Study shows older brains become more vulnerable to distraction

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

Use less of your brain to concentrate more?

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.