How to Improve Concentration with Easy Exercises

How To Improve Concentration with some easy exercise

It’s hardly surprising that given our 24 seven, always on, non-stop, go-go world, that our attention spans and ability to focus for long periods of time has been shot to pieces. Research now shows that our overreliance on screens and the way we access media, download music and access information on the internet has meant that our ability to concentrate has deteriorated accordingly.

Having said this there are a number of proven techniques approaches and tools that will allow you to improve focus  and your ability to concentrate her long periods of time these exercises are deceptively simple but when deployed regularly, as part of the daily routine, can be extremely effective in sharpening attention span for the long-term.

Below I am listening for deceptively simple but effective methods that can be employed to improve your concentration. Remember, as in life, repetition is the mother of all skill and practice the mother of all invention. The key to success in improving your concentration is to engage completely with each exercise and not to give up.

Imprvoe Concentration with Mindfulness Meditation Exercises

Mindfulness can be seen as simply the increased awareness that comes when an individual systematically pays attention on purpose to the present moment and does so from a position of your clarity without judgement or criticism.

In a nutshell, mindfulness can be summed up by being more aware of how you feel in a particular situation regardless of whether these feelings are pleasant, unpleasant or neutral and then accepting that you are where you are, you feel what you feel and that this in its present moment is your experience. Good, bad or indifferent.

The key with being successful using mindfulnessto improve focus and as a mind tool is to remember that, strange as it may seem, you are actually not trying to fix anything at all. By being aware of your feelings at any particular moment without judging them can lead to enormous personal insights into how your mind and your body of working together at any given time.

These insights, when used properly, can be an invaluable aid in helping you deal with unpleasant feelings or thoughts.

Developing a regular mindfulness meditation practice need not be a daunting process; just 10 min every day consistently, overtime can deliver powerful results. Regular users report better sleep, improved moods, calmer minds, creative thinking and improved concentration.

There are a number of very good guided mindfulness meditation CDs and iPhone apps that can help you develop a regular practice easily and enjoyably

Improve Your Concentration with Visual Task Exercises

There is a now a significant body of research that demonstrates how using visual task exercises to stimulate the brain’s visual cortex area can significantly improve concentration, focus and attention span. Visual task exercises are so effective that they are often prescribed as part of therapy to ease symptoms of mild to moderate attention deficit disorder in patients.

Visual task exercises work by increasing neurotransmitter activity in the brain; this in turn heightens our ability to be able to turn off external distractions and ultimately improves concentration and focus at a particular point in time.

Visual task exercises are deceptively simple but highly effective. A common exercise may, for example, involved using two pencils or different colours. An alarm is set to go off a number of indeterminate and random intervals for a period of 5 min. Each pencil is held in each hand, approximately 12 to 16 inches from your eyes and shoulder width apart. By focusing your concentration on one pencil at a time, switching from pencil to pencil when the alarm sounds, you will find your concentration and ability to focus improves dramatically.

As with mindful the key to success with visual task exercises is consistency and practice. In fact visual task exercises when combined with a simple short mindfulness meditation practice has proven to be a very powerful combination for improving focus concentration and attention span

As in life, the effectiveness of these two powerful focus improving exercises depends entirely on your willingness and ability to practice with them regularly.

Good luck and if you decide to explore mindfulness and visual task exercises further, I hope they continue to grow and nourish your mind as they have done countless others before.

Sam Jansen is a leading brain scientist, lawyer and author, studying neuroscience, social behaviors and the science of happiness.You can find him at Google+