From a science point of view, attention is connected to a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, which helps us control our actions. When we focus, this part of the brain works very hard, and other parts of the brain become less active. This helps us to not see or hear things that are not important.
But this system is not always perfect, and many things can make it not work so well if you neglect exercise like, for example, concentration online game.
Why Does Attention Get Worse?
The level of your attention is not always good because many things, both inside and outside, can change it.
Inside Factors
- Tiredness and not enough sleep. Our brain uses a lot of energy, and when you do not get enough sleep, it works in a slow mode. This makes it difficult to think fast, remember things, and focus for a long time. When you do not get enough sleep, bad things can build up in your brain, which stops the brain cells from working well, and this is a big enemy of good attention.
- Stress. A lot of stress can stop your brain from working well because when you are stressed, your brain is always ready to fight or run away, and it is difficult for it to find energy for normal tasks that need focus. Worries and bad thoughts take a lot of your attention, so there is not much left for other things. A special stress hormone can also stop a part of your brain that is important for memory and learning from working well, which makes focusing even more difficult.
- Bad food. Your brain needs good food to work well, and if you do not eat a lot of important vitamins and good fats, and if you eat too much sugar, it can make your attention bad. When you eat a lot of sugar, your brain works a little bit fast and then becomes very tired.
- Strong feelings. Very strong feelings, both bad and good, can also stop you from focusing because if you are worried about problems, or if you are very happy or excited, these feelings will be the most important things in your mind, and you will not be able to focus on your work. These feelings are like a loud noise that stops you from hearing what you need to do.
Outside Factors
- Digital things that stop you. In our time of phones and social media, we get many messages, and every message is a small break that makes your brain change what it is doing. Even if you do not look at your phone, you know it is there, and this makes you a little bit worried and takes some of your attention. When you do many things at the same time, it makes you not very good at doing each thing and not very good at focusing for a long time.
- Loud noises. A loud noise that is always there, like from a machine, can be bad for your brain, and a loud and sudden noise, like a car alarm, can make you stop what you are doing and can completely stop your work.
- A messy place. A messy table or a messy room is not only a problem for how it looks because when there are many things around you, your brain uses extra energy to try to understand what these things are. A clean and tidy place helps your brain to feel calm so you can focus.
- Doing many things. People think that the brain can do many things at the same time, but it cannot because it quickly changes from one task to another, and every time it changes, it needs to restart and uses a lot of energy, which makes each task worse.
Games for Training Attention
| Name of the game | Description |
| Orbital Match | The game needs you to be very exact, to think about space, and to look very quickly to find the right way and the right moment to act |
| Alien Invasion | In this game you must quickly find and tell the difference between different types of alien ships that are with many other ships to stop them |
| Escape the Maze | Your goal is to find the right way and get out, but you must avoid things that can stop you helping you to think about what you must do, to make a plan, and to remember a difficult map |
| Memory Tiles | The player must remember where pairs of the same pictures are on a board that is always changing and the goal is to find all the pairs in a short time |
| Color Cascade | Your task is to click the button for the color of the word very fast, not the meaning of the word, this game needs you to be fast and to be able to stop your first idea, which is very important for good attention |
| Number Sequence | A list of numbers appears for the player and you must quickly find and click them in the correct order, and you must not look at other numbers that are there to stop you |
Why Some Children Can Focus More than Others
Body and Gene Factors
- Brain development. Different children’s brains develop at different speeds, and a part of the brain that is important for focus grows faster in some children, which makes them better at focusing.
- Brain chemicals. The amount of chemicals in the brain, like dopamine, are very important for doing things and for wanting to do them. Children with some gene differences may have less of these chemicals, so they do not want to do boring tasks and look for new things to do.
- Genes. Some conditions, like ADHD, can be in your family’s genes, and children with ADHD have big problems with attention, and this is because of how their brain works.
Feeling and Behavior Factors
- Interest and wanting to do things. Children who really like what they are doing, like building with blocks or reading, can show a very high level of focus because when a task is interesting, the brain goes into a special state where it does not see other things.
- Being able to handle frustration. Children who have learned to do difficult things and not give up when something is not easy are usually better at focusing for a long time, while children who give up easily will quickly change to another thing.
- Being able to control yourself. Some children learn from an early age how to control what they do and how to wait for a good thing later, helping them to control their attention.
Life and Family Factors
- School and family life. A calm and organized place helps a child to focus because if parents and teachers have a clear plan for the day and give the child a quiet place to work, it helps them learn to focus.
- A healthy life. Children who sleep enough, eat good food, and do sports have a better and more stable body and a better ability to focus.
What parents and teachers do. How adults react to children is very important because when you are nice and help a child who has problems, it helps the child to be strong and feel good about themselves.
