After reading this entry, you will learn how to take your focus to a new level, keep it there, and keep increasing your focus power for the rest of your life without much effort at all. Whether your life is full of stress, have clouded thinking, or have always had ADD / ADHD, you can concentrate at a higher level than you ever imagined.

Though it will take a little time out of your day, it will work if you give it a shot and stick with it. You do not need to do all the techniques that I will recommend, just applying one successfully will definitely improve your focus. But, the more options you choose to apply, the quicker your focus will improve.

#1 Exercise – Meditation

By taking 5 to 10 minutes out of the day to sit down, eyes closed while focusing on one thought or image, focusing power will begin to build. Just stay relaxed and don’t worry if it is very difficult at first. It will become very easy in a hurry. While sitting, eyes closed, just notice whenever the focus drifts away from the main object of focus, just realize this is going to happen and bring the main object of focus back into the mind.

Studies have been done where meditators EEG’s have been recorded. What these studies found was that meditation increased brain activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. They also found high frequency gamma brainwaves which are important in cognition and advanced thinking. The prefrontal cortex is linked to higher thought process, acute focus, planning, reasoning, and problem solving.

The nice thing is that it doesn’t take much time out of the day for this to be effective. By giving this a shot for awhile, focus will skyrocket. The nice thing about meditation is that it can be done anytime, anywhere, and it’s free!

#2 Exercise – Neurofeedback

This technique has been used to create lasting changes in the CNS (Central Nervous System) by consciously controlling brainwaves. Neurofeedback involves electrodes being put on top of the head in certain areas depending on the type of training. Neurofeedback is used for a number of mental problems such as: anxiety, depression, ADD, ADHD, and peak performance.

If you are considering taking this route, I highly recommend reading a couple books on the topic so you can fully understand what takes place. The principle is simple, electrodes from a neurofeedback unit (machine) are placed on top of the client’s head, and the neurofeedback machine is hooked up to a computer. The computer has a software program such as Bio Explorer installed which allows the neurofeedback practitioner and client to see the realtime brainwaves of the client on the computer screen.

Then the practitioner sets a protocol for the client. Basically, a protocol is set in the range of brainwaves chosen by the practitioner, then a training program begins. The training program may be a simple game like pac-man. The pac-man character will move faster and be more successful when the clients brainwaves are in the desired range of brainwaves, but when they fall out of the range the pac-man will move slower.

After several sessions, the client will be able to consciously facilitate the desired mental brainwave state outside the neurofeedback office. Once a brainwave state is “learned,” the client will have the ability to access it at will, which is very cool.

The drawback. The downfall to this approach is that it can be fairly costly at around $100-$200 per session. None of this should be considered medical advice, but you may want to consider buying your own machine if you know you are intelligent enough. How do you know if you’re intelligent enough? Well, if you had to ask that question you’re not. You can get a machine within the range of about $600 (Mink Peak Products) to several thousand dollars (Brain Master Products).

Transparent Corporation also sells what appears to be a good neurofeedback unit for a very competitive price. If I didn’t scare you away and you are still considering this, the book that I personally recommend to get started is, “Getting Started With Neurofeedback” by John N. Demos. It covers many topics, some advanced and you may need to re-read parts a few times to fully understand it.

Understand that neurofeedback is very effective at creating long lasting positive change and a great way to improve focus, but getting started can be very costly. Meditation helps promote conscious control of brainwaves as well, which is why meditation remains my number one strategy.

#3 Exercise – Take Some Fish Oil

Without doing anything by popping the undisputed supplement of the century (Fish Oil) down the hatch, the ability of the brains focusing power increases. I can personally vouch for this one. After dealing with stress, ADHD, depression, and anxiety, I had to find a way to focus. I began taking fish oil.

I can go about the day able to focus on anything I want to for as long as I want to and I am attributing a lot of that to the fish oil. For me it took awhile to “kick-in” (about a month), but after it did I noticed my concentration just kept improving and it still is! I also read at this website that a methamphetamine addict was brought into rehab, was unknowingly given high fish oil doses and the fish oil completely reversed his brain damage.

#4 Exercise – Brainwave Entrainment

Brainwave entrainment involves a stimulus, usually a tone, that that has influence on the listeners brainwaves, which changes the listeners mindstate. There are 4 main categories of brainwaves: Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Theta & Delta. The main one’s for increasing focus that I will explain in this entry are Gamma & Beta.

I’ve read a lot about brainwave entrainment and currently own Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional. This site also explains a lot about the brainwave entrainment process. They have a free trial download as well, which let’s you experiment with it for a few days. The frequencies that improve focus are gamma and beta.

Basically, this program has a lot of “sessions” built in that you can choose from to help you improve your focus. What brainwave entrainment does is create new neuronal connections to support different patterns of brainwaves and flexibility. It does not necessarily allow one to consciously control their brainwaves like meditation. It does, however, greatly help by creating the neural connections linked to focus.

#5 Exercise – Give Your Brain A Workout

Puzzles, word finds, Sudoku’s, and games like Brain Age and Big Brain Academy for the Nintendo DS are a very fun way to increase focus and concentration. I really enjoy playing these games and have definitely noticed that my ability to focus and think fast has been enhanced after playing these games. I personally find Big Brain Academy to be the most challenging and fun, but Brain Age 2 is definitely pretty cool too. Brain games are a great way to slow brain ageing, increase focusing ability, and have fun at the same time!

#6 Exercise – Daily Physical Exercise

Getting a good quality workout is not only healthy, but it improves the brains ability to concentrate. Exercise helps create increased white matter and connections between neurons. Exercise also allows for neurogenesis – the creation of new neurons by the brain. This is awesome, just go for a jog and create some new neurons, and everyday notice the increased focus levels.

More Techniques

There are more ways than the ones that I suggested to increase your ability to powerfully concentrate. The ones I listed, I think are the most powerful and effective techniques available to create long-lasting unshakable focus. Don’t make any lame excuses, just pick a method above and start focusing!

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