Today's life, full of distracting noises, such as phone notifications, emails, social media, deadlines etc., are the ideal ingredients for distraction and for affecting the ability to concentrate.

Today it is difficult to imagine life without smartphones and other devices that have helped us to evolve but have also created a great disadvantage, namely distractions, which affect our ability to concentrate.

Concentration is the basis of a good memory. In the absence of attention, the processing of new stimuli and information suffers and this reflects on the way in which information is retained. The degree of attention we have varies from person to person and from situation to situation and can be improved.

If until now memory and concentration problems were attributed to older people, the current lifestyle has made age no longer a selection criterion. Thus, more and more young people and children are affected by memory loss and decreased ability to concentrate.

Memory problems are as common as possible and do not automatically mean that we suffer from a neurodegenerative disorder. In many cases, we just aren't paying enough attention when we find out something new and so we can't play back information.

Electronic devices or the division of attention between several tasks (multitasking) limit our ability to retain information. In this situation, we do not process the information well enough to be able to use it later.

But there are other factors that affect our ability to concentrate, namely:

➢ Insufficient sleep
➢ Lack of a proper diet and hydration
➢ Lack of physical activity
➢ Certain medications (antihistamines, sedatives)
➢ Certain conditions (depression, anxiety, diabetes, dysfunctions of the thyroid gland)

To keep our mind clear, especially when the work environment is a stressful one, there is a simple basic rule: brain training through reading, crosswords, etc. Like muscles, attention and concentration can also be improved by exercise.

We can use several methods to be more attentive and retain more information in the long run, namely:

The phone, TV or laptop are some of the devices that distract us and prevent us from really getting involved in what we have to do. We have known for a long time that repeated interruptions affect concentration. On average, we experience an interruption every 8 minutes or about 7-8 interruptions per hour. Thus, in an 8-hour day there are about 60 interruptions. And since the average interruption lasts about 5 minutes, it means that we lose about 5 hours of the 8. Moreover, in 2005, research conducted by Dr.Glenn Wilson at the Institute of Psychiatry in London found that persistent interruptions and distractions at work had a profound effect on IQ, with people distracted by emails and phone calls and notifications recording a 10-point decrease in their IQ.

Multitasking or performing at least two activities simultaneously is often considered as a desirable thing or a measure of success, but studies have shown that our brain is not able to effectively manage several tasks at once. In fact, some research suggests that multitasking can actually reduce productivity by up to 40%. Why is multitasking considered the enemy of productivity?

By doing several things at the same time, we only quickly change our attention and focus from one thing to another, which actually slows us down.

Focusing efforts on a single task allows us to pay the necessary attention to it and to be able to retain information that we can use later. Our attention has certain limits and setting breaks can help us memorize new details without making errors.

Health influences our degree of attention when we want to learn a new skill or memorize new information. To ensure that health problems or the medications we use do not reduce our cognitive abilities, it is advisable to ask for the help of a specialist.

Coffee and other drinks that contain caffeine are, for many of us, how we prefer to start our mornings. In the short term, these drinks help us to be more aware, but when we consume too much of it, the benefits disappear.

What does a balanced lifestyle mean? First of all - regular physical activity (sport is the best treatment for both the brain and the body, but it is also the most underestimated). Secondly, a balanced lifestyle means a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and with a low consumption of saturated fats, sugar and processed foods, which not only protects the health of the heart, but also reflected in cognitive performance. And last but not least, at least 7-8 hours of sleep.

The quality of sleep affects the performance of our attention. This is why is recommended to establish a sleep schedule, but also a visit to a specialist if we suffer from insomnia.

Breaking away from external and internal distractions is not easy, but we can learn how to be more present by practicing meditation and breathing, which helps us be calmer, restore our balance and be more focused. If we find it difficult to enter the state of meditation we can start with breathing exercises. Most of us breathe poorly, superficially. Shallow breathing is very tiring, not only because it consumes unnecessary muscle energy, but because it also reduces oxygen supply. Thus, first of all, we must be aware of how we normally breathe and then learn to breathe from the abdomen, that is, from the depth. It is recommended to start with about 10 minutes of deep breathing, in which our attention is not distracted and then to practice as often as possible daily.