ADVERTISING: Advertorial — Daydreaming or inability to maintain concentration?
As a child I rarely got into trouble unless it was for “daydreaming.” Daydreaming isn’t always bad. Daydreaming can be pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, realistic future planning, a review of past memories, or on the negative — just spacing out. Research has demonstrated that people who daydream are more creative than those who don’t. There are numerous people who are composers, novelists and filmmakers who develop their ideas while daydreaming.
But where is the line drawn between “innocent daydreaming” and a mental aberration referred to as an “inability to concentrate,” “ADD” or being out of touch with reality? It seems today that mostly it is labeled as an inability to concentrate, or ADD, and has become more of a psychological disorder than anything innocent. Far too often it is also labeled so the person can be medicated.
Why are more and more people struggling with an inability to concentrate? It is common when someone is bored to let their mind wander. But when they want to concentrate and can’t seem to, we need to look at what factors may be involved.
The first to explore is sleep deprivation. Insomnia is so common today that it surprises me now when new patients tell me they sleep well. Women need eight or nine hours and men need seven to eight hours of sleep per night. A lack of sleep can contribute to an inability to concentrate.
Is your life too sedentary? Research shows that exercise helps improve brain function. Getting oxygen to your brain via improved blood flow is good for an alert brain. The other thing the brain needs to function well is good nutrition. The brain needs minerals (from vegetables), fats (good fats such as butter, fish or avocados), healthy proteins (such as quality meats), some carbohydrate (an overload of carbohydrate actually has the opposite effect) and plenty of hydration (water). Good eating equals a healthy brain.
Then there’s stress and fatigue — big factors. People are so tired these days that they now call fatigue depression and medicate for it. Medications for depression are known to dull the senses, so it is no wonder a person can’t focus! In fact, many medications such as statins (anti-cholesterol medication), have common side effects of dull thinking, poor memory or inability to concentrate. When stressed or fatigued it is difficult to stay on task.
There are many other reasons why someone could suffer from an inability to concentrate that ranges from health challenges to difficulties at home or work, hormonal imbalances and eating awful foods. Fortunately, there is much we can do to turn it around. Then you could just daydream when you want, and switch back to reality when you need to!
Learn more by attending our upcoming webinar, "Brain Fog, Poor Memory & Lack of Concentration," 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 12. Visit our website at VitalHealthCDA.com to learn more about this and other upcoming webinars, or register here: https://bit.ly/BrainFog2021
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Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with over four decades of experience. Carling is a “Health Detective.” She looks beyond your symptom picture and investigates WHY you are experiencing your symptoms in the first place. Carling is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d’Alene clinic. Visit Carling’s website at www.vitalhealthcda.com to learn more about Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. Carling can be reached at 208-765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.