s tempting to indulge - as long as it doesn’t backfire, because it can also make or break reputations. Plus it can seriously undermine your concentration at work!

Recent news of US company Bridgewater Associates' boss Ray Dalio issuing a ban on office gossip has given rise to speculation about the nature of office gossip, and whether a ban is either useful or enforceable.

If you’re the boss, and you want to keep gossip at a minimum, make sure your workforce is kept informed of events and changes. Insecurity at work ups the gossip quota – much of which can be unhelpful to office stability – as people speculate and speculation somehow becomes fact, however inaccurate, like a game of Chinese whispers.

What we also know is that office gossip – whether face-to-face at the water cooler, whispered at a desk, or via email, SMS and MSN – is distracting and time-wasting and can be extremely detrimental to both personal and workplace productivity.

Without being a goody-two-shoes, if you want to get ahead at work the cardinal rules for office gossip are:

1. Set boundaries – don’t share personal confidences you might later regret if they are used against you

2. Be discreet – getting a reputation as the office gossip will imply that you are not to be trusted

3. Keep any gossip upbeat – you don’t want to be seen as the office moaner

4. Never commit to paper, email or text something that could fall into the wrong hands and work against you

5. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you by slagging off your boss or anyone who might be responsible for any future promotion or reference

And if you’re going to be gossiped about, make sure it’s positive gossip that will enhance your reputation as a trusted, productive co-worker everyone wants to be associated with!

Concentrating on daydreaming...

2010-07-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

"Mind wandering is typically associated with negative things like laziness or inattentiveness. But this study shows our brains are very active when we daydream - much more active than when we focus on routine tasks," says Professor Kalina Christoff, psychologist at the University of British Columbia.

Concentrating at work… eight top tips to help you.

2010-07-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Many of us work in environments that aren’t particularly conducive to concentration – even those of us fortunate enough to work from home! – with lots of interruptions and activity that make distraction all too possible.

We can be distracted by external stimulation, like noise in particular, or internally by the “chattering monkeys” of our mind - so what can we do to help improve our concentration levels in the workplace?

8 Top Tips

eat breakfast: your brain can’t run on empty and if you don’t eat your stress hormones will kick in to sustain you and these will make you feel jittery and distracted, as will that cup of coffee you drink to help compensate for an empty stomach!
utilise your circadian rhythms: high alertness occurs around 2 to 3 hours after you wake, so start your day with your most important task - you should then be able to concentrate for 90 minutes before you need a break (although this may take practise if you are unused to it!)
make a list: prioritise your tasks, and use different times - like immediately after lunch -for tasks that require less concentration
avoid what external stimuli you can: put your phone on silent, turn off your email alert, close down internet pages you’re not using, and sit with your back to as much activity as you can if you work in an open plan office
avoid multi-tasking: focus on one thing at a time because, as cognitive scientist David Meyer says, “Multi-tasking is always going to slow you down, increasing the chances of mistakes. Disruptions and interruptions are a bad deal from the standpoint of our ability to process information.”
take a break: research by psychologist Marc Berman in 2009 showed that 20 minutes spent in a rural environment (the local park will do) will help what has been identified by Professor Stephen Kaplan as “attention restoration” - even looking at a picture of a beautiful rural scene has been shown to help - and get you back on track
stay hydrated: regular drinks of water really help the brain stay alert and this makes concentration easier
use music: if your workplace allows this, or if you can wear headphones, music while you work can help block out other noise and promote the sort of brain activity that is conducive to concentration - if it’s the right music. Baroque music has been found to be beneficial, so bring on the Bach!

Can music help you concentrate?

2010-06-19T04:53:00.000-07:00

It's 70 years to the day that BBC radio introduced a music programme called Music While You Work in a bid to help lift morale and raise productivity among factory workers during WW2. When the first programme was broadcast on Sunday June 23rd 1940, at the British government's suggestion, the choice of music had been studiously researched - plenty of familiar tunes, but nothing too fast and nothing too slow - it was soon popular with domestic listeners, too.

http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/radio/mwyw.htm

Scroll forward, and research has continued to show that music can aid concentration and productivity, something that might be argued by many students today - currently in the thick of their end of year exams - but are they right?

Research from Stanford University's School of Medicine has shown that music definitely engages areas of the brain involved with paying attention. While other research from Rutgers University in 2006, from a study with maths students, actually identified which type of music was most beneficial: Baroque.

"Music stabilizes mental, physical and emotional rhythms to attain a state of deep concentration and focus in which large amounts of content information can be processed and learned," says Chris Boyd, a proponent of music in learning and health, who runs Life Sounds (http://www.musicandlearning.com/). "Baroque music, such as that composed by Bach, Handel or Telemann, that is 50 to 80 beats per minute creates an atmosphere of focus that leads students into deep concentration in the alpha brain wave state. Learning vocabulary, memorizing facts or reading to this music is highly effective. On the other hand, energizing Mozart music assists in holding attention during sleepy times of day and helps students stay alert while reading or working on projects."

I couldn't tell you if Rio Ferdinand is listening to Bach or Mozart, but he might like to give it a go.

What's posture got to do with it?

2010-06-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

You may not think there is an obvious connection between your posture and concentration, but if you are someone who spends long hours sitting at a desk or working on a keyboard (IT or musical), your posture can make a big difference to how long your concentration levels hold.

It's actually very simple.

Bad posture causes poor breathing patterns, restricted circulation, muscular strain and repetitive strain injuries, which can not only sap energy (because negative patterns of muscular use use up more energy than positive ones) but can also cause constant, low-grade physical pain.

But there's lots you can do if you think your posture might be at fault.

Take a look at how you sit - slumped middle, crossed legs, rounded shoulders, craning neck - all of which will create problems in the long term. And if your muscle tone is flabby, you will be relying on tendons and ligaments instead, running the risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI).

Make sure your desk, chair and screen - if you are working at a computer - are at the right height for you. Sit on an exercise ball rather than a chair to help engage your core abdominal muscles while you sit, and prevent you from slouching. Keep feet flat on the floor, hips and knees at right angles.

Exercise to keep those core muscles strong will also help. Pilates is excellent for this, but also other exercise like T'ai Chi and yoga will improve posture. Check in with the posture experts, Alexander Technique teachers, to help correct body mis-alignment and poor posture. If you work with any sort of personal trainer, they should also be eagled-eye about your posture to avoid injury when you exercise.

Freeing up your posture, alleviating the tension in the many muscle groups from shoulders to calves, will also improve blood circulation - which carries oxygen to the brain - keeping those neurons happily energised and your ability to concentrate enhanced.

Do this now and your body and brain will thank you when you're 80!

Running on empty

2010-06-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

He's worth £250 million. He employs 600 people. P Diddy may be ghetto fabulous and an icon of success, but he can't sleep. "If I got more sleep, I'd be a better person, a healthier person, I'd be able to see a bit clearer. It's a problem - and I'm looking for help," he said in a recent interview in the London Times.

"I ain't stressed, it's the reverse. It's because I'm so excited."

Excitement. Stress. Grief. Anxiety. Chronic insomnia. They all have one thing in common: they put the body into 'fight or flight' mode - a state of preparation for coping with an emergency. The body gets flooded with adrenaline and cortisol, hormones designed to get you through an acute crisis not a chronically unbalanced lifestyle. These hormones are meant to heighten physical and mental performance and so they prevent sleep, increase the heart rate, improve muscle power and raise blood pressure - everything you need to fight off an attack from a sabre-toothed tiger, but less than useful every day in the office.

When these hormones are persistently activated they make you feel jittery, tense, nauseous, and in turn - as in P Diddy's case - unable to sleep.

In the longterm, this scenario can lead to adrenal exhaustion - when the adrenal glands, stimulated beyond capability, pack up - and the inevitable physical and mental burnout. This in turn can lead to problems like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), ME (mylagic encephalitis) and other autoimmune disorders like Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Symptoms of adrenal exhaustion include:

- insomnia

- difficulties with concentration and memory

- low-stress intolerance, irritability

- lethargy and fatigue

- light-headedness, especially on standing up

- allergies

- PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome)

- more frequent coughs and colds

But it's not easy to change tack because we can become almost addicted to the sort of high that running on empty can provide. Slowing down feels odd at first. Flat. Not quite right. We can become stress junkies.

P Diddy is wise to be alarmed by his chronic insomnia, but this is only a symptom of a bigger problem. His sleep problem is directly connected to his lifestyle demands, and until he addresses those, sleep won't come easy.

Disaster at the 42nd minute, redemption at the 65th

2010-06-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

"He's just dropped his concentration for a split second..." said the match commentator. When it comes to concentration, it's what you do next that will really count.

Was it lack of concentration or nerves for the goalie?

Rob Green, England's goalkeeper, couldn't have felt worse at this moment. His slip resulted in an equalising goal for the US, after Gerrard's great first goal within the first four minutes of the match, bringing the score to 1:1.

But would this slip-up distract Green for the rest of the match?

Apparently not. He managed to regain his composure and his concentration and, at the 65th minute, was redeemed by making a good save.

In the end, he really showed the art of concentration.

Will the noise of the vuvuzela horn affect the footballers’ concentration?

2010-06-11T07:22:00.001-07:00

An unusual aspect of the World Cup is the debate surrounding the vuvuzela horn, used by supporters to show their appreciation. It makes a sound like a large bluebottle fly trapped in a jam jar, multiplied many times.

Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso and the Netherlands coach Bert van Marjijk obviously thought it might affect players’ concentration, and ability to communicate with each other, and called for a ban. But this was rejected by FIFA president Sepp Blatter who said, “We should not try to Europeanise the World Cup.”

How far are players, concentrating on their game, affected by external noise anyway? There is considerable evidence to suggest that the sort of ability to concentrate that will take a player to the top of his or her game, will over-ride background noise. They literally don't hear the noise while they're in 'the zone'.

Let’s hope so.

There is also evidence to show that those for whom concentration is difficult, and this includes research done with children with attention deficity hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), can benefit from background music, or white noise– a sound containing a blend of all the audible frequencies distributed equally over the range of the frequency band – to counteract or mask other distractions and noises.

It may be that the vuvuzela horn’s noise falls into this white noise category – but it’s very loud!

And irrespective of how loud it is to the players, listening to the TV commentators on the World Cup’s opening match was difficult given the level of background noise from the horn.

No doubt I will get used to it, and I imagine the players will, too – but for the first time, and for this reason alone, I’m quite glad I’m not there in person!

Procrastination is the thief of time

2010-06-01T05:02:00.000-07:00

In the 21st Century we've created the perfect environment for procrastination with all the many distractions of our 24/7 lives, and psychologists have characterised this as behaviour that is counterproductive, needless or delaying.

It actually takes energy to procrastinate - dissipating energy that could be better used concentrating on getting the job done.

So why do we do it?

There are a number of reasons: immaturity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain (a characteristic of adolescence), it can also be linked to negative coping strategies that actually undermine our efforts, or lack of self-esteem about tackling a particular task, and even fear of failure. But psychologist and author of It's About Time, Dr Linda Sapadin has identified six procrastination styles, which can be helpful to consider if you feel that your procrastination habit is getting out of hand...

1. Perfectionists - who procrastinate because they want everything to be perfect, including that very first sentence, so will avoid doing anything unless it complies with their - usually unrealistic - aims.

2. Crisis Junkies - who like to leave everything to the last minute because it creates drama in their lives, gets them lots of attention, and actually creates a 'living on the edge' scenario they use to motivate themselves.

3. Dreamers - who tend to procrastinate because they find it all too complicated, and hate dealing with bothersome details, so would rather think about something else.

4. Defiers - who resent and resist doing what they need to do because they are defying some sort of internal, or external, authority figure.

5. Worriers - masters of the 'what if?' scenario, they can't get going because they constantly anticipate the worst and are afraid of change, and this nagging preoccupation stops them from starting.

6. Over-doers - who take on too much, don't know how to organise and prioritise what needs doing, so don't know where to start - then go off and find something else on their long list to do rather than tackle it.

What style of procrastination do you employ to avoid doing something? And why? Once you've identified it, you can work towards counteracting it - or, alternatively, just ignoring your efforts to procrastinate, and employ that same energy to getting it done!

How does your mood affect your concentration?

2010-05-22T06:09:00.000-07:00

Which came first: how you feel or the mood you're in? Does how you feel affect your mood or does your mood affect how you feel? Either way, there's no doubt that your mood can affect you, and your ability to concentrate.

"Moods are an internal measure of how we are," says Dr Liz Miller, author of Mood Mapping. "We do not express our moods directly. Instead we express them indirectly in the way we think, communicate, behave and see the world. To concentrate, you need to feel good as well as having enough energy. Although concentration may look relaxed on the outside, it is work. And if you are concentrating intensely, it is hard work! You need to have energy to concentrate, and it is easier if you are feeling positive.'

But can you consciously change your mood? Yes, says Miller, who developed the Mood Mapping technique.

"Moods can be managed, both in the immediate moment and in the longer term. And to begin, you need to understand five key inputs to mood, which are: your surroundings, your physical body, your relationships, you knowledge and your nature (personality type)."

Mood mapping is a technique that helps you first plot your mood and then work on it to get it right - if one of the five areas is out of balance, you're physically overtired or unwell, for example, you can see how this impacts on you, and improve it. It's a practical device that lets you see what it is that is influencing your mood, enables you to identify it, and then take those necessary steps that will help you manage your mood, and stop it ruling your life.

Makes sense to me!

www.moodmapping.co.uk

Workplace stress is an insidious and increasing problem...

2010-05-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Recently tagged by UK mental health charity MIND as Britain's £26bn epidemic, workplace stress is an insidious and increasing problem... and the cost of putting on a happy face is not only costing individuals dear, but has a knock-on effect on workplace productivity.

Identify its early warning symptoms and try to avoid its worst effects before it affects your health.

Causes of work-related stress include:

* poor working conditions

* long working hours

* lack of job security

* too much responsibility

* difficult relationships with colleagues

Symptoms of work-related stress include:

* finding concentration hard

* irritability and mood swings

* feeling unmotivated

* feeling like you can't cope

Physical symptoms can include:

* excessive tiredness and sleep problems

* a raised heart rate

* digestive problems

* muscular tension - backaches and neckaches

* chronic headaches

Tips to help avoid work-place stress:

* take your lunch break every day

* tackle one task at a time

* be realistic about what you can accomplish

* raise unrealistic demands with your line manager/boss

Find out more from MIND

http://www.mind.org.uk/employment

Practice makes perfect..

2010-05-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe not perfect, but any of us can reach a level of excellence and expertise through practice. It's opportunity not genetic inclination that creates excellence, that old 10,000 hours again...

Sure, a great footballer has exceptional perceptual awareness and complex spatial skills, but there's a very relevant argument that says this comes primarily from practice, not from genes.

Think about it. Learning to speak is a complicated process, but we all master it. In fact, the process of learning to speak actually creates the neural pathways in the brain that makes us expert at it. The same with learning to read. Or learning to walk. Jump. Hop. Extend this to any complex physical or mental task and it comes back to the same thing... repetition of doing something over and over again, call it practice is you like, makes it possible to do it better.

Takes this a stage further and practice, practice, practice - purposeful practice as the experts term it - and you actually change the anatomy of the brain. For example, taxi drivers learning "the knowledge" so that they can navigate the 659 square miles of the 33 boroughs of London, show a larger than averaged size hippocampus - the area of the brain which houses memory.

And this facility for change is life long. Neurogenesis - the creation of new brain cells and neural pathways, and neuroplasticity - the flexibility of the brain, is life long. We may be less inclined or motivated in some activities than others, but success or failure hinges more on our beliefs than our ability, it seems. The motivation to clock up the hours of practice is born in our brain, not our genes.

Read more about this, and see how you can apply it to the art of concentration, in Matthew Syed's book Bounce: How Champions are Made

How can full spectrum light help you concentrate better?

2010-05-12T01:25:00.000-07:00

Remember how revitalised time spent in sunlight makes you feel? It lifts the mood and improves energy levels, helping you to feel more focused and motivated - but why?

Light directly influences our emotions because it reaches the brain through the eyes, and is transmitted to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is connected to almost every other part of the brain, and involved with the regulation of hormones involved in motivation and reward. As a consequence, light has an affect on our basic drives and biological functions.

Bright light also inhibits the secretion of the sleep hormone, melatonin. Low light and darkness stimulates the pineal gland to secrete melatonin, so necessary for a good night's sleep, but counter-productive during the day. Those who suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) where seasonally low levels of light produces a form of depression, quite severe in some people, can find light therapy particularly effective.

The rest of us benefit greatly from exposure to good light levels, too. Twenty minutes walk a day in the sunshine which, even on an overcast day is between 5 and 20 times stronger than normal indoor lighting, is often advocated for improvement of mood and motivation, but what can you do if daily opportunities for adequate exposure to sunshine or bright daylight are limited?

Full spectrum lighting is the closest thing to natural sunlight, and used to treat those with SAD. But its benefits can also be utilised by the rest of us. Working with a full spectrum desk light can improve concentration, especially when long hours of desk work are necessary.

Many office workers have to put up with fluorescent lighting, which also flickers imperceptibly, making it very tiring to the eyes and, as a consequence, to the brain. Installing full spectrum lighting into work environments avoids this, and can improve productivity because of increased levels of wellbeing, motivation, concentration and a happier mood.

Which is why I work with a full spectrum desk light.

Living in the northern hemisphere, over the winter months and long dark days it's particularly beneficial, but provides a good source of light whenever I need it - although I do have to be sure not to use it for a couple of hours prior to bedtime. I need that melatonin as much as anybody, but at night, not when I'm trying to concentrate!

For more information on full spectrum lighting www.lumie.com

What is active listening, and can it help you concentrate better?

2010-05-10T03:37:00.000-07:00

We hear with our ears but we listen with our brains. How many times have you been 'listening' to someone - but not heard a word they said? You weren't concentrating!

Hearing is passive, while listening is an active process.

Top tips for improving listening skills include:

- Focus with your eyes on the person speaking

- Think about what they are saying

- If your attention wanders, consciously bring it back to what is being said

- Make mental notes of key points

- Make written notes - but don't attempt to write everything down

- Practise repeating back to yourself the gist of what has been said

- Make affirmative nods of the head, to acknowledge that you're listening

By concentrating solely on the speaker while you listen, whether they are there in person or even on the phone, will help encourage your active listening. This in turn will help you concentrate on what is being said, and make it easier to retain.

The more you do it, the easier active listening will become!

Right brain or left brain?

2010-05-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

Are you right brain or left brain dominant?

Do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/weird/the-right-brain-vs-left-brain/story-e6frev20-1111114577583

If you see her rotating clockwise, you are right brain dominant

- and vice versa.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

Most of us tend to be either left or right brain dominant: that is, we naturally tend to favour the use of one side of the brain to the other.

Decide whether you are left or right brain dominant by seeing which way the dancer rotates - clockwise, or anti-clockwise.

Now really concentrate your mind and see if you change your automatic preference for left or right brain dominance, and make the dancer rotate in the opposite direction!

If you want to know more about whether you are right or left brain dominant, try the test available at

http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm

"It is the time you have spent with your rose that makes your rose so important."

2010-05-04T04:57:00.000-07:00

So said Antoine de Saint-Exupery, in his timeless book The Little Prince, and it is a reminder to us all that we benefit from not only giving time to something that is important to us, but also from giving time to something when we are not sure what results it can immediately yield.

It is an act of faith to tend a flower. The rewards are not immediate. We have to persevere and be patient. We have to continue to spend time on doing something that isn't immediately rewarding.

It is sometimes an act of faith to concentrate on something that requires commitment and input before immediately yielding a result... and this applies to many things we do from learning a foreign language to a new physical activity.

What is true, however, is that by concentrating on what we do, we can make it relevant and important to us. And this supports the process.

Then the process becomes as rewarding as the goal, and the goal is the successful outcome of the process.

Could depression be affecting your concentration?

2010-05-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

Poor concentration can sometimes be a symptom of depression. A low level of the neurotransmitter dopamine, often found in those suffering bouts of depression, affects neuro-connectivity and contributes to poor concentration.

Understandably, too, if you are preoccupied by negative or anxious thoughts, suffer poor sleep, lose your appetite and experience feelings of hopelessness, all of which are symptoms of depression, your concentration levels are bound to be affected.

Winston Churchill referred to his depression as his “black dog” and 1 in 4 of us will experience it, too.

Sometimes depression is reactive – you have good reason to feel low if a close relative has died, you have been physically unwell, or have lost your job. It would be unusual not to feel temporarily depressed following events like these. However, it is the creeping, insidious depressions that come about, often for no immediate or obvious reason, that can be tricky – but not impossible – to handle.

Be aware of the early symptoms, and that these can be aggravated by chronic sleep deprivation, poor eating habits, overwork and lack of exercise. Low-grade physical exhaustion can precede mental depression. It has become identified as a curse of the have-it-all, do-it-all generation.

Take note and take action, because mild to moderate depression responds well to various self-help measures.

- Up your daily exercise, even just 20 minutes brisk walking can help, because it helps elevates levels of feel-good brain chemicals

- Make sure you get a daily dose of daylight – 20 minutes exercise in the daylight can make a big difference

- Breathing – sounds obvious, but consciously breathing deeply and calmly reduces feelings of anxiety

- Eat regular, nutritious meals – a see-sawing blood sugar level aggravates feelings of anxiety

- Keep regular hours and don’t get so chronically overtired that all your compensatory “awake” hormones kick in to keep you going, and then keep you awake when you need to sleep

- Supplement with omega3 essential fatty acid EPA: a gram a day of pharmaceutical grade EPA has been shown to be as effective as 20mg a day of Prozac

- Take time out from your work routine to relax and clear your brain: if you find this difficult, learn to meditate

But if none of this works for you, see your doctor. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) shows good results, and modern drugs have their place, too. Above all, seek help if you need it.

See SANE's new campaign http://www.sane.org.uk/what_we_do/black_dog/

Is negative thinking a habit you could learn to break?

2010-04-30T11:47:00.001-07:00

Seeing the negative is our brain's default mode, born of a primal need to identify dangers in life and protect ourselves from them; rooted in the brain's limbic system and close to our emotional processing centre. Powerful stuff.

All well and good when you have to be wary of marauding sabre-toothed tigers, but less useful when you are trying to get a piece of work done at your desk, manifesting itself in the form of negative thinking.

You know the scenario: you start doing something that's a little outside your comfort zone, it's making you a tad anxious, and then that self-sabotaging thought pops into your head: it's too difficult; I can't do it. Or worse: I'm useless; it's all hopeless. And you want to give up. Go home. Retreat under the duvet.

Suddenly you're into a spiral of negative thought processes every bit as distracting as the tinny baseline coming from a teenager's iPod headphones.

That internal critic can sabotage your efforts better than anyone else you know - if you let it.

The good news is that because negative thinking can become a habit, just like biting your nails, it's a habit you can - and should - break.

Identifying cycles of negative thought is a first step - do you recognise any of these?

- Equating how you feel with your sense of self: I feel stupid so I must be stupid. It's just not true. You may have made a mistake (see below) but it doesn't make you stupid.

- Making mistakes: a mistake is just something you do that gets you a result you don't want. No more than that. But there's no need to make the same mistake more than once. It's an opportunity to learn.

- All or nothing thinking: one small mistake, and you're a complete failure? No, you just made a mistake (see above).

- Awful-ising: always anticipating an awful outcome means that you are constantly preparing for the worst. How many times does the worst happen? Not that often. Save your emotional energy for when it does, but don't waste time anticipating something that might never happen.

- Personalisation: assuming that anything that goes wrong is your responsbility. It's not your fault! Sometimes, stuff just happens.

Negative thinking is an all too easy habit to get into. Recognise it, park it, and get on with whatever it is you want to do...

Walking workouts for body and brain

2010-04-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

I have just re-instigated my walking plan - wearing MBT trainers to make it even more effective - now the weather is nice, there's no excuse. I'm aiming to do it daily to see how far it improves my concentration, mood and bottom!

It takes me exactly 30 minutes to do the circuit I've devised around my home, which also takes in a series of slight inclines, and walking at a speed that makes me slightly out of breath. Sometimes I walk first thing in the morning, sometimes at lunchtime, sometimes in the evening - fitting it in to my schedule couldn't be easier.

What's more, wearing my MBT trainers - Masai Barefoot Technology - ups my exercise quota. I first wrote about these trainers in the Sunday Times' Style magazine in 2003 and have been an advocate ever since.

Independent research studies show that when you walk in these for 30 minutes, it's the equivalent of 90 minutes exercise because the instability provided by the patented sole technology is proven to increase muscle activity - one study showed activity in the thigh and buttock muscles increased by an average 37%!

And during that 30 minutes I find my mind settling and focusing. Tension reduces, my shoulders unhunch, my breathing deepens, ideas are formed, plans are made. It's a great way to, literally, think things through.

I once joined a gym. I can't remember ever going. Not a good way to exercise, then.

So like Demi Moore in her new film The Joneses I'm going to wear my MBTs, and take a walk.

http://uk.mbt.com/

Could selective ignorance be a route to better concentration?

2010-04-26T02:13:00.000-07:00

Selective ignorance – or, the low-information diet – is a term coined by Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week – and could be a helpful strategy in improving concentration levels.

It’s a simple concept: reduce the amount of time you spend grazing on information – online, TV, radio, newspapers, Tweets, you name it you've probably done it – because you won’t benefit from it, and it may even be completely counter-productive to what you are trying to achieve.

“Most information is time-consuming, negative, irrelevant to your goals, and outside of your influence,” says Ferriss. “I challenge you to look at whatever you read or watched today and tell me that is wasn’t at least two of the four.”

Culturally, we have become information junkies. It’s akin to that adolescent fear of not being “in the know” whatever the “know” might be. We find it hard to say, “Oh, I didn’t know that” for fear of being seen as outside the loop, so we try and input everything and anything that may put us ahead of the game.

But the aim, says Ferriss, is to focus on output, not input, and it is this that leads to success. He talks about attention management being as important as time management, and says, “The only option is selective ignorance – one of the few common traits among top performers.”

Certainly something worth considering - but please read this blog first!

Ballet lessons in concentration

2010-04-25T04:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went to watch members of the Royal Ballet take a class with legendary Cuban teacher Loipa Arauja and, in particular, to see a spectacular young Colombian dancer, Fernando Rodriguez Montano - appearing in the dynamic cameo role as the Jester in the current production of Cinderella at the Royal Opera House.

Around 20 of the world's top dancers - and both Carlos Acosta and Tamara Rojo were also taking a class there, showing that however great you are you still have to practice - spent an hour and a half working their bodies under instruction.

Total. Focus. Concentration. Control.

Yes, the dancers are used to the steps but not necessarily the sequencing relentlessly demanded by their teacher, so they really focus. I saw them watching her closely, their eyes following every tiny movement, counting the beats, making minimal gestures with their hands as they mentally rehearsed what their bodies would in a moment be required to do with precision and grace and energy.

And Loipa Araujo was focused too, not missing a beat, gently elevating a rib cage here, relaxing a shoulder there, realigning an arm, and repeating and repeating until the movement becomes second nature. With bodies like these you can't take risks, and the dancers know that their craft lies in the sort of dedication that has them practicing day after day after day.

Speaking to Fernando later - at just 25, he has been with the Royal Ballet for five years and his personal saga is a story in itself - he confirms that concentration is key.

"For those 90 minutes I focus 100%, and I am constantly monitoring my body, perfecting or extending some subtlety of movement, following my teacher's instructions."

Watching the class in action - a beautiful privilege in itself - was also like watching a masterclass in concentration. It is what keeps those dancers at the top of their game and, literally, on their toes.

www.roh.org.uk

Do meetings make you lose concentration?

2010-04-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

Or even the will to live?

I can't remember many work meetings which weren't a waste of time... or when I didn't lose concentration. Not a unique experience, I discover, thanks to Phil Daoust's Guardian article which sums it all up pretty well, and shows that meetings are not the intellectually stimulating, creative event they are cracked up to be...

"No successful decision has ever been made in a meeting," said one contributor.

"Ninety percent of the time, in today's corporate world, calling a meeting is an abuse of power," said another.

So how can you make sure they work better? Check out the link below.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/apr/23/meetings-how-to-make-them-good

Do you know your BDNF from your elbow?

2010-04-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

We all know that exercise is good for our physical health, but research has shown that physical exercise is also good for brains. Yes, getting physical raises the level of feel-good hormones called endorphins but it also raises levels of BDNF – brain-derived neurotropic factor to the uninitiated.

“I cannot over-estimate how important regular exercise is in improving the function of the brain,” says John Ratey, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard. “Exercise stimulates our grey matter to produce Miracle-Gro for the brain.”

This Miracle-Gro is BDNF. When we take physical exercise, our working muscles send chemicals into the bloodstream, including a protein known as IGF-1. Once in the brain, this stimulates the production of BDNF which helps new brain cells, and their connections, to grow.

In addition, levels of other neurotransmitters are increased after the sort of exercise session that will raise your pulse and cause a bit of a sweat (tiddlywinks players don’t qualify) for at least 20 minutes.

“Dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine – all of these are elevated after exercise,” says Ratey. “So having a workout will help improve focus, help keep you calm and reduce impulsivity." He goes as far as to describe the effect of exercise as being like a natural dose of Prozac or Ritalin – but with out the deleterious side effects.

Ratey's gold standard, which needs to be built up to gradually, is: one hour of moderate exercise (power walking or jogging) four days a week; a shorter (45 minute burst) of intense activity (squash or running) twice a week, combined with strength training and balance drills.

What's more, the positive effect of exercise continues long after your daily session. So whatever your age, if this isn’t a good enough reason to get exercising – what is??!

Spark! The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by John Ratey, Quercus publishing, 2008

Can you train your brain to concentrate?

2010-04-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

So… brain training won’t help improve brain function in terms of general reasoning, memory, planning or visuospatial abilities, according to a new study which followed 11,430 people over six weeks – but would brain training help your concentration?

Certainly, with practice, participants in the study got better at what they were doing – proving something that every neuroscientist, top musician or sportsperson knows – if you practice, you will improve.

The same goes for concentration. Practice concentrating, using brain training games if you like: but if you want to improve your concentration, practicing really helps.

Concentration is the X factor that makes improvement of other skills possible - so train your brain to concentrate!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8630588.stm

"We did not stay concentrated..."

2010-04-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

"We did not stay concentrated and we were punished for that in the end," said Arsenal football manager Arsene Wenger, after the north London team were beaten by Wigan Athletic 3:2.

The team were easily ahead - Walcott scored at 41 minutes, Silvestre at 48 minutes - and were still leading at the 80th minute, but then they took their eye off the ball, literally.

Wigan's Watson scored at the 80th minute, Bramble at the 89th and N'Zogbia at the 90th. Within 10 unfocussed minutes, Arsenal finally lost all hope of this Premier League title race.

"At top-level competition you have to be focused for 90 minutes or you will lose games. I believe the goals we conceded were very poor. Unlucky, but poor.

"In football you have to keep focused for 90 minutes, especially against a team that has nothing to lose and is fighting to stay in like Wigan were... We did not stay concentrated and we were punished for that in the end."

Are pregnancy brain lapses a myth?

2010-04-19T01:47:00.000-07:00

Hmmm... so being pregnant can affect your concentration? Says who?

According to a report carried out by Professor Christensen at the Australian National University, and published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, this is a myth. "Our results challenge the view that mothers are anything other than the intellectual peers of their contemporaries," she says.

Personally, I found early motherhood focused my brain like nothing else... with only 90 minutes max between naps to get things done, I really concentrated!

So no excuses then and it seems that this myth, like eating for two, must bite the dust.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8491493.stm

Hold that thought...

2010-04-18T03:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday Times' Style magazine April 18th 2010

Does caffeine help you concentrate?

2010-04-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

Trimethylxanthine is the most widely consumed pharmacologically active substance in the world, and occurs naturally in tea, coffee, cocoa and chocolate products and is added to soft drinks and a variety of prescription and over-the-counter drugs…

Find out more at the Coffee Science Information Centre: http://www.cosic.org/background-on-caffeine

What methylxanthines do is to disable an enzyme (phosphodieterase) that would otherwise destroy another substance, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which works to activate the neurotransmitters in the brain. So once the cAMP is given free rein, the brake on your brain is lifted and it’s all systems go.

But does it help you concentrate?

Without the phosphodieterase brake, caffeine also stimulates the central nervous system: your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood circulation will all increase so it does have a temporary effect on how you feel, and can increase feelings of alertness which, in turn, can make concentration easier - but only in the short term.

This is the effect exploited in drinks like Red Bull, which contains a whopping 80 milligrams of caffeine per can.

But be warned, an excess of caffeine can make you feel jittery and sick, and because it takes around seven hours to leave your system, can interfere with your sleep, too.

In one experiment when a large dose of caffeine was given to a spider, instead of her web being a beautiful spiral, it was a random mess.

So enjoy your caffeinated drinks in moderation, but don’t expect it to compensate for any poor habits - like overwork, inadequate sleep, poor diet - that can impede concentration.

And if you want an alternative kick-start to caffeine, try a large dose of vitamin C - which also blocks phosphodieterase, and elevates levels of cAMP in the brain to similar effect! - but without the caffeine effect.

Overcoming urban stress

2010-04-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23824375-your-city-guide-to-getting-your-focus-back.do

Featured in the Daily Express...

2010-04-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

http://express.co.uk/features/view/167482/How-juggling-and-jigsaws-help-you-focus

The brain is a wonderful organ...

2010-04-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get to the office.

Robert Frost

Frost may have meant this ironically, but how many of us feel unfocussed, creatively blocked, or restricted by our working environment?

If you wake up full of the joys of spring, but find that sitting at your desk soon has you distracted and unable to concentrate, you may have to reflect on why... and take steps to rectify the situation.

Because we spend so much time at work, it's important to find a way to create meaning and engagement, either through the individual work we do or in association with our colleagues, and this helps to maintain concentration. Actively seek to reduce external distractions like switching off your email alert, set goals (try the Five Minute Rule), make sure you stay hydrated, and if you don't have a pleasant view even a photo or picture of a beautiful rural landscape will help.

Someone estimated that we spend two thirds of our lifetime at work... so we may as well make it count.

Mindball - an exercise in concentration

2010-04-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

The more relaxed you are, the better those brain waves work...

Each Mindball player wears a headband that provides EEG (electroencephalogram) feedback by measuring the electrical frequencies of the brain.

Certain frequencies of signal are associated with different mental activities--for example, gamma waves with a frequency above 26 Hz are associated with higher mental activities such as problem solving.

To win at Mindball, however, you need to produce theta waves (4-8 Hz) which are associated with drowsiness and alpha waves (8-12 Hz) which are associated with being relaxed. So the more relaxed you are, the better you're going to be at this game.

The benefit of these sorts of games is that they give you tangible evidence of what you can achieve. The trick is to register what you are doing and feeling, so you can work towards regaining this ability at will, even when you're not receiving the sort of feedback that a game like Mindball provides.

Knowing you are capable of this sort of concentration is very reassuring, and is relevant to many areas of life, from school to work, exercise to relaxation.

Even winning the game!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jul/14/teaching-mental-toughness-improving-gcse

Meditation helps depression

2010-04-09T01:20:00.000-07:00

Transcendental meditation, the technique of achieving a state of "restful alertness" popularised by The Beatles 40 years ago, may be an effective treatment for depression in older people, scientists have found.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/how-the-beatles-meditation-technique-could-cure-depression-1938712.html

The Art of Concentration

2010-04-01T03:40:00.000-07:00

www.theartofconcentration.co.uk

Introduction - Why concentration matters
Chapter One - How the brain develops
Chapter Two - What inhibits brain function & concentration?
Chapter Three - What else is stopping you?
Chapter Four - Your concentration profile
Chapter Six - Learning to concentrate
Chapter Seven - Pay attention! Children & concentration
Chapter Eight - Techniques to improve concentration
Chapter Nine - Specific exercises to improve concentration
Chapter Ten - What else can you do?
Bibliography
Useful websites
Index

Published April 2nd 2010... available now from Amazon.co.uk

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Concentration-Enhance-reduce-achieve/dp/1905744439/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

Working with Youth at Risk

2010-03-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, I trained as a volunteer coach with a charity called Youth at Risk.

Youth at Risk is a groundbreaking charity, dedicated to making a positive and lasting change to the lives of disaffected and vulnerable young people.

http://www.youthatrisk.org.uk/

To say that I found my training challenging, especially after years of working on my own as a freelance writer and journalist, would be an understatement. However, the experience of being taken so rigorously outside my comfort zone stood me in good stead when it came to working with the students on the charity's Coaching for Success programme. I knew exactly how they felt when being challenged in this new way! And it was really exciting to watch their "light bulb moments" as the issues that they were struggling with clarified, and they started to identify some of the habits and attitudes that were getting in the way of being able to make the most of their education.

These were bright, lively kids, but some of the choices they were making - always going into a reaction, rather than a response; adopting the sorts of "masks" and behaviours that prevented them making progress; constantly blaming others for their lack of success rather than taking responsibility for what they could do to make a difference; not allowing the possibility of engagement with anyone who might champion them and support their goals - it was riveting to watch the trainers open up areas of insight and self-awareness that created the possibility for some real, positive change.

Our job, as volunteer coaches, is to do the follow-up work. To make a commitment to regularly meet with the students to whom we are assigned, helping them identify their goals, and work out the steps necessary to make progress.

Small steps, big changes.

Sometimes it would mean working out homework schedules that would fit in with their domestic commitments. Sometimes it would be talking through handling anger, and the choices made in response to provocation - this was really important for some of the young men who could potentially make choices that might put their lives at risk. Sometimes it would mean helping to plan an approach to a not-very-interesting coursework assignment. Sometimes it would mean talking through a disciplinary incident at school, or a personality clash with a staff member or other pupil. Sometimes it was about the importance of eating breakfast - or, at least, a banana! Basically it was their agenda, but within the context of creating a more successful approach to reaching their goals.

There is no doubt, too, that all the students I have worked with have taught me a lot: never to make assumptions about what's behind their "mask"; never to assume that you know better than them about their lives; never to underestimate their ability to find a way in or out of a tricky situation! Or spontaneous acts of kindness, like offering me the last carton of fruit juice.

It's a two-way process, this learning thing, and that's what else we share.

http://www.youthatrisk.org.uk/

Jamie Oliver proved right...

2010-03-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

The proportion of 11-year-olds in Greenwich, south London, who did well in English and science rose after Oliver swept "turkey twizzlers" and chicken dinosaurs off canteen menus in favour of creamy coconut fish and Mexican bean wraps, according to a study of results in the south east London borough.

The number of "authorised absences" — which are generally due to illness – fell by 15% in the wake of his 2004 Feed Me Better campaign, brought into the nation's sitting rooms via the Channel 4 series Jamie's School Dinners.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/mar/29/jamie-oliver-school-dinners-meals

Finding flow...

2010-03-29T14:24:00.001-07:00

We all are capable of reaching that state of effortless concentration and enjoyment called "flow." Here, the man who literally wrote the book on flow presents his most lucid account yet of how to experience this blissful state.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199707/finding-flow

The benefits of water

2010-03-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

By the time you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated – and this can affect your concentration.

Your brain is 80% water, and relies on being well hydrated for its connectivity – it works best when well lubricated! – and dehydration can reduce both concentration and mental performance.

Kids are particularly affected by this. A study carried out by paediatrician Dr Terry Brocklebank at Leeds University in the UK, in 2002, showed that children’s ability to do arithmetic was impaired even if they were only 1-2% dehydrated – which is not even enough to register a feeling of thirst.

Symptoms of poor hydration can include tiredness, headaches, reduced alertness and less ability to concentrate. Mental performance, including memory, attention and concentration, deteriorates progressively as the degree of dehydration increases.

So much so that, in 2008, the UK’s Expert Group on Hydration published their recommendations in a report, Drinking in Schools.

http://www.montgomeryspring.co.uk/pdf-downloads/Drinking-in-Schools.pdf

Recommended fluid intake is 1.5 to 2 litres a day. This doesn’t have to be just water, but bear in mind that some caffeinated fluids – coffee and colas – can have a diuretic effect, actually increasing your output.

So hit that tap, and drink a glass of water.

Can T'ai Chi help you concentrate?

2010-03-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

Not only are external noises a distraction, but the internal “chatter” of our minds may be equally difficult to ignore or switch off.

What can we do to help concentration? How can we manage the internal noise of our thoughts, that may intrude on our ability to focus?

The art of anything takes study, observation and practice, but in the abstract this can be tricky. So it’s useful to consider activities that might help. Activities that utilise the mind/body connection to your advantage.

Focusing on any sort of physical activity – from digging the garden to swimming – forces you to use your brain to use your body, however automatically you think you are doing it. You can take this a step further by deliberately choosing a physical activity that is designed to create a mind/body link and also to extend the challenge.

Like T’ai Chi. Sometimes referred to as a “moving meditation” it takes study, observation and practice. What’s great is that it’s something you can do whatever your age – from three to 90 – there’s nothing to stop you working with a teacher, creating your own practice, and benefiting from the physical and mental rewards.

Physically, T’ai Chi improves muscle tone, co-ordination,flexibility, strength, circulation, blood pressure, and breathing. It is also a martial art, so this physical activity also focuses, sharpens and consequently quiets the mind – poised and ready for whatever it needs to do.

Clearing the slate, as it were, allowing your brain the chance to concentrate more easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa74hPHOHCM

Take a walk

2010-03-19T06:06:00.000-07:00

It seems that the natural environment is good for your attention and memory, according to research published in Psychological Science. Carried out by professor of psychology and neuroscientist John Joindes, and graduate student Marc Berman, at the University of Michigan, they looked at the impact of urban and natural environments on the way our brains work.

A group of volunteers were tested for memory and attention. Then half were sent for a walk around town while the other group were sent for a walk around a nearby arboretum.

Then they tested their memory and attention again, and these tests showed a 20% improvement in those who had gone on the rural, rather than the urban, walk.

Why?

It has something to do with what's called Attention Restoration Theory. We all utilise two kinds of attention: directed attention is when we pay attention to something because we need to - like work, or school, or something else that takes a lot of concentration (we eventually tire, often lose focus, and need to take a break) - and involuntary attention, which captures your attention simply because it interests you.

“The idea behind the theory is that if you’re in an environment that’s rich with inherently interesting stimulation, it’s going to activate the involuntary attention and allow the directed attention to rest,” says Marc Berman.

But why doesn’t an equally interesting urban walk work?

"When you’re walking in an urban environment you need to be careful that you don’t get run over by a car,” says Professor Joindes. “You have to be careful that you don’t bump into somebody walking down the street."

In other words, when you walk through an urban environment, your brain is still in directed attention mode. You need to be vigilant. You can't allow your mind to wander, you need it to ensure your safety.

Freed from this by walking in a natural environment enables involuntary attention to kick in, which allows your mind to rest, says Berman. After this the brain works better because it's refreshed, so we are more able to concentrate, focus and retain information.

But what if you can’t go outside? The researchers did a second experiment where participants quietly looked at pictures - some looked at pictures of the natural environment, some looked at pictures of urban environments. As with the walks, when the pictures were of nature, scores went up, but volunteers who looked at pictures of urban scenes showed no improvement.

What can you do to help yourself?

· Bring nature inside – plants, flowers, pictures of rural scenes – surround yourself with views of nature

· Take a walk in the park – literally. If you live in a city, get off the pavement and walk amongst trees in the park

· In the summer, aim to spend more time outdoors – working, if possible, but socialising, eating and walking

· Outdoor exercise – forget the gym, walk in the outdoors, choosing rural or near-rural areas, take up gardening, or even nature photography

The Life Book... Concentrating on getting more out of life

2010-03-18T02:53:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we make promises to ourselves about how we are going to rebalance and get more out of life...

Sometimes we need a little help.

The Life Book by Nina Grunfeld will help you do just that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf1p-UAnVwU

New technology - a good servant or a bad master?

2010-03-17T09:22:00.001-07:00

In 1969, when the first stirrings of the Internet began, no one could have imagined its impact. The mobile phone started to make its presence felt at the beginning of the 1970s, and so began the creation of a whole lot of new possibilities and a possible marriage between the two.

Now, we have connectivity like never before, from the four corners of the world to our own front room, accessing information and each other in a way that our parents would have once thought impossible.

It’s opened up many great possibilities, from working remotely to allowing small, sustainable business to start up in developing countries. Today, you can be reached any time, virtually anywhere, by just about any and every one. Day or night. Day and night. There is no reason to ever be unavailable, ever again.

Is this a good idea?

It depends. There’s no doubt that the mobile phone, for example, has been of great benefit. The BlackBerry creates opportunities to receive emails remotely, without having to be tied to an office desk. The laptop can be taken anywhere. The 3G iPhone, with all its Apps enables us to tap into a wealth of information from cooking to monitoring the money markets. Information, at the touch of a finger, from a gadget that weighs less than a pack of cards.

And for a wealth of interruptions, distractions and possibilities for procrastination, you need look no further.

So here’s the catch. It may be that getting into the habit of being constantly available, constantly aware, constantly connected, could be getting in the way of concentration. New technology needs no downtime and, by extension, it’s easy to believe that neither do we. That we can multi-task, juggle, and switch back and forth with impunity.

But just because you can, does it mean you should?

The "five more" rule

2010-03-15T03:25:00.000-07:00

The “five more” rule is a very simple, but effective, aid to concentration…

Whenever you feel like quitting – just do five more – five more minutes, five more exercises, five more pages, five more sums, five more verbs – and build on it.

The “five more” rule is effective because it pushes you beyond the point of frustration and helps build mental endurance. It’s also a form of training as well as being a way of getting something accomplished.

The “five more” rule is a manageable amount and can be built on. It creates its own reward so it’s satisfying, and it’s a way of sustaining concentration.

Concentration is an act of endless practice; the occasional effort that becomes a habit.

Give it a go, and see how much more you can achieve.

What is the art of concentration?

2010-03-11T03:05:00.000-08:00

Put simply, art is the product of human creativity. In this context, the art of something – be it medicine, conversation, or concentration – is a skill improved upon by study, observation and practice. It becomes a product of that personal creativity and application.

We may understand how the brain works and what it needs to concentrate. We may also have quite a clear idea of what we habitually do to prevent it from concentrating!

Those are the facts. We can now choose whether to apply this knowledge – and that is when it becomes an art.

The art of concentration is to apply the knowledge we have of ourselves – our abilities, our personality types, what works for us, and what we do to prevent ourselves from concentrating, and what we could do to create a better chance of concentrating – through study, observation and practice. It becomes an active choice, and something we can have control over.

Some people may find that the art of concentration comes more naturally to them than to others, but it’s probably just as much a learnt skill for them as it is for the rest of us. They may just have learnt it more readily, perhaps because of their personality type, their style of learning, or their motivation – whatever it is, they have found it and are benefiting from it and the rest of us can, too.

Teachers often write on school reports – must learn to concentrate better – implying that through study, observation and practice, we can all learn the art of concentration.

And we can.

www.theartofconcentration.co.uk

Are you tired but wired?

2010-03-08T12:58:00.001-08:00

Finding it hard to switch on may be because you are finding it hard to switch off.

Chronic lack of sleep means that all those awake hormones – adrenalin and cortisol – are going into overdrive to compensate for lack of down time. Persistent reliance on your own reserves rather than taking time off to recuperate means that your body gets used to feeling wired. Feeling wired begins to feel normal – except you also begin to feel jangled, irritable, and less able to concentrate.

But it’s a vicious circle because, once you’ve reached this state of hyper alertness, fuelled by an excess of hormones, it’s really hard to switch off.

But it’s important to recognise these early signs of physical adaptation to what is a pattern of chronic stress, because in the end, being constantly on ‘red alert’ begins to affect not only your capacity for concentration, but also your health. Insomnia may be the first obvious sign, which further compounds the problem. The more tired you become, the less able you are to sleep.

In the short term, we cope. In the long term, it is very stressful physically and emotionally and damages our ability to concentrate and function well, and our relationships and health.

Six steps towards alleviating this problem and enhancing your ability to concentrate:

· Reduce distractions – turn off your mobile, iPod, email alert, music. It will feel odd at first, but stay with it – aim to do one thing at a time without background stimulation

· Focus on your breathing. Calm your inner body and you will help calm your mind. This takes practice

· Go for a walk outside, even if it’s for 20 minutes around the block during your lunch break. Some fresh air, natural light, physical exercise – these all help to break stressful patterns

· Factor in some regular, but calming exercise three times a week – no pumping iron at the gym – walking, yoga, t’ai chi, swimming – for a minimum of one hour. No iPod, just focus on what you are doing physically so you can reconnect your mind and body

· Eat nutritiously and regularly and cut out caffeinated drinks altogether for the moment – that’s tea, coffee and colas – and other artificial stimulants

· Clear your bedroom of TV, computers, music systems – it should be your calm refuge, designed for sleep: peaceful and dark. Go to bed and get up at a regular hour to re-set your sleep/wake cycle

The myth of multitasking

2010-03-07T04:46:00.001-08:00

Now let’s be clear here, there’s multitasking and there’s multitasking.

Listening to the radio while washing-up, driving or knitting can be classified as multitasking, as can walking and chewing gum, but it’s the sort of multitasking that constantly interrupts the brain’s ability to process information that’s really at issue here.

The myth is that we can multitask and still be proficient at learning a new skill or new facts. Truth is, while the neuroplasticity of our brains makes it possible to multitask, it comes at a cost.

By constantly switching back and forth between tasks that are concerned with visual processing and physical co-ordination, we distract the brain from its ability to utilise the higher centres of learning and memory.

"Multi-tasking adversely affects how you learn," said Russell Poldrack, UCLA associate professor of psychology and co-author of a study published in 2006. "Even if you learn while multitasking, that learning is less flexible and more specialised, so you cannot retrieve the information as easily.”

"The best thing you can do to improve your memory is to pay attention to the things you want to remember," Poldrack added. "Our data support that. When distractions force you to pay less attention to what you are doing, you don't learn as well as if you had paid full attention."

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/8354

So while it’s perfectly possible to, say, write a report, do your maths homework, or revise for an exam while checking emails, conversing on MSN, or sending and receiving text messages, the constant interruptions mean that although you can probably get the work done, you won’t remember much of what you did 24 hours later.

With constant interruptions, it takes longer and is less effective. Concentrate well, and you probably only need to do it once to remember something. Constant distractions probably mean you will – in the long run – waste time, having to do it over and over before it “sticks”.

Your brain can do what you ask of it perfectly well, as long as you don’t keep on interrupting it while it’s doing it.

Study shows older brains become more vulnerable to distraction

2010-03-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

A series of memory tasks, carried out by three different age groups - 20-30 years, 40-60 years, and 65-87 years - while using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), showed different patterns of brain activity between the age groups, and that we become less efficient at ignoring distractions as we age.

So what can you do? By being aware that we are more easily distractible as we age, we can take steps to ensure that we focus more attentively when we want to concentrate, whether this is to help us learn something new, or to retain information better.

"Older adults should try and reduce distractions in their environment and concentrate on one task at a time. It may be as easy as turning down the radio when reading," says senior Rotman Research Institute scientist and lead study author, Dr Cheryl Grady.

It's also important to remember that what's good for the body, is also good for the brain - regular exercise, nutritious food, enough relaxation and sleep, adequate mental stimulation - all of which will enable the brain to function as well as possible in spite of possible age-related differences.

http://www.baycrest.org/videos/videopages.asp?video=ttux3467h

Does concentration deteriorate as we age?

2010-03-04T13:49:00.000-08:00

One of the things that make it easy to concentrate is novelty. To a baby, his toes are a novelty - what are they? what do they do? why are they there? - and babies can be transfixed for hours, or until the next novelty comes along. Certainly, the novelty of our toes wears off sooner or later.

The older we get, the more used we are to what happens in life, and the less novel it is. The first time you take a bus as a child, it’s an exciting event. The more times you do it, the less interesting it becomes until, over time, it’s just a routine backdrop to your life and you hardly register it.

So, day-to-day events hardly warrant the sort of attention we originally gave them. We can do a whole sequence of things with hardly a thought. Then we leave one room to collect something from another, and realise we’ve forgotten what we came for. Help! Is our memory deteriorating?

Sure, the most notable psychological feature as we age is short-term memory impairment and lengthening of response time, so we take a little longer to retrieve and process information. But remove the differences that these two factors contribute to tests based on vocabulary, general information and well-practised tasks, and results show negligible differences between older and younger adults.

What’s more likely is that you've got out of the habit of concentrating on what you were about to do – because most of the time with routine tasks you don’t have to.

So, time to get back into the habit of concentrating. Time to stop multitasking and asking your brain to juggle six things at once. Time to concentrate.

Does lack of sleep affect concentration?

2010-03-02T03:49:00.000-08:00

In February 2010, BBC's Newsround, a children's TV programme, published the results of its sleep survey. One thousand children, aged nine to 11 years, completed a questionnaire on their sleep habits. Most said they went to bed around 21.30, but up to a quarter said it was 22.00 or later. Half of them said they weren't getting enough sleep.

Scientists and health experts have linked a lack of sleep to problems with concentration.

This is hardly surprising. Lack of sleep is quite physically stressful to the body. To compensate, we produce more stress hormones - adrenalin and cortisol - and these give us a boost over the short term. But persistent levels of these hormones can make you feel a bit jumpy - much like an excess of caffeine - and this reduces the ability to concentrate.

We all need enough deep, slow-wave sleep, so that the brain moves into Delta wave pattern, the sleep that restores us physically as well as mentally. For children, of whom we demand such a lot during the school years, this is especially important.

So much so that Glasgow City Council is asking a sleep counsellor, expert Nikki Cameron who works with Sleep Scotland, to work in four of its secondary schools.

Advice will include winding down schedules before going to bed, relaxation activities, and removing TVs and computers from bedrooms.

"Sleep is important for emotional and physical wellbeing, and for learning, because that is when memories are processed and the brain can store the learning," says Cameron.

They also cite research from the University of Minnesota that found A-grade students had, on average, 15 minutes more sleep a night than those achieving mainly B grades.

The same probably applies to the rest of us. If you want to concentrate better, make sure you're getting enough sleep.

Use less of your brain to concentrate more?

2010-02-28T06:27:00.001-08:00

It may sound counterintuitive, but you use less rather than more of your brain when you are concentrating well. At least that's what a study of golfers, carried out by John Milton and colleagues at the University of Chicago in 2006, showed. The brain activity of expert golfers was compared with that of novices.

As the expert golfers concentrated on their shot, one small area of brain activity showed up. With the novice golfer, activity in the brain showed up in numerous areas. It seems that the expert golfers' ability to filter out extraneous and distracting information gave them the edge when it came to concentrating. For the novice golfers, all sorts of other irrelevant thought processes were distracting them and reducing their focus, reducing their ability to concentrate on the shot.

Further reading on this at:

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/eureka/article7011305.ece

As US golf professional Tom Kite said, "You can always find a distraction if you're looking for one.".

It's not just golfers who benefit from being able to concentrate, we do too.

It makes sense. If you are trying to concentrate on something, and you are constantly allowing yourself to be distracted by your email alert, the phone, other people - either in person or via MSN, your brain is having to accommodate lots of other activity.

So if you want to concentrate better, cut out some of the distractions.

2010-02-27T03:53:00.000-08:00

Concentrate ~ to direct or draw towards a common centre, purpose, or the like; focus, to focus on one's thoughts and attention

Was there ever such a thing as an art of concentration? I used to think you could either concentrate, or you couldn't. Sometimes it happened, sometimes it didn't.

My school reports were full of edicts to 'concentrate!' while my butterfly brain ricocheted onto something more interesting than algorithms - what use were they to me?

An adolescent doodle reminds me of how I felt back then, and brings back memories of how slowly time passed, how the teacher's voice droned, and how exciting the prospect of life outside the four walls of my classroom might be:

Why am I sitting here

When outside the air is clear

And the sun beckons

Caressing my body

The drowsiness I encounter

Enhances my dreams of freedom

I long to escape

So. Some 30 years later I have written a book, the title of which is The Art of Concentration. How did that happen? How, in the intervening period, did I learn to concentrate long enough to write 70,000 words?

Published in paperback by Rodale, priced £9.99

Available from April 2nd 2010

Available from Amazon.co.uk