How to Stay Focused and Avoid Distractions as You Age Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
How to Stop Getting Distracted
Brain changes in your 50s can make it harder to focus Here s how to build concentration
FG Trade / Getty Images At 55, my focus started to fray. I had to ask my teenage daughter to stop chatting during tricky highway merges. I penciled “COUNT!!!” across my community orchestra music, to avoid getting lost in long strings of repeated notes. I wrote multiple to-do lists and forgot new neighbors’ names. Turns out, I was completely normal and there was something I could do about the problem.
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Aging shrinks the brain by about 5 percent between age 45 and age 60, , associate professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. Sounds small, but it could help explain why the ability to pay attention and tune out distractions begins to decline before age 50. Around then, your brain also has to start coping with the full catastrophe of midlife. Rebellious kids! Aging parents! Work! Money! Menopause! Throw in constant interruptions from our digital devices and “you might start feeling overwhelmed,” says neuroscientist Denise Park, director of the Park Aging Mind Laboratory at the University of Texas at Dallas. Luckily it isn’t all bad news. The brain has a wondrous plasticity, and you can help it adjust and refocus by taking up a few simple, healthy habits. Get a move on
Couch potatoes who started getting 30 to 40 minutes of aerobic exercise — think treadmills and exercise bikes — four times a week improved their executive function, a found. The volunteers in their 40s, 50s and 60s were the ones who got the biggest benefits. And scans showed that the cortical thickness in had actually increased after six months. “It has convinced me to build exercise into my schedule,” says lead researcher Yaakov Stern, chief of cognitive neuroscience in the Department of Neurology at Columbia. Prioritize sleep
Insomniacs have a tougher time ignoring distractions than normal sleepers, according to a , and the worse their sleep, the worse their ability to concentrate. According to of more than 5,000 participants over five years, those who started sleeping less than six to eight hours a night demonstrated a drop in thinking skills equal to four to seven years of aging, compared with study subjects who were still getting their z’s. To help protect your brain from such a slowdown, make a point of getting to bed on time, and get treatment for any that may arise, such as obstructive sleep apnea. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. , says Julia Basso, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise and director of the Embodied Brain Lab at Virginia Tech. In her , adults who meditated for eight weeks saw improvements in working memory and attention. As little as 10 minutes a day shows a benefit. Smartphone apps that teach you to meditate include Calm, Headspace and Insight Timer. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Banish multitasking
“A big part of the reason people feel scattered, forgetful, in the midst of some sort of is our multitasking, technology-rich, distraction-laden existence,” says Maura Thomas, a productivity expert based in Austin, Texas, and author of Attention Management: How to Create Success and Gain Productivity—Every Day. Juggling two or more activities that require concentration isn’t a time-saver, especially for a midlife brain, notes Zanto. “There’s a cost to task switching,” he says. “If your phone rings or email dings, it disrupts your train of thought.” Getting back on track takes significantly longer than if you hadn’t been interrupted. Thomas suggests turning off notifications on your devices for scheduled chunks of time during the workday so you can focus. Let people know in advance. “What’s the boss going to say — don’t focus; don’t get your work done?” Thomas asks. Time-management strategies such as the Pomodoro technique could also help: Set a timer for 25 minutes and commit to focusing on just one task until it rings. Then take a five-minute break and start over. Manage menopausal symptoms
Hot flashes caused by hormone shifts can interfere with the brain’s ability to encode memories, by Pauline Maki, M.D., director of the Women’s Mental Health Research Program at the University of Illinois Chicago. Other research shows that hot flashes interfere with attention and disrupt sleep. When these symptoms go on for a decade or longer, “it’s a chronic stressor to the brain,” Maki adds. If hot flashes are disrupting your life, she recommends talking with a health care practitioner trained in care (find one at menopause.org). As for me, I’ve been able to manage my new distractibility by staying well rested and practicing mindfulness, particularly when it comes to taking in new information. I have also accepted that my brain is going to need an assist every now and then. So I’ll keep writing “COUNT!!!” on my sheet music. More on health AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS