9 Best Ways to Increase Focus Naturally
Being able to focus on a task at hand sounds simple, but it’s something that all too many of us have trouble with. Research shows that as a whole, our attention spans have been shrinking.
Whether you’re a student, a professional, or anything in between, much of our lives depend on our ability to concentrate on work, studies, and more.
While many people rely on heavily caffeinated beverages for energy and focus, such as coffee and energy drinks, these are not always ideal options.
The crash that happens once the caffeine wears off makes you feel worse than before, not to mention that caffeine dependency is a real thing too.
That’s why we’re here to offer you some great alternative ways to increase focus naturally, holistic ways that provide real benefits.
Let’s figure out what the main causes of your inability to focus are, and then talk about some fantastic natural substances that have the potential to enhance your focus and concentration.
Key Takeaways
- Insufficient sleep, a lack of exercise, and a poor diet may all be to blame for an inability to focus on and concentrate.
- There are many natural substances known for promoting focus and concentration, with CBD, ginkgo biloba, omega-3 fatty acids, and lion’s mane mushrooms being among the best.
- Consuming CBD products regularly has the potential to reduce symptoms associated with stress and anxiety, act as a sleep aid, and improve your overall sense of well-being.
If you’re looking for some fantastic hemp and cannabinoid products, take a look at the selection available from Mellow Fellow, which is virtually unrivaled.
A current favorite among loyal customers are these Mellow Fellow 1,500mg Wellness Softgels, perfect for a day of rest and relaxation. Don’t forget that the terpenes found in hemp and cannabis products may also have certain mental and physical benefits!
Factors That Affect Focus
A large part of your ability to focus depends on your lifestyle and habits, the things you do on a daily basis. Although not as prevalent, environmental factors may also be to blame for a lack of focus and concentration.
Here are the four biggest factors that affect focus and concentration in a negative way.
Insufficient Sleep
One of the most common causes of a lack of focus, concentration, and energy is a lack of sleep. The reason for this is the amount of time spent in NREM or non-rapid eye movement sleep directly affects your ability to focus.
Without sufficient time spent in NREM sleep, specific neurotransmitters aren’t released as much as they should be, resulting in the receptors in the brain not refreshing properly.
This results in receptors having limited sensitivity, with the overall result being reduced cognition. A lack of sleep is directly linked to decreased attention and alertness and slowed response time. If you’re having trouble sleeping, follow the tips listed below.
- Eliminate stressors in your life, as stress can lead to a lack of sleep.
- Create a sleep routine that you follow as closely as possible, with seven or more hours of sleep being recommended per night.
- Make sure to create a calm environment conducive to sleeping.
- Exercise and physical activity can also help you sleep better at night.
- Your diet can also influence sleep, with a poor diet and irregular eating being associated with lower sleep quality.
Lack of Exercise
According to Harvard Health, exercise directly improves mood and sleep and can also reduce symptoms associated with stress and anxiety. The sections of the brain responsible for memory and thinking are larger in people who exercise regularly.
Furthermore, exercise can reduce inflammation and stimulate growth factor release, which can affect the overall health and function of brain cells and blood vessels in the brain.
Evidence suggests that physical exercise enhances emotional states and mood and promotes general wellbeing. For maximum brain health benefits, it’s recommended to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week.
Distractions
If you’re having trouble focusing, it might be that there are things around distracting you. Although sleep, exercise, and diet all affect focus, sometimes it’s something as simple as your smartphone keeping you from getting your work done.
In the digital age, there’s always news, notifications, and people wanting to get a hold of us. On that note, to help you focus, put your smartphone down and put it on silent.
Don’t check it when you’re trying to get something done. Moreover, put any irrelevant technology aside.
You don’t need a TV or music playing for background noise. Overall, creating an environment conducive to focus is your best bet. Create a space that is totally free of all distractions, including people.
Always make sure to let people know when you plan on needing time to focus, so they don’t disturb you.
Poor Eating Habits
Your eating habits don't just affect your physical health, but your mental health as well, and this includes cognition. For instance, a lack of vitamin D is directly linked to cognitive impairments.
Consuming too much sugar, particularly glucose, is also linked to a lack of focus and concentration, and to overall cognitive impairment.
Studies also indicate that a lack of fatty acids, particularly omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, may also lead to reduced brain and cognitive function.
As mentioned above, poor eating habits also lead to a lack of sleep, which leads to cognitive impairments, particularly related to focus and concentration.
According to Harvard Health, a variety of foods including green and leafy vegetables, fatty fish, berries, tea, and walnuts are all fantastic for cognitive function and brain health.
9 Natural Ingredients to Boost Your Focus
In terms of how to increase energy and focus, there are a variety of naturally occurring substances that can help you do just that.
There are nine specific ones that we want to cover, each of which can help improve your overall focus and concentration in their own ways, so let's get to it.
1. CBD Oil
One of the best naturally occurring substances that may help improve overall focus and concentration is CBD, and here we are talking about CBD oil. CBD may have the ability to reduce symptoms associated with anxiety and depression, and may also be beneficial for reducing pain and inflammation.
Further evidence suggests that CBD may be effective at improving symptoms associated with psychiatric disorders. Together, these potential benefits help to improve your overall sense of well-being.
Of course, every person is different, and not everybody reacts the same way to CBD, but according to all of the evidence listed here, it indeed has the potential to improve your sense of well-being, and in turn to help improve your ability to focus and concentrate.
Here's a very interesting study that indicates that the use of CBD helps to enhance verbal episodic memory in young and healthy people. Although focus and memory aren't exactly the same things, they are both related to cognitive function.
Another potential benefit of CBD oil is that it may help to reduce the production of cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone, and it's something that helps to keep you in an alert state.
While this might be good in survival situations, it also keeps your body and mind in a heightened state of stress. If CBD is in fact able to reduce cortisol, it should therefore also be able to reduce stress levels.
If you’re looking for some great CBD oil and tincture options, Mellow Fellow has got you covered. Check out our Mellow Fellow 1,500mg Wellness Tincture that comes in both Berry and Mint Flavors!
2. Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo biloba is a large tree with leaves that are commonly used in a variety of supplements. One of the main benefits of using ginkgo biloba as a supplement is that it may help to improve circulation, particularly in the brain.
It may help improve circulation by opening up blood vessels, as well as by making blood vessels less sticky.
If your brain gets more blood, it means that it's getting more oxygen and energy, and that leads to overall improvements in cognitive performance.
On that note, ginkgo biloba is also known as being a powerful antioxidant, something else that helps to protect the overall health of your brain. Although antioxidants may not immediately improve your overall cognitive function, they can prevent age-related cognitive decline.
Studies also indicate that ginkgo biloba helps to improve memory.
3. CBD-Infused Snacks
We already talked about CBD oil above, but for those who don’t know, CBD can come in many different forms, with oils, tinctures, capsules, snacks, beverages, and more all being options.
Seeing as we already discussed the potential benefits of CBD as far as cognitive function is concerned, we’re instead going to focus on the difference between oils/tinctures and edible snacks.
With a CBD oil or tincture, you would place it under the tongue, and you should notice the effects fairly quickly.
However, with edible snacks, the effects take longer to take hold, but may also last for a substantially longer period of time.
On that note, edibles are just much tastier and more enjoyable than oils, with Mellow Fellow Tropic Medley Wellness Gummies being fan favorites, which come in both 100mg and 1,500mg options.
4. Green Tea
Another natural substance that can help improve mental focus and concentration is green tea. The reason for this is that it contains an ideal balance of l-theanine and caffeine.
In fact, studies indicate that green tea may be able to reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, which can directly affect focus and concentration.
This same study also notes that green tea may have beneficial effects on cognitive function. Further research suggests that the consumption of l-theanine directly affects both reaction time response and attention performance.
There are also other studies that indicate that l-theanine increases activity in the alpha frequency band, which suggests that it can help relax the mind, also a factor associated with focus and concentration.
Evidence also indicates that the combination of l-theanine and caffeine contained in green tea helps to increase overall cognitive performance, particularly related to focus and concentration. Caffeine is a stimulant, and it's something that in itself is also known for increasing mental alertness.
5. Hemp Seeds
Next on the list of natural substances that can improve focus and concentration is the hemp seed. This is thought to be mainly due to the high fatty acid and antioxidant profile of hemp seeds.
Research indicates that consuming hemp seeds or hemp seed oil has a positive impact on brain health, particularly related to neural inflammation and age-related cognitive decline.
This suggests that hemp seeds are therefore beneficial to help you to retain your focus, concentration, and cognitive skills further into your old age.
Further research also suggests that hemp seed consumption has the ability to improve overall cognitive performance while potentially reducing symptoms associated with depression.
As you'll see below, those omega-3 fatty acids contained in hemp seeds can be very beneficial for cognitive function.
If you’re looking for anything to do with hemp, don’t hesitate to check out the massive selection of top-quality and affordable products from Mellow Fellow!
6. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are also essential for overall brain health. Omega-3 fatty acids can improve the binding and signaling of neurotransmitters in the brain by maintaining the optimal level of membrane fluidity.
These fatty acids may also increase the volume of the hippocampus, which is directly associated with cognitive function.
Consuming omega-3 fatty acids on a regular basis is also associated with a healthier brain structure. Omega-3 fatty acids have the potential to preserve neurons in the brain, protect the brain from neural degeneration, and promote cognitive benefits as well.
Specifically, omega-3 fatty acids known as EPA and DHA are key nutrients that can enhance brain health. If you’re looking to get more of these fatty acids in your system, fatty fish like salmon, as well as flax seeds, are two great sources.
7. Panax Ginseng
Panax ginseng, also known as Asian ginseng has for a long time been a staple in Eastern medicine, as it is purported to have a variety of health benefits. Indeed, there are studies that indicate that this adaptogen is known for improving various aspects of cognitive function in humans.
Evidence suggests that ginseng is able to stimulate the formation of blood vessels in the brain, while also enhancing blood circulation throughout the brain, and in turn, improving cognitive abilities and memory.
Furthermore, studies suggest that ginseng is able to increase the amount of energy that is aerobically produced in the brain, therefore also aiding in cognitive function.
8. Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Lion’s mane is yet another popular adaptogen, another classic staple of traditional Eastern medicine, and for good reason, because it has many potential benefits for both the mind and body.
For instance, evidence indicates that lion’s mane may be able to reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, and this improved state of being could therefore lead to an improved ability to focus.
There are further studies that suggest that lion’s mane mushrooms may help improve the function of the hippocampus while also regenerating brain cells, both of which can be beneficial as far as cognitive function is concerned.
Other research falls in line with this and indicates that lion’s mane may decrease levels of subjective stress, therefore allowing for a better sense of well-being, which can lead to an increased ability to concentrate.
9. Rhodiola Rosea
Finally, we have Rhodiola Rosea, another adaptogenic substance that can help your body deal with stress. Research indicates that this substance is able to reduce stress-induced fatigue, and therefore improve overall energy levels.
Those suffering from fatigue and burnout may indeed benefit from taking rhodiola rosea.
Here's an interesting study that suggests that this adaptogen is able to reduce both chronic and prolonged fatigue symptoms, which should in turn lead to an increased ability to concentrate and focus.
Why Buy CBD to Increase Your Focus?
As we discussed above, CBD has very real potential to help increase your focus.
Based on all of the studies and evidence we provided, it would seem that CBD has the potential to reduce symptoms associated with anxiety and stress while encouraging an overall improved sense of wellbeing.
Something that wasn’t noted above is that thanks to its potential to improve your mental state, CBD may also help improve your sleep, which as mentioned above, is also directly linked to focus and attention.
As far as cannabinoids are concerned, knowing the difference between indica and sativa matters too.
Seeing as CBD has so much potential in terms of improving focus and concentration, it might just be your best bet when it comes to finishing that paper or meeting those tight deadlines.
Explore the awesome selection of CBD products that Mellow Fellow has to offer!
How to Increase Focus Naturally: Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Increase My Focus on Studies?
To help you better focus on your studies, consume a combination of the natural substances discussed above, remove all digital distractions from the area, and create a quiet and relaxing space where no one will bother you.
Is There a Natural Way to Increase Focus?
Some of the best natural ways to increase focus include consuming any one of the beneficial substances we listed above, sleeping more, eating right, and exercising regularly.
What Food Helps with Studying?
If you want to study more efficiently, try consuming more leafy greens, berries, fatty nuts, fatty fish, tea, and coffee.
Studies Used for this Article:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6326553/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28219059/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9228580/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10675414/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29364170/
- https://www.foodscijournal.com/articles/afns-aid1047.php
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