Beat brain fog: 8 ways to increase concentration and focus at work
Paying attention? Probably not. Here’s how to avoid distractions and stay sharp while working from home or the office for your mental wellbeing
Text: Jo
When it comes to concentration and focus at work, I’m pretty switched on despite working from home. I’m generally not easily distracted, and brain fog isn’t an issue (even when the TV is within touching distance). But lately, I find myself pausing mid-sentence having forgot what I’m writing; discovering emails I’ve failed to finish; and coming up with great ideas for …wait …what was it again?
We all have days when we feel a bit blur, and as the pandemic continues growing numbers of us are and suffering from an attention span not dissimilar to the goldfish (three seconds). Whether working from home or at the office, we’re all putting in long hours with few breaks, and living with fears about the future and whether we’ll run out of toilet paper again looming at the back of our minds.
“I’m definitely seeing more clients suffering with anxiety and depression, and as part of that they have overwhelm, an inability to concentrate, and brain fog — all of which come with symptoms that affect your thinking processes, understanding, judgment, and memory,” says certified coach and rapid transformational therapist, Helena Day.
Cognitive dysfunction
Brain fog isn’t a medical condition itself, but rather a type of cognitive dysfunction and symptom of other medical ailments. While anxiety, depression and stress are well-known concentration-suckers, fuzzy thinking can also be a side effect of a thyroid disorder, anemia, certain medication, your diet and lifestyle, pregnancy (hence the moniker “baby brain”), menopause and perimenopause.
“Brain fog is classed as a lack of mental clarity, memory problems, poor concentration and an inability to focus, and it’s directly connected to our body’s stress response,” says Helena. “When we’re stressed, our amygdala (our body’s alarm system) activates our fight or flight response and shuts down access to our pre-frontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for complex decision making, problem solving, strategic thinking and reasoning.”
No access to our pre-frontal cortex means that we start operating from our reptilian brain (at the back of our skull) which means we’re not operating from our full brain and intelligence. Continues Helena, “This can have side effects such as not being able to string a sentence together, or the inability to find the right word for something.”
Not wanting to mess up at my job (or be mistaken for a bumbling old auntie), I need to know how to increase concentration and focus at work. Thankfully, while brain fog can be frustrating, there are things you can do. According to Jeremy Dean, a psychologist and the author of Making Habits, Breaking Habits it takes about three weeks for a repeating behaviour to become a routine. Will this in mind, read on for tips:
8 tips for better focus and mental wellbeing
1. Conduct a temptation purge
How many tabs do you have open on your screen? Is your smartphone within hands’ reach? “We have to exert a big amount of energy to resist things constantly,” says Helena. “In order to increase concentration and focus at work, and to direct the maximum energy possible on tasks at hand, remove things from your immediate space that will divert your attention. Close down tabs you’re not using. Turn off all phone notifications, or even better, keep it out of sight.”
2. Be clear about your goals
In order to beat brain fog, it can help to focus on outcomes. “At the end of every working day, note down three things you want to achieve the following day. When you wake in the morning you won’t waste energy considering the tasks at hand — you can jump straight in,” says Helena. Also, try to complete the most focus-stretching tasks at the beginning of your day — the first hour at work is where most people are productive because all energies are yet to be spent.
3. Stay single-minded
A New York Times study found that when you multitask you tend to make more mistakes. This is because going back and forth between responsibilities means the neural networks of your brain have to backtrack, then reconfigure. “To stay focused at work concentrate on one task at once,” recommends Helena.
4. Sleep smarter
Erratic sleeping patterns can chronically affect concentration, while also raising stress hormones. Try to get into a regular sleep cycle and include more sleep-inducing foods in your diet. Create a welcoming sleeping environment by keeping TVs, phones, and other technology out of your bedroom.
5. Watch your breath
According to a study published in the Journal of Neurophysiology, slowing down our breathing and paying attention to the rhythm of our breath creates focus in our minds. This is because our parasympathetic nervous system kicks in and our emotions are soothed, making it easier for us to concentrate.
6. Give your brain a break
Most of us have been programmed to believe that taking time out from work is lazy or unproductive, but research shows that giving you mind a regular break boosts productivity. “Your body was not designed to sit for eight hours a day at a screen,” says Helena. “Give yourself regular 5-10 min breaks away from your devices to have some non-work-related time, or simply allow your mind to wander.” Indeed, daydreaming can have similar benefits to mindfulness meditation.
7. Check your diet
Diet can play a big role in brain fog. Inflammatory foods can increase pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood and brain, leaving you with low-grade inflammation that can manifest as a foggy outlook. Remove trigger foods (common ones are MSG, aspartame, peanuts and dairy) from your diet and take a Vitamin B-12 supplement to support healthy brain function. Also, don’t forget to rehydrate!
8. Relax your eyes
“When we’re concentrating on our devices, our eyes take the burden of that constant focus,” says Helena. “As our eyes are part of our nervous system, when they relax, you down regulate your stress responser. Remember to look away from your computer screen and focus on an item at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.” Choose something soothing – a plant, a candle, a picture of the Duke of Bridgerton – we won’t judge.
According to reports, 80% of Singapore employees want to continue working from home after the Covid-19 restrictions end. This will require employers to collaborate continuously with staff to help them maintain concentration and focus at work. Until then, it’s a clear desk, a healthy diet, plenty of sleep, and remembering to take breaks that will see us through.
If you have a persistent lack of clarity that worsens or doesn’t improve, and brain fog is seriously impacting your mental wellbeing and your life, see your doctor. A single blood test can’t diagnose brain fog, but it may signal an underlying issue. Find out more about Helena’s work here.
