How to Boost Your Focus

The following page explains how to use simple, all-natural, proven techniques to improve your mental focus.

Lists below are abbreviated for reading ease. All info is scientifically supported. Sources and more details are in the References section.

CATEGORIES: Intro . Food . Liquid . Supplements . Miscellaneous . Recommended . References

KEY: Grds:goodreads . Ama:amazon . You:youtube

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Intro

Before exploring focus enhancing strategies, here’s a brief review of facts about focus.

Facts

. Focus is defined as an ability to give your full attention to something.[1]

. It is a verb, an action - so it can be practiced and everyone can get better at it.[2]

. Learning how to focus better can lead to great improvements in cognitive function, learning and memory, productivity, and emotional balance.[3]

Little details can make a big difference.

Let’s look at those now…

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Food

Good

. Beets — up brain blood flow executive functioning.[4]

. Saffron — boost attention help sleep & depression.[5]

. Lithium — essential mineral key for memory mood.[6]

. Broccoli — superb; protects brain eye vision health.[7]

. Almonds — one of best brain foods, brilliant snack.[8]

. Rosemary — awakens sharpens mind relaxes body.[9]

. Blueberries — marvelous for memory, eyes vision.[10]

. Mushrooms — promote mental clarity and focus.[11]

. Dark chocolate — awesome for brain and body.[12]

Bad

. Dyes — cause attention & behavior problems.[13]

. Sugar — man-made awful, from nature good.[14]

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Liquid

Good

. Teas — incredibly powerful for brain, a must.[15]

. Water — crucial for focus attention memory.[16]

. Coffee — boosts mood alertness concentr..[17]

Bad

. Soda — impairs cognitive ability & memory.[18]

. Energy drinks — very bad avoid completely.[19]

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Supplements

Good

. DHA — omega-3; say no to fish and yes to..[20]

. Ginkgo — may help concentration, memory.[21]

. Ginseng — helpful, stimulates brain activity.[22]

. Creatine — ups focus & brain performance.[23]

. Rhodiola — raises energy learning memory.[24]

. Vitamin D — significantly aids brain & body.[25]

. Magnesium — important — most need this.[26]

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Miscellaneous

General

. Sleep — crucial to mental focus, tips below.[27]

. Lotion — scented lotion is a smooth choice.[28]

. Nature — time spent here ups mental health.[29]

. Breaks — short silent boring breaks are wise.[30]

. Lighting — regulates biorhythm master yours.[31]

. Exercise — better energy memory productivit..[32]

. Nutrition — indispensible; attractive calm leis..[33]

. 5G & EMF — causes focus, memory problems.[34]

. Meditation — 5-10min in morning sensational.[35]

. Medication — shouldn't be only/1st treatment.[36]

. Smartphone — hurts the brain, creates ADHD.[37]

. Organization — less clutter = better thinking.[38]

. Social media — terrible, do something else.[39]

. Multi-tasking — scrambles brain, don't do.[40]

. Essential oils — for tranquility and focus.[41]

. Ultradian cycle — easy amazing lifehack.[42]

. Morning routine — aids focus productiv..[43]

Specific

. ADHD — lots of tips in References below.[44]

. Brahmi — for mood memory, treat ADHD.[45]

. Spirulina — helps brain body mood sleep.[46]

Endnotes

. Where to start — eat drink rest morn cycle.[47]

. And prayer — prayer changes molecules(!!).[48]

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References

KEY: ch:chapter . da:draxe.com . hub:andrew-huberman . nf:nutritionfacts.org . nih:nih.gov . ted:ted-talk . x:x.com . yt:youtube

[1] Source: Cambridge Dictionary →

[2] Source: Cambridge Dictionary →

[3] Source: Leaf, Switch ch4.

[4] Beets: increase blood flow to brain, improves cognition and executive functioning - working memory, task-switching, memory retrieval (nf/beets & da/beets & da/beet-juice).

[5] Saffron: safer better than drugs for boosting attention treating ADHD, helps with sleep, treats depression too (nih/saffron & news/saffron & news/saffron & Depression #13).

[6] Lithium: an essential mineral, a deficiency creates memory mood aggression problems; top foods: apples banana grapes grapefruit lemon lime clementine tomato onion cauliflower cashews walnuts sunflower seeds; note: lithium supplements can have serious side effects, best get from food (news/lithium & news/lithium & top foods & see Greenblatt Finally ch3).

[7] Broccoli: protects brain eye and vision health, significantly boosts overall health (da/broccoli & see Diabetes #30 #33).

[8] Almonds: one of the best brain foods, improves attention learning memory brain capacity intellectual ability (da/almonds).

[9] Rosemary: used since Ancient Greece, awakens mind sharpens understanding ups memory; dried rosemary: a pinch to a tsp is good, more is not; rosemary scent/aromatherapy ups relaxation and alertness, downs anxiety (nf/rosemary & nih/rosemary).

[10] Blueberries: improve cognition and memory, ups test scores; also helps eyes: increases oxygen to eyes, improves vision clarity depth, decreases eye pressure fatigue (nih/blueberries).

[11] Mushrooms: promote mental clarity and focus, lions mane and cordyceps especially good, mushroom powder easy way to add to diet (da/lions-mane & da/cordyceps & da/mushroom-powder).

[12] Dark chocolate: increases blood flow to brain, decreases inflammation in brain, improves neurotransmission, boosts BDNF, eat with almonds to balance sugar 😍 (Greenblatt Finally ch2); helps brain with learning stress fatigue memory, boosts vision and quality of life (da/dark-chocolate).

[13] Dyes: food dyes cause attention and behavior problems ADHD autism cancer allergies, read labels, avoid all dyes and never eat red or yellow dyes (nf/dyes & x/dyes & news/dyes).

[14] Sugar: man-made sugar is bad for cognitive functioning, while natural sugar from fruits and fruit juices is good (see Greenblatt Finally ch8 & nih/sugar).

[15] Teas: green black oolong and lemon balm; green tea protects brain from stress ups memory protects vision; black tea boosts energy gives calm alertness; oolong markedly increases visual processing attention alertness calmess ups learning memory; lemon balm promotes calm relaxed concentration ups memory (nf/tea & da/green-tea & da/black-tea & da/oolong & da/lemon-balm).

[16] Water: maintaining good hydration is essential for memory attention & focus; cold water ups alertness fastest (nf/water & nih/water).

[17] Coffee: increases brain blood flow, enhances energy and alertness, boosts mood and concentration (da/coffee).

[18] Soda: regular and diet, impairs cognitive ability memory, produces ADHD symptoms (nih/soda).

[19] Energy drinks: very harmful to brain development & body brain mouth health, avoid completely (da/energy-drinks).

[20] DHA: docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, key to brain health, found in fish and algae; avoid fish it’s toxic hurts memory; dose: 300mg good (hub/DHA-dose @29:30-30:52 & for fish see Food #29, Memory #35, Depression #21, Heart #38), see also Spirulina below & Health Master List.

[21] Ginkgo: aka ginkgo biloba, improves circulation, may enhance energy mood concentration memory and eye health (da/ginkgo).

[22] Ginseng: stimulates brain, improves concentration, combined with omega-3 helps child ADHD (da/ginseng & see DHA above).

[23] Creatine: improves focus, brain energy and performance, memory formation (da/creatine & nih/creatine & see Exercise #28).

[24] Rhodiola rosea: aka golden root, improves energy learning and memory, decreases belly fat and stress (da/rhodiola).

[25] Vitamin D: substantially improves concentration learning memory IQ vocabulary information organization and test scores (da/vitD & nih/vitD & nih/vitD).

[26] Magnesium: regulates brain activity, a deficiency often results in poor concentration irritability mood swings apathy depression anxiety fatigue sleeping problems, over 90% of ADHD kids are deficient in magnesium and magnesium deficiency may be a side effect of ADHD medication (Greenblatt Finally & da/magnesium).

[27] Sleep: crucial to achieve mental focus, master your sleep schedule and habits (see Sleep page).

[28] Lotion: the right scented lotion can promote relaxed focus, look for lotion scented with lemon orange peppermint rosemary eucalyptus and more; tip: before sitting down at a computer, rub some lotion on your hands (news/lotion & news/lotion & nf/lemon).

[29] Nature: there is matchless unity harmony and peace in nature—all the things that are usually lacking in the ADD or ADHD mind (Maté Scattered ch29); if possible, take time to be in nature.

[30] Breaks: or focus breaks; when learning: focus then relax and repeat; take boring breaks before during and after focused work, reflective silence is really good for learning and memory retention; to improve focus try interoception (hub/breaks & hub/boring-breaks & hub/interoception).

[31] Lighting: regulates biorhythms [important!], affects vision alertness mood cognition sleep; artificial light can create restlessness behavior/ADHD problems, if possible only use natural sunlight or full spectrum bulbs, find best color temperature for your work space (news/lighting & news/temperature & news/bulbs & see Vision #44) … sidenote: I use full spectrum 6000K bulbs, has really helped my vision alertness cognition mental stamina. 🤩

[32] Exercise: consistent exercise leads to improved energy memory productivity (da/exercise).

[33] Nutrition: good nutrition is indispensible to the body and mind (see Food page); enjoy nutritious attractive meals in an atmosphere free of tension & consumed in a leisurely fashion (Maté Scattered ch29). 😊

[34] 5G & EMF: known since 1800s that electromagnetic frequencies cause memory focus and many other health problems (see Cancer #50 for more & how to prevent it from harming you).

[35] Meditation: five minutes/day of meditative capturing of thoughts alters brain to engage with world in more positive happy way; a 10-minute morning meditation helps focus throughout day increases task completion; brief daily meditation enhances attention memory mood (5min: Leaf Switch ch4; 10min: Maté Scattered ch29; nih/brief & news/10min & hub/meditation @33:30-35:25).

[36] Medication: shouldn't be only treatment or first treatment, because it doesn't promote long-term positive change; tip: try recommendations here first, adress any underlining trauma/stress, then seek medication if necessary (Maté Scattered ch31 & Maté:yt/medication).

[37] Smartphone: excess use hurts brain’s ability to focus, creates ADHD; simply having smartphone in same room creates brain drain; limit use wise: kids 1hr/day or less, adults 2hrs/day or less (news/smartphone & ted/smartphone & news/same-room & hub/limit-use @35:18-37:22).

[38] Organization: the physical space one occupies either helps harmonize or disorganize the mind, neglecting to honor one’s physical environment is neglecting oneself; less mental clutter means more mental resources available for focused thinking; tip: to reach peak focus, keep your home and work environment as simple clean and clutter-free as possible (Maté Scattered ch29).

[39] Social media: shortens attention span, rots brain; if you want to elminate the addictive pull of social media on your time & attention, give your brain a quality alternative: read a book, go for a walk, give your mind something meaningful to do (news/social-media).

[40] Multi-tasking: today’s poor focus lack-of-quality world is the opposite of how the brain is designed. every rapid incomplete poor-quality shift thought scrambles brain cells. multi-tasking (or social media scrolling) creates patterns of flightiness and lack of concentration that are often erroneously labeled as ADD and ADHD and too often unnecessarily medicated, adding fuel to the fire. it’s a rapid down-hill slide from there if a person doesn’t get back to your God-design of deep intellectual attention (Leaf Switch ch6).

[41] Essential oils: frankincense lavendar cedarwood and more create calm relaxed tranquility improve focus and learning; tip: try a diffuser in your study/work room (news/essential-oils & news/cedarwood).

[42] Ultradian cycle: natural 90min recurrent cycles that affect one’s ability to focus during the day. learn your cycles. schedule focus time around them. set work blocks, short breaks, and stack cycles across day to match your individual ultradian cycle (news/ultradian & hub/ultradian @18:30-19:48).

[43] Morning routine: having a good morning routine boosts focus and productivity throughout day; prayer gratitude meditation stretching hydration sunlight music reading journaling planning prioritizing are all excellent habits (da/morning).

[44] ADHD: treating without stimulants—include exercise exclude food dyes fast food. adderall very problematic for most, phones too. know when you're most alert, schedule focus time then (nf/ADHD & nf/dyes & news/fast-food & news/fast-food & hub/adderall @0:00-2:45 & news/phones & hub/phones @11:55-19:25) … see also Saffron Ginseng Magnesium Nature Breaks Lighting Smartphone Ultradian above, also Brahmi and * below.

[45] Brahmi: aka bacopa monnieri, creates sense of calm peace, enhances memory controls blood sugars, treats ADHD safer than adderall (da/brahmi & nih/brahmi & see Memory #45).

[46] Spirulina: a top source of DHA, detoxes heavy metals in body—both crucial for optimal brain health and functioning; decreases mood swings, treats daytime fatigue depression, fights disease cancer diabetes, protects brain eyes more (da/spirulina & da/spirulina & see Brain #36, Blood #28, Cancer #18, Depression #17, Sleep #7).

[47] Where to start: consider this approach: 1 eat better food. 2 drink right liquids. 3 get good sleep. 4 morning routine with meditation. 5 ultradian cycle with breaks. … reminder: be patient and gentle with yourself. good things take time and effort. adjust as you need to and never give up. you can succeed and you will succeed.

[48] Prayer: words change molecules, watch how water and rice change; words have the power of life & death (Pro 18:21), speak life.

*ADHD -consider these natural treatments from Finally Focused book: supplements magnesium zinc iron omegas B6, pine bark extract, green tea extract, blueberry extract, curcumin, nutritional lithium; eat dark chocolate and low glycemic foods (see Diabetes #37), be aware of dairy gluten allergies & pesticide sensitivity, avoid sugary drinks, test lead & copper levels, limit screen time.

👉 End note: if you made it this far, nice job. 👏👏 And if you want more, here's: How to View Food.

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Whatever brings you to this page, I wish you great health and hope on your journey.

Be strong and believe. You can do all things (Phil 4:13).

Peace and Love,
Ben