FOR EFFECTIVE CONCENTRATION

Concentration is worked on and acquired:

Before getting irritated by this lack of concentration, already know that the brain of a teenager is in conversion. Brain imaging shows us significant structural changes until well after puberty. On the one hand, the brain of an adolescent is endowed with a strong cognitive potential and on the other hand, it has not reached its emotional maturity. The hormonal work, particularly important in the teenager, has very strong cerebral repercussions from where, undoubtedly, a fundamental role in the instability of their behavior.

We now know that it is very important to know how to manage one's emotions in order to learn effectively. Unregulated emotions disrupt intellectual faculties as well as relationships (negative and positive emotions; whether you are angry or in love, for example, it is just as difficult to concentrate).

1. GOOD IN HIS BODY, GOOD IN HIS MIND.

The brain is an organ. Its energy needs are very important and it works day and night. It therefore needs to be fed by a healthy lifestyle. Responding to basic physiological needs is fundamental.

• Sleep Are you getting enough sleep? Lack of sleep deteriorates the ability to concentrate, as you observe after a shorter night (8 to 10 hours per night depending on individual needs),

• Drink water. Like the rest of the body, the brain needs to be hydrated to function at its best. Various studies show that dehydration can reduce memory and attention abilities. In case of examination, remember to take a bottle of water and some dried fruit,

• Eat healthy  : Hypoglycemia: the brain does not work well, and the absence of breakfast affects attention, memorization and school efficiency in general. The brain consumes a lot of energy. To fuel well, it must be fed with sugar and eat in a very balanced way, during revisions but also throughout the year. Avoid systematic sandwiches at noon and dinners reduced to a bowl of pasta. A full meal at restaurant U is not necessarily a waste of time. Also remember to drink enough: we need 1.5 liters of water a day,

• The consumption of stimulants or drugs: coffee stimulates awakening but excessively, it also increases anxiety. Cannabis is notoriously known for its deleterious effects on the ability to concentrate and remember. Ditto for excess alcohol,

• fitness and health: you're not just a brain! Do you do enough sport, do you take the time to walk, to oxygenate yourself (and to ventilate your room)? Also think about glasses (vision problems give headaches), dental care, etc.

• Relax !

2. GOOD CONCENTRATION REQUIRES REGULAR BREAKS

By respecting this rhythm of our cerebral functioning, we promote good concentration: take a break every 20 or 30.

This pause does not last more than 30/40 seconds; the time, consciously, to take a rest.

3. PLANNING AND ORGANIZING FOR GOOD CONCENTRATION

This method is all the more suggested if the course does not arouse enormous interest. Because interest generates motivation, and motivation leads to concentration.

4. AVOID EXTERNAL STIMULATIONS

Isolate yourself from the outside world, turn off all screens. You are now sitting at your work table, a position more favorable to concentration than if you are sprawled on your bed or on a sofa.

Before immersing yourself in work, take the time to turn off your mobile phone and possibly your PC if you don't need it: all these screens are indeed sources of distraction: even the simple vibration of a phone can be enough. to distract yourself.
If you must work on a computer, close all tabs and windows you don't need, especially Facebook or your email. Stay on the file that occupies you and isolate yourself from the rest. Knowing how to control one's attention means remaining free and responsible.

5. THE MULTITASKING ILLUSION: OUR BRAIN IS SINGLE TASK!

Contrary to popular belief, the human brain is single task and there is no difference between men and women (this is a myth that dates from the 80s, following a misinterpretation of the study by American anatomists noting a greater thickness of the corpus callosum in women than in men).
In fact, the brain is able to process two tasks so quickly that they seem to be simultaneous, while they are analyzed alternately. Beyond 2, the difficulties increase seriously.

The brain is therefore more efficient when it processes information one after the other.

The best is therefore to plan your working time, to achieve it by cutting off all sources of distraction.

HOW? 'OR' WHAT:

Stay focused throughout the course

Anything that makes you active and not passive helps you stay focused.

- Take notes,
- Ask questions
- eliminate distractions

Motivate yourself, prepare in advance

Arrive a few minutes early if possible, prepare your notes and try to remember what was seen the last time.

- Think back to the importance of this course for your course of studies, your exam, your training
- In the immediate future, follow this course thinking about what we will expect of you on the day of the control, the partial, the exam or the professional situation

These tips will be all the more useful if the material seems difficult and uninteresting to you. This is indeed where you need to mobilize your attention the most, because the less attentive and concentrated you are, the less you will follow, and the more difficult the course will seem to you...