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How can I concentrate on my studies? |
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Dear Jane,
I am from India. I am doing my Bachelor of Engineering in mechanical engineering. I want to concentrate on my studies. I am a slow learner but my academic record is good. But it is not satisfying me so please help me.
Gokul
Dear Gokul,
Concentration depends so much on motivation. When you really, really want something, it comes naturally. The key is to take your mind away from the difficulties you’re feeling and focus instead on what you expect to gain from your studies. Visualise the job and lifestyle you aim for when you get your degree. Make that as real as you can in your mind. See your studies as the vital stepping stones to that exciting future. Whenever you feel bored or discouraged, revive yourself with a picture of that future.
It also helps to focus on the work immediately in front of you. When you let yourself dwell on everything you still have to do, it’s overwhelming and stressful. Stick to what you have to do this day or this week.
Part of the ability to concentrate lies in understanding how your mind works. There’s a natural daily rhythm. About every hour and a half, we naturally turn off for around 20 minutes to half an hour. If you’re working, this is the time when you find you want to have a chat, check your e-mails, stare out of the window … if you were asleep, you’d be dreaming.
Don’t force yourself to work during this time. Research shows that the part of the brain most active in this period, the right hemisphere, needs this ‘off-line’ period to consolidate memory for what you were working on before. Whatever you were concentrating on earlier gets worked on further at a deep level during this half hour, so that when you go back to work afterwards you may find that problems are now solved and your memory has improved. Forcing yourself to work in this time is a stress.
Sometimes you can tell when you’re in this state by pressing each nostril shut, in turn, with a finger, and seeing which side of your nose you breathe most easily through. When the left nostril is clearer, that can be a sign you are using the right side of your brain … you need to let yourself go ‘off-line’ for a while. When breathing through the right nostril is easier, you’re probably in focused, ordinary left-brain mode. Time to work. (Each half of the brain controls the opposite side of the body.)
 Concentration depends also on energy, which needs enough sleep, some exercise, and a good diet. Try to reduce sugar and refined carbohydrates and eat lots of meat or complex carbohydrates like lentils and pulses. I suggest you consult an ayurvedic physician for an energy-booster. Omega 3 or oily fish helps everything in the brain flow more smoothly, and B vitamins and a multimineral will also help your brain work.
Good luck with your degree exams!!
Jane
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