9 Tips for More Concentration in Everyday Life

You can increase concentration with a few simple tricks! We reveal which tips and exercises will improve your ability to concentrate.

How can Concentration be Increased?

Whether at school or at work, a lack of concentration can make our everyday life unnecessarily difficult and ensure that we need a lot of time even for simple tasks. But there are some factors that can be influenced that can increase our concentration: With the help of various exercises, nutritional tips and small adjustments at work, concentration problems will soon be a thing of the past!

Learn and Work Better – Thanks to These Tips

If our brain works better, this also increases our concentration, which in turn allows us to complete our tasks in less time and without distractions. In order to achieve this, the brain not only needs a lot of energy, but this energy must also be optimally distributed. The following general tips will help:

1. Nutrition is The Most Important Factor

Our brain works much better with the right food and thus ensures that our concentration does not let us down. A piece of dextrose or a chocolate bar may provide us with short-term energy and make us feel better, because they raise the blood sugar level. But it falls just as quickly, causing tiredness and concentration problems.

It is true that the brain generally needs sugar, but it makes much more sense if the body can extract it from the so-called long-chain carbohydrates (e.g. in wholemeal products). The energy from this sugar is much more sustainable and can permanently increase our concentration. The following foods are suitable for good concentration:

• Water: Only those who drink enough can ensure good oxygen transport through the body. Two to three litres per person should be consumed daily.
• Nuts, sea fish, linseed oil: They contain valuable unsaturated fatty acids such as omgea-3 fatty acid, which improves the exchange between nerves and is therefore indispensable for learning and working. Since our body cannot produce these fatty acids itself, they must be taken in with food.
• You don’t have to do without them completely, but these foods should only be on the menu in moderation if you want to increase your concentration:Vitamins: Vitamin C, A and beta-carotene protect the brain from dangerous free radicals that can damage cells. Vitamins are mainly found in fruit and vegetables. However, the focus of our diet should be on vegetables, because fruit should be considered to contain a lot of fructose. Vegetable sticks, e.g. from carrots, peppers and cucumbers, on the other hand, are optimal energy suppliers for the brain and ensure the right concentration.

You don’t have to do without them completely, but these foods should only be on the menu in moderation if you want to increase your concentration:

• Fast food/prepared dishes
• Beverages containing sugar
• Sweets
• Alcohol

Further Tips on Nutrition

Just as important for good concentration is to cook as fresh and regional food as possible – this is also how to avoid resorting too often to fast food and the like. In addition, negative additives such as colorants and artificial flavors can also be avoided if you cook yourself. And: Five smaller meals spread over the day are more likely to provide a good energy supply to the brain than three large ones.

2. Movement

Anyone who moves increases the blood circulation – including that of the brain. This supplies it with oxygen, which helps us stay focused. There should be at least one long walk every day, plus at best three times a week a sports session of at least 30 minutes.

3. Sleep

During sleep our brain processes all the information of the day and regenerates itself. Newly learned information can only be anchored in the long-term memory with sufficient sleep. Most people need at least seven to eight hours of sleep a night to do this. Only those who sleep enough can do something for their concentration in the long term.

4. Stress

Stress is not only a motivation killer, all the worries and hardships of everyday life that burden us also cause distractions that make it almost impossible for us to concentrate. To reduce stress, there are different possibilities like autogenic training or progressive muscle relaxation. The right stress management can also create better concentration.

5. Breathing Exercises

Letting the breath flow consciously keeps the brain in order and supplies it with more oxygen, which improves concentration and reduces stress. The best way to do this is to set yourself a daily time window of about ten minutes, during which you breathe deeply through your nose into your stomach and out through your mouth. It is best to sit in a quiet environment to avoid distractions.

6. Meditation

Meditation is the ideal pause that helps us to calm our thoughts and get away from all distractions. Studies also show that the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory and learning processes in the brain, grows through regular meditation. How to learn meditation is explained here – it is worthwhile to take a look to increase concentration!

7. Multitasking

Even if many people like to brag about mastering multitasking – it is rather unsuitable for concentrated and, above all, error-free work because one has to distribute one’s attention to several tasks at the same time. Better: Concentrate on one task and, for example, check e-mails only once an hour.

8. Motor Skills

Anyone who sits slumped together for hours on his desk chair not only damages his muscles and risks neck and back pain, but also the mental focus on the current task quickly fades. Slight movements cushion the effect of the decreasing concentration – often it is enough to get up for a few minutes for short breaks and walk around or change the sitting position. Also effective: Extensive stretching. This involves stretching your arms and legs straight out and thereby pulling yourself as far apart as possible.

9. Smartphone

Looking at the smartphone from time to time while working is now part of the daily routine for most people. The permanent availability puts us under pressure and stress. In order to be able to really work with concentration, mobile phone breaks are indispensable. The best thing to do is to place your smartphone in the drawer in silent mode and allow yourself to check it once an hour at most. This will immediately improve your concentration.