Are you looking for tips on how to stay focused while studying? Do you constantly find yourself in an environment difficult to study in? Or do you find it difficult to concentrate while reading? If you’re going through any of these, then this article is for you.
Staying focused while studying can be a challenge, especially in today’s world where there are so many distractions. However, there are tips and strategies to help you concentrate while reading and in this article, I’ll share with you 9 tips on how to stay focused while studying.
But before going into that, why do people find it difficult to concentrate while studying?
Reasons why you’re finding it difficult to stay focused while studying.
Here are 9 reasons why people find it difficult to stay focused while studying;
1. External Distractions: Noise, music, voices, movement, and the use of mobile phones or other electronic devices are all external distractions that make it difficult to focus while studying. These distractions can draw your attention away from your studies and make it harder to concentrate.
2. Internal Distractions: Hunger, thirst, discomfort, sleepiness, and tiredness are all internal distractions that make it difficult to focus while studying.
If you’re hungry, thirsty, uncomfortable, or tired, it can be hard to concentrate on your studies because your body is trying to get your attention. As human beings, it’s quite difficult to focus on two different things at the same time, hence internal distraction wins and it becomes difficult to stay focused while studying.
3. Concerns: Personal, Family or academic concerns can be a distraction while studying. If you’re worried about a problem in your personal life, family life, financial life or if you’re concerned about an upcoming test or assignment, it can be hard to stay focused while studying.
4. Stress: Stress can be a major distraction while studying. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed out, your entire body system requires rest, hence it can be hard to concentrate on your studies.
5. Anxiety: Anxiety can also be a distraction while studying. If you’re feeling anxious about an upcoming test or examination, it can be hard to focus on your studies.
6. Depression: Depression can make it difficult to focus and concentrate on tasks, including studying. If you’re struggling with depression, it can be hard to find the motivation to study or to stay focused while studying.
7. Lack of Motivation: A lack of motivation can be a major barrier to focus while studying. If you’re not interested in the subject you’re studying, or if you don’t see the value in the material, it can be hard to stay focused.
8. Attention Problems: Some people may have attention problems that make it difficult to focus on tasks, including studying. Attention problems can be caused by a variety of factors, including medical conditions, medications, or other factors.
9. Little Ability to Concentrate: Difficulty with concentration can also make it hard to focus while studying. This can be caused by a variety of factors, including medical conditions, medications, or other factors.
It’s important to identify the specific distractions or reasons why you’re finding it difficult to concentrate and to try to address them in order to improve study habits and academic performance.
Next, let’s get into how to overcome these difficulties.
10 Best Tips On How To Stay Focused While Studying
1. Sleep Well
Rest is the most important factor to consider for the appropriate operation of cognitive functions. You need to have had a good night’s sleep before you can start studying and functioning effectively. We discuss both the quantity and the caliber of sleep. It is advised to get at least eight hours of sleep each night and to practice proper sleep hygiene.
Do not study in bed; only sleep there.
Sleep at night and be awake throughout the day; behave according to the light. Your circadian rhythm and the effectiveness of your attention and focus will be impacted by studying late at night.
Make sure to relax before night by eating dinner early and turning off the screens.
Sleep is necessary to memorize information in addition to being important for better study habits.
One of the functions of sleep is learning. The theories you’ve learned are solidified while you’re sleeping. For this reason, studying at night while getting little or poor sleep is detrimental.
2. Eat Healthily
In order to maintain good health and achieve optimal brain function, it’s crucial to eat a balanced diet. To do this, we must provide the body all the nutrients it needs while consuming the fewest amount of bad foods. The effects of sugar, which are most felt in the neurological system and cognitive functions, include irritation, anxiousness, loss of attention, and mood swings. So, one of the possible causes of your frequent declarations of “I can’t concentrate to study” could be your sugar intake.
So what should you drink to concentrate?
Following are some pointers for improving concentration in respect to food:
- Avoid alcoholic beverages with added sugar.
- Limit your coffee intake.
- Saturated fats and foods heavy in sugar should be avoided even though they offer energy rapidly because they make it hard to concentrate.
- Consume foods high in potassium and magnesium, such as bananas, veggies, greens, and nuts.
- Small doses of chocolate (with a high cocoa content) also improve focus and memory.
3. Practice Physical Exercise
Staying physically and mentally active is crucial for maintaining good health. Exercise raises levels of neurotrophic factor, a protein that enhances neural plasticity, allowing for an increase in neuronal connections and, ultimately, new learning.
Additionally, it raises the number of new neurons that are formed and the blood flow to them, which enhances their functionality.
Exercise can even enhance performance and slightly increase the size of the hippocampus, one of the parts of the brain most crucial to memory. Exercise provides numerous physical and psychological advantages as well, which is crucial if you plan to sit still for extended periods of time while studying.
4. Stay in a Quiet Environment
In order to concentrate on a particular topic, like a book or some notes, it’s vital to keep away from other, more intriguing objects that can draw your attention. The first step in starting to study is choosing the proper location—a place that is calm with few interruptions. We advise finding a roomy, open space with sunlight, no noise, order, and few stimuli—in other words, a place where you can feel at ease, at peace, and alone.
It is advised that it should not be the bed or the sofa, meaning that they should not be locations that are connected to leisure or relaxation. In an environment that you identify with work and study, it will be simpler to focus.
5. Manage Concerns
What can I do if I can’t stay focused while studying? There are many ways to improve your focus while studying if your problem is that you are easily distracted by worries and thoughts. Some of them are:
• Resolution: Take care of whatever needs to be done right away so you may close it and continue your study session.
• Scheduling: If it can’t be resolved now, you can include a note in your agenda about when you’ll deal with it.
• Relaxation: To make the mind less cluttered and more open to learning new things
• Mindfulness: The most beneficial thing is to practice mindfulness if you have any unproductive anxieties or ideas that don’t now have a workable solution. Focusing on one thing while letting go of distracting ideas is the essence of the mindfulness meditation approach. For example, recognizing when ideas like “the last exam was dreadful” or “what am I going to do for supper tomorrow” enter your head and letting them go immediately because they can’t be resolved is being in a state of mindfulness.
Within yourself, you gently quit focusing on them and return to whatever you are studying instantly. This will help you stay focused most times and reduce distracting thoughts.
6. Keep Everything Close at Hand
Another Important tip on how to stay focused while studying is to keep everything within your reach. It is better if you already have everything you need within your reach so as to minimize interruptions and to avoid stopping an activity while you are being focused.
Make a list of the supplies and materials you’ll need for that task or study day (notes, folder, diary, computer, a book, a notebook, that highlighter, a pen that works, a glass of water …).
When you have everything you need within reach, staying focused is going to be very easy because every time you get up to retrieve anything, you break a moment of concentration.
7. Have a Plan
Planning is the first step in achieving a goal. You can create a calendar or timetable with your study objectives. The tasks that must be completed as well as the breaks must be included.
Why do we recommend making a plan to improve your focus and increase the effectiveness of your study time? This is because making decisions takes time especially when you have a very full schedule and you don’t know where to begin.
Moreover, it’s simpler for you to become overwhelmed and give up when you’re unsure of what to do.
Spend time planning the studies properly, and set realistic study times that allow for breaks. See it as, if you accomplish what has been suggested, you will feel more motivated to pursue your next objective since your motivation will grow (an outline of a book page, for example). While if the goals are unattainable, you won’t accomplish them, your desire will suffer, and it will be much harder to concentrate when you’re in that frame of mind.
8. Study Partners or Companions
While some students must study alone, others find that they perform better when they are accompanied. Try a few classmates or students from different majors as not everyone makes the best study companion.
9. Be Realistic
Sometimes a lack of organization during the course and too much pressure during the last few weeks or days lead to poor study performance or lack of attention. Realistic thinking and an understanding of what your memory is and is not capable of doing are crucial for the proper functioning of attention.
It is unrealistic to expect to spend long hours memorizing a manual or textbook, instead study according to your brain capacity, and continue some other time.
10. Take Breaks
Every forty minutes of study time, we advise taking a five-minute break. According to research, attention span lasts approximately for 45 mins, however it differs among people.
Therefore, it is necessary to remember that while studying, quality supersedes quantity. Studying is an active activity that demands effort on our side if we are to comprehend, process, internalize, and integrate new information.
When you realize that you are not providing as much as you should in this regard, take breaks. Forcing yourself will simply make you more exhausted and hamper your ability to concentrate and remember things.
Conclusion
Lastly, another helpful tip on how to stay focused while studying is to put your phone out of reach, because it is frequently among the factors that most distract us. With these tips and advice, we hope to have benefited you and that you may use them successfully to improve your study techniques.