20 signs of a lack of concentration

Do you have a lack of focus?

How often do you find yourself saying to someone, “Sorry, where was I?” A lack of concentration is a problem that many of us experience from time to time. We only really need to worry about it when it starts recurring too often and impacts on our daily lives, but of course these sudden moments of forgetfulness or lack of focus can be scary and unsettling.
Usually they are just a sign of stress and are hints that we should slow down and take our foot off the gas for a while.

20 signs of a lack of concentration

1. You struggle to stay focused on the job or task in hand
2. You can’t remember where you left something (car keys, wallet, purse, driving license etc.)
3. You feel disorientated and don’t know where you are
4. You lose your train of thought
5. You’re unable to articulate a thought you have had
6. General forgetfulness
7. You forget someone’s name
8. You have to keep re-reading something
9. Your mind wanders while you’re at work
10. You struggle to finish anything
11. You procrastinate a great deal
12. You struggle to get motivated
13. You can’t wake up without a cup of coffee
14. You can’t remember things that occurred a short time ago
15. You have difficulty sitting still
16. You have difficulty thinking clearly
17. You struggle to make decisions
18. You are unable to perform complicated tasks
19. You lack the physical or mental energy to concentrate
20. You keep making careless mistakes

Physical reasons for a lack of concentration

The physical reasons for a lack of concentration include:

• Hormonal changes – especially during pregnancy and the menopause
• Stroke – caused by a lack of blood flow to the brain can result in memory loss or failure to concentrate.
• Thyroid problems can change brain cell activity
• Anaemia
• Head injuries
• Dementia

What you can do about your lack of concentration

Use relaxation techniques to slow yourself down. You can try out Pilates, yoga, swimming, or you can access some meditation techniques, either online or at a class.

Consider whether you are suffering with depression or anxiety. Unfortunately, depression can lead to a lack of focus and loss of concentration. You may require medical treatment in severe cases.

Get plenty of sleep, because sleep deprivation can lead to a lack of focus. Again, you may need to consider any underlying causes of insomnia and treat those.

Ease off any stimulants or addictive substances you use. This can include alcohol or recreational drugs of course, but may also include caffeine, nicotine, sugar etc. These can mean your brain functions less than optimally. Some prescribed medication will also have this effect, so check with your doctor if this may be the cause of your concentration problems.

If most of your problems concentrating happen at work, it may be time to consider whether you need a new job. If you were interested and stimulated in the workplace, would your mind be wandering at all?

Improve your concentration

You can improve your concentration levels by trying to remain mentally sharp. Challenge yourself by doing puzzles, crosswords, learning to play an instrument or learning a new language, take part in quizzes, or even play computer games.

Try and memorise things. We used to have to do this a lot before the dawning of the computer age. You can still try and memorise phone numbers etc., but why not try poetry or short pieces of prose, or your bank account or national insurance numbers too?

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