Why can’t I concentrate?

Do you sometimes just do one thing without paying attention and end up doing something you didn’t expect? For example, do you leave home to go to the market and end up on your way to work? This kind of mistake can be a lack of concentration, so it’s important to find out what could be decreasing your attention to even the simplest day-to-day activities.

One of the factors that can trigger lack of attention is a deficiency of hormones and / or vitamins in the body. For example, those who suffer from hypothyroidism, suffer a slowdown in metabolism and consequently blood flow decreases, causing cellular activity in some parts of the brain to be reduced.

If you suspect that this is your problem, it is important to see a doctor and undergo several tests to detect deficiencies in your body and undergo treatment to restore these numbers that are below normal for a healthy life. Before going to the doctor, make a list of your habits that have changed or the signs your body has been giving out that something is wrong – this can be very useful for a more effective diagnosis.

It could also be that you are approaching the stage of a woman’s life where hormones are out of balance, the stage before menopause called perimenopause. During perimenopause, a woman may have irregular menstrual cycles, among other symptoms such as changes in metabolism and difficulty concentrating.

In case of hormonal changes like this, you can resort to hormone replacement treatment. Look for your doctor and consult him about the possibility of hormone replacement therapy with low doses or for a short period of time and in addition, you should also take care of food and practice physical exercises regularly to keep your metabolism in full swing.

Changing or including certain medications in your life can also affect your ability to focus. These include antidepressants, antihistamines, sedatives, and anti-anxiety medications – these medications can cause dizziness and confusion, making concentration even more difficult. In this case, it is important to consult your doctor about decreasing doses or switching from a medication you are using to a less strong one or alternative treatments that may affect your attention less.

Quitting smoking can also make it difficult to concentrate at first, but it is essential to have willpower and to insist because the benefits in this regard after you stop completely are much greater than the initial difficulty.

Irregular eating habits and an unhealthy diet can also hamper your attention. A bad diet can cause a number of conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. These conditions make you less active and this affects the proper functioning of the brain.

Stress, anxiety and the accumulation of too many tasks and responsibilities also directly affect your concentration. You get so “intimidated” by the bad things that can happen and worried about so many things that it becomes impossible to focus your attention on a certain activity only.

If this is your case, it is worth investing in a leisure activity and even training to be quiet, resting and doing nothing. Introduce calm, pleasurable moments into your life little by little to release tension and be able to relax and focus. Try to reduce your responsibilities too, delegate tasks at home and try to take some of the weight off your back.

You may also suffer from ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). If you suspect that you may be suffering from any of these problems, see your doctor as soon as possible.

Anyway, when doing an activity and realizing that it is difficult to concentrate, imagine that you have nothing else to do and try to focus your attention on it. Doing one thing with another in mind will not speed up the process and may take even longer for you to complete the task.

So, when performing a task, forget about the others for a while, leave them written down in a diary and stop trying to memorize everything and keep all the appointments in your head. Empty your thoughts a little and then you can start to focus better on your activities.