How To Increase Focus
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Do you get distracted easily? Let’s talk about how meditation can help you focus. Whether your busy mind is a constant or occasional problem, it is an uncomfortable reality that a focused form of meditation can help alleviate. All meditation is not equal. While some styles of meditation improve mood, minimize self-talk, and promote inner exploration, focus meditation specifically helps reduce distractibility, promote mental stability, improve self-regulation, and enhance cognitive control.
During meditation, the mind tends to wander. How is it, then, that meditation can improve focus? A focus meditation involves directing your attention to something specific, such as an image or your breath, becoming aware of when the mind wanders, and then bringing your attention back to the object of your focus. Focusing during meditation can deactivate the posterior cingulate cortex. The posterior cingulate cortex is a key region in the default mode network that engages when the mind is “lost in thought,” self-referencing, or retrieving a memory (Garrison, K. A., et al., 2013).
With practice, the meditator can significantly enhance voluntary control of attention, particularly when meditation is combined with neurofeedback (Brandmeyer & Delorme, 2020). The default mode network is a series of interconnected regions in the brain that engage when the mind is occupied with internal dialogues and tasks. Meditation turns attention inward, so it is natural and normal for the undisciplined mind of the inexperienced meditator to drift. For some meditators, the drift is a welcome effect. However, focus meditation is an activity that asks the mind to notice when it is drifting and refocus on an object of attention. Neurofeedback-assisted meditation signals the meditator with sound or visual cues, helping them quickly refocus their attention, which can shorten the pathway to mastering focus.
What can focus meditation do for you? Focus meditation can help with attention deficits, cognitive decline, and even some mental health issues like depression and PTSD. Although it is not a remedy for depression and PTSD, it can be a complementary discipline that quiets the mind, giving respite from ruminating and disruptive thoughts. In the case of cognitive decline, it can sharpen the mind and slow the loss of gray matter in aging adults (Kurth, F., et al., 2021). Finally, focus meditation trains the brain to forgo distraction and stay on task.
References
Brandmeyer, T. and Delorme, A. (2020). Closed-loop frontal midlineθ neurofeedback: A novel approach for training focused-attention meditation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14, 246-246. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00246
Garrison, K. A., et al., (2013). Real-time fMRI links subjective experience with brain activity during focused attention. NeuroImage, 81, 110–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.05.030
Kurth, F., Zsadanyi, S. E., & Luders, E. (2021). Reduced age-related gray matter loss in the subgenual cingulate cortex in long-term meditators. Brain imaging and behavior, 15(6), 2824–2832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-021-00578-6
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