Expand your Attention Span

     In our tech savvy world,  there are a variety of subjects to deter our attention twenty four hours a day.

     Has your attention span gotten smaller?

     

     Attention span- 

     is the amount of concentrated time one can spend on a task without becoming distracted. Most educators and psychologists agree that the ability to focus attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of one's goals.

(http://i.word.com/idictionary/attention%20span)
    
     Our attention span is spawned in the central part of the brain, in the thalamus.  The Thalamus controls the attention span.  It also senses pain.  The thalamus monitors input that moves in and out of the brain and keeps track of the sensations that the body is feels.

     The attention span can be hacked into little pieces.  There is a such thing as too much multitasking.

     Multitasking is also called simultaneous processing.  This requires a lot of the brain when we multitask, switching attention back and forth between activities.

     "Such task-switching “comes at a cost in performance,” explains University of California, San Francisco neurologist Adam Gazzaley, who studies how attention and memory change as people age. While studies show multitasking compromises working memory (the ability to store information over short periods of time) in people of all ages (www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/awareness-and-attention/articles/2013/the-multitasking-mind/)."

     Our attention span relies on directed attention.  Voluntary attention, requires a great deal of concentration and focus.  Problem solving is a great example. It uses inhibitory mechanisms of the brain, which help block incoming stimuli that are unrelated to the task at hand. 

     "Several parts of the brain are involved in maintaining directed attention, primarily those located in the frontal lobe and the parietal lobe of the brain. Specifically, the mechanism of directed attention employs the prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex and the brain stem’s basal ganglia. Some fMRI studies have shown that directed attention involves changes in the anterior cingulate cortex and the lateral prefrontal cortex, perhaps as a consequence of increased connectivity between these two areas.  Evidence also suggests that the right inferior frontal cortex plays a specialized role in response inhibition. It seems that this region plays a key role in the integration of bottom-up response-related information and facilitates goal-directed behavior.While these areas of the brain are known to be involved in DAF, their specific molecular mechanisms in the perpetuation of DAF symptoms are not yet known."

     A strong mind can overcome anything.

     You really can boost your ability to stay focused.  Yes,  your attention is valuable.  Almost every useful feature of your brain begins with attention. Attention determines what you are conscious of at any given moment, and so controlling it is the most important thing that the brain can do.

     To make any sense of the world around us we need to filter unwanted things, and focus on the relevant things. Attention is essential for learning.

     The brain focuses with two attention systems, the bottom up, and top down systems.

     Stimulus-driven attention has been described as the dorsal attention network centered in the frontal eye fields/ intraparietal sulcus, and the ventral attention network anchored in the temporoparietal junction/ ventral frontal cortex.

     Now,  that we understand our attention span,  we can expand it. Here are some tips:

-Stay on your exercise schedule.

-Drink plent of fluids.

-Keep your goals on inventory, write them down on check lists.   Stress is cut down as a result.

-Get rid of obvious distractions.

-Minimize your multitasking.  Concentrate on one main objective at a time.

-Take numerous small steps toward achieving big goals.

-Renew your attention when it fades.

-Get away from stress.

-Work at your best hours; early bird,  or late riser.

-Schedule blocks of time for specific tasks.

-Close your eyes and count to ten,  breaks are important, too.

     It is easy to expand your attention span.  Obviously,  not all distractions are bad.   Use them to your advantage.  Eventually,  you can measure how much your attention span has grown.