Focus, Focus, FOCUS!

How many times a day does your mind wander? If the answer is more times than you can count, then you are not alone. In fact, the average adult loses focus every 6-10 seconds! Its a wonder anything gets done at all!

The reasons for this are complex, but simply put, its because the conscious part of our brains that control our imagination, judgments & decisions has a very limited ability to actually process information and when it does it can only do it in the short term.

The subconscious brain however, is responsible for running our inner biochemical reactions,(about 10 quadrillion reactions per second) and does so non-stop-24 hours a day for our entire lifetimes. This is the part of the brain that has the long-term processing ability and why we have trouble maintaining focus.

The good news is that there are ways to tap into the subconscious & "Train the Brain" to keep focus for longer durations, and increase efficiency of thoughts & actions at the same time. The following exercises will not only coordinate and integrate the conscious & subconscious parts of your brain, but will increase the brain' s ability to process information & hence will also greatly reduce stress levels as well.




BREATHE: Your breath is always right here and right now. One of the simplest ways to improve focus is the pay attention to your breath. Try doing nothing but focussing on your breath for a full minute. Think its easy? If you can do it the first time, then you have better attentiveness than most. Gradually work your way up to 5 or ten minutes or more. The longer you can do this, the more your ability to focus will improve. (You can mentally say or picture the words "Just Breathe' each time you inhale & exhale.) If your mind wanders, just bring it back to focus and continue to breathe. Doing this exercise for 5 minute intervals throughout the day will greatly improve focus and reduce stress.

IMAGERY: Imagery is another easy way to improve your focus. Picture a familiar object in your mind, clearly and in as much vivid detail as you can. (It could be anything: your child's face, a cow, an apple, a pizza, etc.) Now hold that image for 5-10 minutes. (You can start out with 1 minute intervals and gradually increase the duration as your brain becomes more trained.) If your mind wanders, just bring it back to focus on your object.



SIMPLE ART: Coloring is also a great way to integrate visual and brain processing functions. You can start by coloring or drawing a simple design. (Use a coloring book or print out a coloring page from the internet.)Stay in focus on coloring until your design or page is complete. (Another great calming stress-releiving activity for kids and adults.)

Its best to practice one or two exercises daily, for 10 minutes a few times during the day-and switch to different exercises each day. This will keep it interesting and gradually develop all parts of the brain, improve focus & efficiency and most importantly, help reduce stress!


Our R.E.A.Ch™ program (Relaxation Education for Adults & Children) is designed to share simple and effective stress management techniques with parents, educators and kids. For more information, please visist:
www.recprograms.com