“The major culprit: their smartphone and their laptop were providing constant interruptions,” Rosen said. And even more concerning, the team found that these distractions actually affect academic performance. “We also looked at whether these distractors might predict who was a better student,” Rosen adds. “Not surprisingly those who stayed on task longer and had study strategies were better students. The worst students were those who consumed more media each day and had a preference for working on several tasks at the same time and switching back and forth between them,”
So limit both personal and family technology use. No more texting while multitasking, and pencil in time for basic things like Internet browsing. Not only will you be more focused, but kids also will learn healthy habits when it comes to technology use in general.
2. Stress
Stress is a definite deterrent when it comes to concentration. This particularly applies to acute stress. That’s because acute stress actually affects the brain’s ability to function. According to the University of Maryland, “Stress affects the brain, particularly memory, but the effects vary widely depending on whether the stress is acute or chronic.”
Acute stress affects short-term memory, especially verbal memory. And at times, this just might be dangerous.
Chronic stress can cause sufferers to lose concentration, becoming inefficient and even accident-prone.
Studies have connected long-term exposure to excess amounts of the stress hormone cortisol to a shrinking of the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center. It is not yet known whether this shrinking is reversible.
So limit stress. Set designated worry times and then make a vow to turn off the worry when the time is up. (Yes, we know this is easier said than done.) And dump the unnecessary little things that add stress to your life. This will help your concentration in the long run.