{"id":5274,"date":"2021-04-02T08:47:02","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T08:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fcer.org\/?p=5274"},"modified":"2021-04-06T08:49:03","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T08:49:03","slug":"lack-of-concentration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fcer.org\/lack-of-concentration\/","title":{"rendered":"Why can’t I focus? The 5 common reasons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Work should be over long ago, but your thoughts are still focused<\/strong><\/a> on what you did over the weekend. Or maybe you are dreaming about your next vacation. The mind is prone to distraction. But then a colleague’s email bursts into your reverie. That’s all you need. The distraction is total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone knows such lapses in concentration. But sometimes there are also longer phases in which you simply cannot concentrate. The lack of concentration often goes back to childhood. Concentration problems are common and can have many causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lack of concentration definition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is lack of concentration? Lack of concentration is a tendency to disperse one’s thoughts and interfere with the tasks one is doing or, in children, with learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lack of concentration: main symptoms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lack of concentration and attention deficit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A concentration or attention disorder occurs when a child or adult is unable to focus on a task. For children, this often occurs at school, with problems following the course or retaining the lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lack of concentration leads to being easily distracted by stimuli, whether they are of internal or external origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, a distinction is made between a concentration disorder and a lack of concentration. The difference is that a lack of concentration is only temporary, whereas a lack of concentration lasts longer or is even permanent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concentrating on a task for a longer or shorter period of time corresponds to a mental performance peak for the brain, necessary for productivity. Concentration requires extra energy from the body. It is therefore normal that attention decreases after a certain time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amount of time one can concentrate varies from person to person and also depends a lot on age. For example, elementary school-aged children lose concentration after an average of about 15 minutes, while teenagers can manage about 30 minutes of learning or listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For adults, the limit is about one hour. Thus, if the attention decreases after a certain time, it is not yet a concentration disorder. Only if the ability to concentrate is significantly lower than the above-mentioned reference times, or if the distracted state lasts for days and weeks, can it be a pathological concentration disorder or a lasting lack of concentration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms of poor concentration in children<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Concentration disorders are identified by forgetfulness, inattention and fatigue. Children are easily distracted, quickly forget what they have just done, start many things at once and finish few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, they may perform the same task twice because they do not remember doing it before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can easily test your child’s tendency to lose focus: talk to them about any topic while they are drawing or writing and observe their behavior. A child who concentrates well will continue to draw or write without being distracted by the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When thinking, children who are not focused quickly let their thoughts wander from the present subject to other subjects or “daydreams. Instead of thinking about the result of the calculation, they think about a beautiful memory, a sad experience or a story they are making up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This contributes to a significant limitation in the quality of their work. Children’s resilience is also reduced. Those affected by the problem lack vitality and creativity, and feel weak, overwhelmed and apathetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on what is behind the concentration problems, other signs of this disorder may appear. But the behaviors that result from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are mainly of two kinds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the child can either present a motor agitation and botch his work at full speed, or conversely, work calmly but with an extreme slowness that resembles lethargy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tasks involving memory may be affected, as poor concentration impairs memorization; but there are also learning disabilities such as dysgraphia or dysorthographia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice: the causes of lack of concentration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Concentration problems can have a wide variety of causes. In children and adolescents, for example, long television programs and computer games that cause excessive fatigue are among the main triggers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, an unhealthy lifestyle is identified (lack of sleep, unbalanced diet, lack of fluids, lack of exercise, stress, alcohol, nicotine, drug addiction, etc.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the elderly, age-related slowing of metabolism and general deterioration of brain circulation can also lead to poor concentration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possible causes of concentration problems in children and adolescents<\/h3>\n\n\n\n