4 Simple Exercises to Strengthen Your Attention and Reduce Distractibility

“I think, therefore I am distracted.”

If Descartes were writing today, that's how his famous saying would go. We're living in an age of distraction, bombarded by our own flood of customized notifications, alerts, texts, videos, TV shows, and more. It's no wonder our minds are usually so scattered.

But it turns out we're not at the mercy of our wandering minds. Amishi Jha (TED Talk: How to tame your wandering mind), a psychology professor at the University of Miami and director of contemplative neuroscience at the UMindfulness Initiative, studies the brain's attention mechanisms and has discovered that there are specific exercises we can do to strengthen our ability to pay attention. Here, she explains how you can take back control of your wandering mind.

Our attention is fragile. Jha compares our attention to “a flashlight that we can point toward whatever we choose.” Since research shows our minds wander during 50 percent of our waking hours, that means most of us are walking around with flickering flashlights, dimming and brightening. Internal distractions; work stress, cravings for alcohol; and external distractions; like a storm alert on your phone; easily pull our attention away. Whether the interruptions are significant or trivial, they are “a hijacking of attention resources away from the task at hand,” according to her. This lack of attention has serious consequences for all of us, but especially for people in high-responsibility fields like medicine, the military, and criminal justice.

So how do we gain control of these flickering flashlights and achieve focus? “That's where mindfulness training comes in,” says Jha. She describes this training as a “portable gym workout for the brain to keep our attention strong.” She tested the effects of such training in individuals from high-stress groups, including athletes and military personnel. Her research found that the attention of someone without mindfulness training declines when under intense stress, while for people who have received such training, their attention remains stable. Moreover, people who do mindfulness exercises regularly show improvement in attention over time, even when under stress. According to Jha, researchers have begun discovering other benefits associated with mindfulness, including reduced anxiety, protection against depression relapse, and improved working memory.

What is mindfulness? It's consciously paying attention to the present moment without emotional reactivity. “This doesn't require any particular worldview or spiritual or religious belief system,” says Jha. Mindfulness training can be divided into two main categories: focused attention and open monitoring. They are very different practices, yet complementary.

Focused attention exercises cultivate your brain's ability to concentrate on a single object, such as your breath. To practice mindful breathing, sit in a comfortable, upright position and direct all your attention to the sensations of breathing; “for example, the cool air entering and leaving your nostrils or your belly moving in and out,” says Jha. “Focus on something connected to your sensory experience. When your mind wanders from that sensation to internal mental content or an external distraction, gently return to the breath-related object.” Don't be surprised or disappointed if you find yourself having to return your mind to the object hundreds of times during a 15-minute session. Think of your brain as a puppy you're training to walk on a leash. Gently bring it back to the path every time it strays.

Another focused attention exercise is mindful walking. Notice the sensations of walking: “your feet on the ground, the wind touching your skin, the sounds in the air,” says Jha. Walks can happen indoors or outdoors. You might find this easier than mindful breathing; do whichever exercise works better for you.

A final focused attention exercise is body scan. Remember that idea of your attention being like a flashlight? “Essentially, a body scan is taking that flashlight and directing it systematically throughout your body,” says Jha. Start by focusing your attention on your toes, noting any sensations that might be there. Tension? Tingling? Warmth? Coolness? Then move to the soles of your feet and your heels. Then to your legs, your stomach, and so on, slowly directing your flashlight toward the upper part of your body. Once you've built a solid foundation in focused attention practice and can maintain your attention on a particular object or set of sensations for a period of time, you can move on to open monitoring.

Open monitoring helps you learn to pay attention to what's happening around you without clinging to it. This practice isn't about focusing on one object or several objects in particular. Instead, it's about remaining open to any experience; internal or external; that arises, allowing it to pass through you. “You don't process it, you don't think about it,” says Jha. “You simply notice its occurrence and allow it to dissolve.” To do this, sit in a comfortable, upright position and try to be aware of any sensations, thoughts, or emotions that arise without holding onto them. Something that can help is labeling what arises using words like “planning,” “worrying,” “judging,” “remembering.” You can do this silently or aloud. After naming, let it go. Think of this exercise as watching clouds move across the sky and change shape; in this practice, you're watching your thoughts travel through your mind. And yes, there will be times when you feel stuck in a particular thought or sensation and can't let it go. According to Jha: “If you find yourself so lost in your thoughts that you're unable to do this open monitoring practice, go back to one of the focused attention exercises to stabilize yourself again.”

People generally begin to see benefits when they practice about 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for about 4 weeks. “If you do more, you benefit more,” she says, “but if you do less than 12 minutes a day, we really don't see any benefit.” If you try any of these exercises and struggle to keep your mind quiet, know that this is a common experience. Jha cautions people not to feel discouraged; like any new activity or sport, you need to practice. “The mind will wander, and that's completely normal. It's not about preventing the mind from wandering, but about gently returning your attention when it does,” she says.

Start small. “Begin with whatever you consider a reasonable goal and cut it in half. And commit to it for a period of time,” says Jha. Your goal could be as simple as promising to stop every day and take the posture of one of the practices, says Jha. Once you sit (or walk), you'll likely decide to stay for a while. Whatever your initial goal, commit to it for a month; and congratulate yourself for doing so; and gradually increase your practice time until you're doing it for 15 minutes, 5 days a week. Finding a mindfulness community, whether virtual or in person, can help you stick with it. Most importantly, says Jha, make sure “you're encouraging yourself to build the habit of practicing,” whether by setting reminders or finding a quiet place and time to practice at home or work.

Jha has seen the positive impact of mindfulness training on the many people she's worked with over the years. One thing that has impressed her is how much military personnel report improvement not only in their ability to work under pressure, but also in their home lives. Many have described struggling to be present with their families after returning from a mission. But after mindfulness training, they found they were more able to be present with their loved ones; something most of us would like to do as well. “This idea of how to be present for the people around us when we really want to is something that often escapes us. Many times, we don't find ways to do it,” says Jha. By reclaiming our own attention, we can connect more fully with the people who matter to us.

Originally published at ideas.ted.com