The art of focus in an age of distraction

Is your mind wandering like never before? Clementine Prendergast reports on the new meditation movements that will help get us back on track

since february 2020, Google has seen a 300% increase in searches for ‘How to get your brain to focus’. Needless to say, with global anxiety rates skyrocketing and many of us still adjusting to the boundary-blurring experience of working from home, our ability to resist distractions and concentrate on, well, anything is proving difficult.

‘We may find ourselves experiencing a host of new emotions or thoughts that can feel totally overwhelming,’ explains Andy Puddicombe, co-founder of healthcare app Headspace, which just launched The Headspace Guide To Meditation on Netflix – a new eight-part series that aims to bring meditation techniques to the masses. Andy explains that when challenging feelings become overwhelming, we often seek out distraction to avoid confronting these feelings. The emotions can act as a barrier to concentration. ‘Someone may be suffering from racing thoughts, a type of anxiety symptom caused by your body becoming overly activated to the point where it starts processing all thoughts as rapidly as possible, only to end up focusing on nothing at all,’ Andy tells Grazia.

These enduring pressures take a toll on our brain function. When we’re anxious or stressed our ability to concentrate becomes strained. That reality has become even more exaggerated over the past 12 months, a time in which we’ve collectively experienced chronic low-grade stress. Put simply, chronic low-grade stress forces our brain into survival mode by diverting the blood supply to areas it deems essential, ‘rather than to its higher functions, such as focus, memory, concentration and the ability to switch between tasks’, explains neuroscientist and author of best-seller The Source, Dr Tara Swart. The stress hormone cortisol also impacts our sleep, which makes it even harder to focus and concentrate.

While few of us can change our environment at the moment, there are some things we can do to improve our concentration. In particular, taking time to turn inwards and become more aware of our thoughts and feelings can help us to take control of our minds when distraction hits. ‘By becoming more aware of how we are feeling, even if it’s just noticing that we are becoming distracted or losing focus, we are once again in the present moment,’ Andy adds. Indeed, while meditation can feel arduous, taking a few moments to come back to the breath and centre oneself can be an antidote to distraction.

Andy also recommends a meditation technique called Noting, which involves pausing and identifying the nature of distraction – becoming aware of an unhelpful thought or a negative feeling, and noting it. By noticing patterns in how and when the mind wanders, we better understand the cause, making it easier to get to the root of the problem. Andy says we only need to note the distraction at hand to allow us to return to focus.

That said, focus requires a huge amount of mental energy, even on a good day. So if all this feels a little much for you right now, take a step back and try thinking about your wellbeing more holistically. Tara points out that the entry-level basics of general wellbeing – sound sleep, healthy eating and plenty of water – are more important than ever right now, as well as maintaining positive, meaningful and social relationships. Ultimately, though, the art of focus begins with awareness, so taking the time to notice thoughts and feelings as distraction hits can help us gain control – and bringing our minds back to the present moment is a great place to start.