Trying to improve my attention span and focus

My morning routine used to consist of watching unsolved mysteries for a few hours while drinking coffee and then getting ready for work and going to work.

Then I saw a lot of people talking about how attention span has gone down from people watching like 10 minute videos on YouTube or 1 minute tiktoks or whatever and I realized my attention span has gotten shorter over the years. I do watch some YouTube but I dont go on tiktok.

I started watching made for TV movies mostly in the morning. They're not too long like 1.5 hours usually and they're just...good/cheesy/nostalgic. I like ones from the 90s and early 2000s.

What have I noticed? My attention span HAS gotten better. At first I would struggle to focus on the movie and my mind would start wandering and I would miss things and have to rewind to figure out what was going on. That has pretty much stopped now and its only been a few weeks since I started doing this.

What I notice too is that things that are shorter seem more irritating to me. I dont know what it is but a lot of the short 15 minute or less YouTube videos that I used to watch I dont want to watch them anymore because they're boring now.

Between this and cutting out all corn syrup I am feeling pretty good lately.

a reply to: Shoshanna

I have watched food additives in American products since the early 1980's. There are over 1,000 ingredients in our foods that are banned in Europe and other countries, for good reason. Just a short list here on corn syrup:

What products have corn syrup in them
Soft drinks, such as cola, lemon-lime soda, and fruit flavors
Salad dressings
Yogurt
Baked goods, like cookies, cakes, and pastries
Candy, such as caramel, toffee, and caramels
Ice cream and frozen yogurt
Sauces, like teriyaki, BBQ, and sweet and sour
Condiments, like ketchup, relish, and mustard
Breading and coating for fried foods
Some brands of bread and baked goods, like muffins and bagels
Some types of energy bars and protein bars
Some brands of granola and energy bars
Some types of cereals and breakfast bars
Some brands of candy, like gummies and sour candies

You'd have to forgo eating out and most products on store shelves to get away from corn syrup; add in other things known to be harmful, like MSG and a plethora of preservatives makes for some mighty slim pickings. lol
There's always the plant based diets, which only contain GMO's, PFAS, chemical fertilizers/pest control agents and glyphosate.

Cooking from scratch can eliminate a some food of the polution, but few have the time for that these days.

a reply to: Shoshanna

Not eating anything processed will generally have you going in the right direction as well.

Get rid of sugar, seed oils, artificial colors and flavors.

There's also nootropics if you want to go that route.

a reply to: nugget1

You have to read ingredients like...all the ingredients. So many things you wouldn't even THINK of have corn syrup. I have cut out most processed foods I have a sweet tooth so its been hard but I found mixed nuts are a good snack. I also already loved iced tea and water and drank maybe 1 can of soda a day if that so that wasn't too hard to cut out.

a reply to: watchitburn

Is that what GABA is? I hear good but mixed things about it. Medicines in general just scare me do you have any that work for you?

a reply to: Shoshanna

I don't take anything but some Aleve if I'm sore or have a headache.

But I've heard other people talk about them. Rogan says he takes them when he has big brained scientists on his show.

a reply to: Shoshanna

For what you say you sorta seek, there is nothing better than a decent meditation practice. It stills the mind and strengthens focus/attention.

Pick up a book. And then finish it.

a reply to: watchitburn

Sugar gets a bad rap. Corn syrup is processed. Sugar is bleached if it is white and is pure energy like honey to your body. Over eating sugar is certainly bad. Chocolate is good if it is dark but I love white sometimes and that is the worst possible.

But aside from sugar, that list is how I live my life.

originally posted by: Mahogani
Pick up a book. And then finish it.

Then, immediately start another.

a reply to: CosmicFocus

I want to get into transcendental meditation. My dad took a course on it in the 70s and told me it really helped him a lot with mental state and just feeling better overall

a reply to: Mahogani

I read all the time. Its different when you're reading because you want to see what happens next. With tasks in life it is hard to keep attention and focus thats why I'm trying watching longer things. I think its connected.

a reply to: Justoneman

Sugar is definitely nowhere near as bad as corn syrup.

Nootropics .

Lions mane is excellent .

Lions mane supplement.

a reply to: Shoshanna

Take a look at this article.

How to Increase Your “Neuroplasticity,” in 7 Key Steps

About a decade ago, neuroscientists at the University College London published some fascinating research on the brain size and structure of London taxi drivers.

In short: the cabbies’ brains were plumper than those of their peers, and particularly in the hippocampus region, which is closely associated with memory. Over years of traversing the capital’s inner maze of over 25,000 streets, these drivers seem to literally develop more grey matter. Their neural networks had become as complex as the city they were navigating.

As one Boston University neurobiologist commented on the analyses: “[This] shows you can produce profound changes in the brain with training. That’s a big deal.”

Looks like, traveling, learning new things or taking up hobbies is a good way to exercise your brain. Keep up what you are doing. Sounds like it's doing good.

Also I was hospitalized a few years ago and went to the hospital twice in the span of a month for a week at a time. During that time I wasn't eating very much. So I kinda self cleansed there. After getting out. I definitely noticed that some of the thing I used to enjoy tasted way different. Things like soda, gatorade and other items with food colorings tasted terrible. Also foods made with vegetable oil were just awful. Basically man made garbage. Stay away from that stuff and you'll feel much better.

a reply to: grey580

See that's what made me think about what I was ingesting into my body because things like really processed things candy bars and stuff started tasting weird like leaving this syrupy after taste in my mouth and stuff I didn't like I like having a clean mouth and it made me want to brush my teeth immediately after eating this stuff just recently this started happening.

It makes sense that cabbies and people who have to navigate a lot would develop better brains just from the constant challenge. I got a couple of crossword puzzle books too just to see if that helps my mental acuity also.

Stoicism, all friggin day.


www.amazon.com...=sr_1_1_sspa

a reply to: Shoshanna

Have you considered Ritalin?

Just taking the piss.

Im terrible these days and my attention span is diabolical.

Start watching something and about half to 3 quarters way through I just canny be bothered and lose interest.

I just put it down to getting older to be honest.

originally posted by: nugget1
a reply to: Shoshanna

I have watched food additives in American products since the early 1980's. There are over 1,000 ingredients in our foods that are banned in Europe and other countries, for good reason. Just a short list here on corn syrup:

What products have corn syrup in them
Soft drinks, such as cola, lemon-lime soda, and fruit flavors
Salad dressings
Yogurt
Baked goods, like cookies, cakes, and pastries
Candy, such as caramel, toffee, and caramels
Ice cream and frozen yogurt
Sauces, like teriyaki, BBQ, and sweet and sour
Condiments, like ketchup, relish, and mustard
Breading and coating for fried foods
Some brands of bread and baked goods, like muffins and bagels
Some types of energy bars and protein bars
Some brands of granola and energy bars
Some types of cereals and breakfast bars
Some brands of candy, like gummies and sour candies

You'd have to forgo eating out and most products on store shelves to get away from corn syrup; add in other things known to be harmful, like MSG and a plethora of preservatives makes for some mighty slim pickings. lol
There's always the plant based diets, which only contain GMO's, PFAS, chemical fertilizers/pest control agents and glyphosate.

Cooking from scratch can eliminate a some food of the polution, but few have the time for that these days.

We don't eat too much junk food, preferring to make stuff from scratch most times. but we still eat fifteen to twenty percent highly processed foods, and we only buy about half of our foods certified organic. I have done research on the companies that do chicken and pork, and some do have a soul, but organic chicken and pork is rarely bought organic anymore. Lost my farmer that I bought a pig from ten years or so ago, he tried to feed them pretty much organic feed, but the price reflected his extra costs. Local grown organic chickens seem to be real tasty if they run out in the yard much of the day, but cost is a factor...the cost of raising them and the processing fee makes them costly to buy. Half a head of organic grassfed beef has been our yearly purchase for many years, before that it was not certified...and much cheaper...and the farmer used organic food for the cattle and all were pastured beef, but that beef was great too even though it was not organic or hundred percent grassfed.. But those farmers retired and sold their farms, so I found our present supplier who since we have been buying from them have gone all certified organic and one hundred percent grassfed.

Lowering the amount of these chemicals in our diets is important. Our body can detox some, but there is lots of residue that is poisoning people who eat a high percent of their diet with commercial products.

a reply to: 777Vader