Ways to improve our concentration

Many of us have read the same paragraph in a news story, book or the Bible more than one time in an effort to grasp just what the meaning is. Sometimes this gets to be frustrating.

Most of us have also experienced another common problem, and that is being introduced to someone only to forget their name before the conversation is over. I don’t know about you, but remembering names has always been a problem for me.

In an article written by Michael Dattolo for an issue of the Philadelphia Trumpet he says that memory is our ability to recall information, remember the name of a person or the answer to a question. But first, it must be stored in our brains.

When we first hear new information, our brain collects all the details and puts them in our working memory. After that, the info travels into our long-term memory.

My trouble appears to be that my working memory seems to be rather small so my brain is constantly bombarded with streams of information that I have a problem remembering. So if we want to remember something, we must concentrate, as that procedure is a real tangible state of mind.

On the other hand, lack of concentration is one reason we forget someone’s name almost as soon as we hear it. Instead of focusing on the name, we are thinking about what we are going to say after the handshake. We cannot recall the name later because it never made it to our brain storage area.

Many of us probably overload our brains almost every day. When playing golf with folks I had never met, their first names were written on my scorecard after we met and shook hands. Most golfers will tell you that playing the game will, itself, overload your brain if you let it.

The internet is not one of my toys because there is no computer on my desk, but Mr. Dattolo says the very design of the internet could lead to an overload of the brain. Using it, forces the person to make constant decisions in areas that cause one to think and store information.

When reading or studying, we should turn off the music or television, silence your cell phone, stop the E-mail and go to a quiet place. Turn off all other things that come to your mind as best you can.

Research tells us that the makeup of our brain changes according to what we do, and we can get better at concentrating. We form new connections as we repeat tasks, and the more connections we have relating to a given activity, the easier the task becomes. Most of the time, we get better at things the more we practice them, except maybe for golf.

Psychologists say that the acts of concentrating and remembering things modify the brain in such a way that it becomes easier to learn in the future. The more we concentrate, the easier it becomes because mental activities are improved by repetition.

In conclusion, those of us who want to improve our concentration in a world of distractions should engage in activities that require concentration. Reading is one of the best ways to accomplish this for those who can focus on what they are reading for a prolonged period of time. Those of you who use computers, stay away from them; turn that cell phone off and they say that your powers of concentration will grow.

HHJ News