Tips for combating poor concentration - This will revive a tired head

Everyone knows it from work or school: you have to really concentrate right now because there is an important deadline today or an important exam has just started. But your concentration suddenly drops - and stays there. No matter how hard you try to concentrate on your task.

What can you spontaneously do now to overcome your lack of concentration? And how can you prepare better in the future so that concentration problems don't slow you down in crucial situations? How can you increase your ability to concentrate: We have put together a few tips and advice for you.

You are what you eat: Increase concentration with nutrition

 

Very often, poor concentration is related to your diet. Everything you eat has an impact on your performance. As a rule of thumb: If you want to concentrate on studying or working, you should avoid salty and fatty foods and instead focus on consuming carbohydrates and proteins. They are the most important nutrient suppliers for concentration disorders. However, there are different types of carbohydrates, all of which work differently. You should know that:

The emergency helper: glucose provides quick carbohydrates for the brain.

Simple sugars are carbohydrates that can quickly supply your muscles and brain with energy. The best-known simple sugar is glucose - also called dextrose or glucose. Glucose is quickly transferred from the body into the blood and can supply the brain, for example, in just a few minutes. Dextrose is found in high concentrations in almost all foods: for example in fruit, vegetables, honey or lemonade. And it is also available in concentrated form. Where? Of course in our online shop. Whether our famous With us you get everything you need to provide you with quickly available carbohydrates.

The effect of glucose is particularly ideal if you want to quickly supply your brain with carbohydrates. If your load peaks for more than an hour, you can take glucose every 15 to 30 minutes (that's roughly the supply time) to ensure a consistent supply.

Multiple sugars: basis for a long-term supply

Simple sugars form the basic building blocks for all other carbohydrates: disaccharides, polysaccharides and polysaccharides . These are nothing more than glucose chains that your body first has to break down into glucose before it can absorb them. The following applies: the longer the glucose chain, the longer this process takes. The result: You stay full for a long time, your blood sugar level only rises slowly and you are supplied with new glucose over many hours due to the even breakdown of carbohydrates.

Even with disaccharides, this degradation takes significantly longer. This carbohydrate occurs, for example, in the form of milk sugar, beet sugar or malt sugar. Due to its properties, disaccharide is often consumed by endurance athletes. By the way, you can get disaccharide in the most delicious form in our Energy*Bars with isomaltulose.

Polysaccharides are contained, for example, in whole grain bread, pastries, pasta, oat flakes, muesli mixes, rice, potatoes or legumes. Foods that are rich in polysaccharides often contain many vitamins, minerals or fiber and at the same time are low in fat. With these foods you can supply your body with carbohydrates for the longest time: Long-chain sugars last the longest.

As you can see, when it comes to carbohydrates, you simply need the right mix in order to avoid deficits in advance or, if necessary, to compensate for them in the short term. Just try to find the right combination of short and long chain carbohydrates for you. Then you will be well equipped when it matters most.

Learning and working become easier with full concentration.

@iStock.com/Amorn Suriyan

Sleeping properly can prevent concentration problems

Poor concentration is often the result of poor sleep . Various studies show that many people in Germany have problems falling asleep or staying asleep and that they sleep too little or at the wrong time. This also leads to difficulty concentrating the next day. But how can you increase your concentration while sleeping?

To improve your sleep so that you can concentrate better the next day, simple things are often enough:

• Avoid stressful input such as loud music or exciting films before bed.
• Ventilate your bedroom well so that you have enough oxygen and ensure a lower room temperature (approx. 18 degrees Celsius).
• Do not consume heavy food or alcohol before bed.
• Make sure you have had enough exercise during the day (a pedometer or fitness app can help here).
• A bedside lamp that simulates a sunset using a special dimming function will help you.

If these tips don't help you, you can look at the basics of sleep. Leading German sleep researcher Till Roenneberg divides people into two chronotypes: the larks and the night owls . Larks can get up early without any problems and have a high level of concentration during the day. Night owls sleep longer in the morning and need more time to "start up" after waking up, but they get fitter in the evening and can concentrate best at times when the larks' concentration is already low.

Depending on what chronotype you are, you will simply be able to think faster and concentrate better at certain times of the day. Find out which chronotype you belong to and assign important tasks to the phases of the day in which you have the highest ability to concentrate. This will definitely not always work in the jungle of many appointments. But there are still ways to increase your concentration through mindfulness:

• If you're studying for an important exam at school, just try different times . Maybe you can concentrate better in the evening than at lunch?
• Even at work, concentration problems can simply be related to the wrong time of day. Therefore, complete important tasks at the times when experience shows that you are most productive.
• If you have the opportunity, simply start your working day an hour earlier or later. This could make for a surprising concentration booster

Systematically combating poor concentration: The Pomodoro Technique

Maybe you've heard of the Pomodoro Technique ? You work in a very structured manner in small time intervals. Many people with concentration problems have already had good experiences with it and report that after a while there is a significant increase in concentration. By the way, “Pomodoro” translates from Italian as “tomato”. The Italian Francesco Cirillo, the inventor of this technology, once used a tomato-shaped kitchen clock to measure time intervals! And this is how you can increase your concentration:

1. Choose a specific task to focus on.
2. Write down in short individual steps what exactly you have to do.
3. Set an alarm for exactly 25 minutes and start working. Stay focused and don't let anything distract you.
4. When the alarm goes off, check off the steps you've already completed.
5. Then take a break for 5 minutes. Now you have a “Pomodoro” with a total of 30 minutes behind you.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 three more times.
7. After a total of 4 pomodori, take a break of 30 minutes.

In order for this technique to really improve your concentration, you need to practice it for some time. So stick with it, even if it doesn't work right away. And difficulty concentrating may soon be a thing of the past.

More tips to increase your concentration

Sometimes the solution is often very close. Maybe you can also overcome a spontaneous lack of concentration with these tips:

• Avoid multi-tasking. Focus all of your concentration on one task at a time.
• Check whether you have consumed enough fluids . Even if there is a lack of water, your brain cannot be supplied with enough energy, which leads to concentration problems. Drink more, think faster!
• Move whenever you can. Exercise stimulates circulation, promotes blood flow to the brain and provides new energy - and better concentration. So get up from your desk if you can.
• Maybe you're having trouble concentrating because you're having other tasks that should have been completed long ago. Tackle these unloved tasks first — for example, using the Pomodoro Technique . Then you'll have your head free and can concentrate better on new things again.

* contains carbohydrates

A varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are important.

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Header image: @iStock.com/AndreyPopov