Difficulty concentrating or forgetting greatly affects the learning process and work performance. This condition is often caused by stress, a nervous breakdown, but is sometimes a warning sign of many underlying health problems. The information in the article will help readers have a specific picture of the cause and find effective solutions.
Difficulty concentrating or forgetting can occur in both adults and children
Difficulty concentrating or forgetting?
The ability to focus and remember is managed by the temporal lobes inside the brain. At some point, you may experience forgetfulness and poor concentration due to nervous tension. This condition is usually not a cause for concern if it is short-lived.
On the contrary, if the situation of difficulty concentrating, forgetting occurs for a long time, affecting study and career, you should find out the cause and intervene to improve measures. This is most likely a sign of some serious health problem.
In fact, there are many causes of forgetfulness and impaired concentration. Here are some common reasons readers can refer to:
1. Nervous tension
Stress is the leading cause of memory loss and difficulty concentrating. When stressed, the brain will send a signal to the adrenal glands to increase the hormone cortisol to help the body adapt to pressure and stress. However, an increase in cortisol will affect memory.
Specifically, this hormone inhibits the production of serotonin – the neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of euphoria, appetite and responsible for memory. If you lack serotonin for a long time, it will be difficult for you to avoid forgetfulness, poor eating and many negative emotions.
In addition, when under prolonged stress, the amount of blood circulating to the brain will decrease significantly, leading to a lack of oxygen. This will also affect the functioning of the internal parts of the brain. As a result, you will easily experience fatigue, lethargy, decreased concentration and forgetfulness.
2. Burnout syndrome
Burnout syndrome has not been recognized as a disease but is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “occupational phenomena”. WHO believes that this syndrome is the result of chronic stress in the workplace that cannot be controlled.
When you fall into a “Burnout” state, you will experience symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, depression, loss of interest, forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating. Therefore, in most cases that fall into this state, it is difficult to maintain the same performance as before. Work stagnation, frequent errors and reprimands.
Fatigue, difficulty concentrating or forgetting and lethargy, etc. are common manifestations of Burnout syndrome
In the current context of globalization, any job will have pressure. However, if you don’t know how to manage stress, you will let your body fall into a “burnout” state. This state is more difficult to control than normal stress, so you can seek professional help if needed.
3. Nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown is a very common disease in adults – especially people of working age. This disease occurs when nerve cells have to “work” excessively for a long time and as a result, disrupt cortical function. Nervous breakdown can occur due to prolonged stress or due to severe psychological trauma.
People with neurasthenia have unstable moods, insomnia, fatigue, and depression. In addition, dysfunction of the cerebral cortex also reduces the ability to concentrate and remember. So, if you have trouble concentrating and forgetfulness, you should consider this cause.
4. Effects of age
Memory loss, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, etc. is a common condition in the elderly. As age increases, all organs enter the process of degeneration (including the brain and nerve cells). Therefore, from the age of 60 and above, memory and concentration will decrease significantly.
Due to the influence of age, most elderly people have difficulty concentrating and forgetfulness
The process of degeneration is an inevitable law. However, this process can happen earlier and happen at a rapid rate if there are factors such as having worked hard for a long time, or thinking, abusing alcohol, smoking, losing chronic sleep deprivation and chronic health problems. In contrast, people with a scientific lifestyle will have a later degeneration and the rate of degeneration is usually slow.
5. Effects of other health problems
In addition to stress and depression, forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating can be linked to other health problems such as:
- Depression: Depression is one of the most common mood disorders with typical manifestations of depression, sadness, pessimism and loss of interest in everything. In addition to emotional disturbances, depressed patients will face forgetfulness, insomnia and poor concentration due to a lack of serotonin in the synaptic cleft. Besides, poor eating and insomnia due to depression also indirectly affect memory ability.
- Anxiety disorders: People with anxiety disorders often fall into a state of stress, anxiety, insecurity. This causes cortisol and adrenalin levels to rise sharply. The result is insomnia, decreased concentration, forgetfulness, and weakness.
- Sleep disorders: Sleep is closely linked to brain health. If you have frequent insomnia and trouble sleeping, the organs in the brain will work poorly because they are not “rested” and restored. Therefore, most people with sleep disorders have poor memory, are often tired and have reduced ability to concentrate.
- Physical damage to the brain: Physical damage to the brain such as stroke, trauma, meningitis, etc. can impair the activity of the temporal lobes. The result is memory loss, difficulty concentrating and fatigue at work.
- Alzheimer’s disease: Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia syndrome. This disease causes patients to suffer from memory loss, language dysfunction, reduced concentration and reasoning ability, etc. Alzheimer’s is common in the elderly and is mainly related to genetics.
If you have difficulty concentrating and forgetfulness due to the above health problems, you will experience many accompanying symptoms. Therefore, you can rely on the accompanying symptoms to determine the pathology you may be experiencing.
6. Due to bad habits
In some cases, forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating may be related to bad habits:
Regular drinking can cause forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating and lethargy
- Stay up late: Many young people have the habit of staying up late to work or watch movies or entertain. Although it is possible to make up for sleep the next day, this habit will disrupt circadian rhythms and affect brain activity. If you maintain the habit of staying up late for a long time, you will face forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating.
- Drinking a lot of alcohol: Alcohol is not only harmful to the liver and stomach, but also affects the functioning of the brain. Studies show that drinking alcohol disrupts the signaling of the nerves of the hippocampus. From there, it causes memory loss, reduced concentration and, worse, can impair long-term memory.
- Smoking: Smoking accelerates brain aging and accelerates cognitive decline. Therefore, most of the long-term smokers experience memory loss, poor concentration, etc. as soon as they enter middle age.
7. Side effects of drugs
Difficulty concentrating or forgetting can be a side effect of some of the following medications:
- Sedatives such as Triazolam, Lorazepam, Diazepam, etc.
- Tricyclic antidepressants such as Imipramine, Nortriptyline, Amitriptyline, …
- Medicines to treat high blood pressure such as Timolol, Propranolol, Atenolol, etc.
- The group of statin drugs to treat hyperlipidemia such as Simvastatin, Lovastatin, Atorvastatin, etc.
- Narcotic pain relievers (opioids) such as Tramadol, Hydrocodone, etc.
- Anticonvulsants like Gabapentin, Carbamazepine, etc.
- Dopamine agonists are used to treat restless legs syndrome, Parkinson’s disease such as Pramipexole, Apomorphine, …
Usually, before taking these drugs, the doctor will advise about the possible side effects, Forgetfulness and impaired concentration are side effects that are mild and do not necessarily need to be stopped. .
Effects of forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating
Difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness significantly affects study results and work performance. Due to impaired memory, you are prone to making mistakes at work and constantly being reprimanded. In addition, memory loss also causes many troubles in life such as frequently forgetting things, missing appointments, etc.
Forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating will also affect mood. Most people who experience this condition are always accompanied by feelings of depression, stress, and anxiety. Therefore, early improvement measures should be taken to reduce the annoyance caused by forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating.
Measures to improve difficulty concentrating or forgetting
Most cases of forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating are related to stress, lack of sleep and nervous breakdown. So you can improve this situation with some simple measures.
Here are some solutions you can apply to improve forgetfulness and poor concentration:
1. Take relaxation measures
Difficulty concentrating and forgetfulness are often associated with prolonged stress. In fact, stress has become an inevitable part of modern life. In the past, stress only occurred in adults, but now, school-age children and the elderly also face stress.
Learning how to relax and manage stress is an important skill that everyone should have. If you know how to relieve yourself, you can overcome stress and regain peace of mind and stability. When stress is reduced, cortisol levels are lowered and serotonin increases. Thereby helping to improve memory loss, loss of concentration, loss of appetite and trouble sleeping.
Stress, difficulty concentrating or forgetting can be improved after applying relaxation measures
To improve concentration and forgetfulness, you can apply some relaxation measures below:
- Meditation is a very effective way to relax and reduce stress. With just 15-30 minutes of meditation, you can get rid of all your worries, regain a sense of balance and peace.
- Deep breathing techniques are also effective in reducing stress. This technique is performed by taking a deep breath in through the nose, then holding the breath at the diaphragm for a few seconds and exhaling slowly through the mouth. Repeat for about 5 – 15 minutes will help control stress and anxiety effectively.
- Taking time to rest, take care of yourself will also help you overcome stress and depression.
- In addition, you can also apply some relaxation measures such as acupressure massage, aromatherapy (use essential oil diffuser, scented candles, rose water bath, …), drink herbal tea to overcome the pain. through stress at work and study.
Stress management is a very important skill. If you have this skill, you will always keep a stable mind and a healthy body.
2. Get enough sleep
As mentioned, the quality of sleep is closely related to brain activity. Sleep at the right time and enough time will help nerve cells to rest, regenerate and recover. Conversely, less sleep time and poor quality sleep will cause the organs to function sluggishly.
Sleeping before 23:00 and getting enough 7-8 hours of sleep per night will help you improve forgetfulness, lethargy and difficulty concentrating. In addition, getting enough sleep also helps increase creativity and knowledge acquisition.
If you often suffer from insomnia and have trouble sleeping, you can apply sleep hygiene measures such as:
- Clean the bedroom regularly to ensure the bedroom is always clean and airy. It is necessary to ensure that the sleeping space is not too bright or too dark, the room temperature ranges from 25 to 28 degrees Celsius and is absolutely quiet.
- You should go to bed and wake up at a fixed time to stabilize the biological clock.
- You can meditate and do gentle yoga for about 2 hours before going to bed.
- Do not use caffeine and alcohol after 13:00. In addition, it is necessary to limit eating after 21:00 and eating dinner too full because these habits can cause difficulty sleeping and insomnia.
- You can soak your feet with warm water, massage, listen to music without words, drink herbal tea, etc. to create a feeling of drowsiness and sleep better.
These measures will help eliminate triggers and create a feeling of better sleep. At first, the quality of sleep will not improve much. However, if you persist in applying it, you will find it easier to fall asleep, sleep better, dream less and do not experience sleep paralysis. From there, it helps to improve memory, increase concentration and creativity at work.
3. Eat in moderation
A balanced diet also helps a lot in improving forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating. Building a reasonable diet is especially effective in the case of memory loss due to neurasthenia, depression, anxiety disorders and prolonged stress.
A balanced diet will help improve forgetfulness and reduce concentration
Diet to improve forgetfulness, lethargy and difficulty concentrating:
- Increase foods that can improve memory such as lotus seeds, fatty fish, legumes, nuts, fruits, yogurt, green vegetables, etc.
- Balance nutrition in the diet menu to improve health, avoid weakness and fatigue.
- Stress can cause cerebral ischemia and indirectly affect memory. Therefore, you can improve forgetfulness and distraction by adding iron-rich foods such as beef, liver, beets, beans, etc.
- People with attention deficit disorder and forgetfulness often suffer from insomnia. Therefore, the diet should include food groups rich in tryptophan (a precursor of serotonin) such as lotus seeds, green beans, squash, nuts, white meat.
- Also, make sure to drink 2 liters of water per day. Besides pure water, you can drink caffeine-free teas and fresh fruit and vegetable juices to provide micronutrients for the body.
- Limit foods that are high in sugar, spices, fats, and colorants.
- Abstain from alcohol, tobacco and limit the use of caffeine (coffee, energy drinks, soft drinks, tea, …).
4. Exercise regularly
Exercising every day is a simple way to improve forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating. When exercising, the brain will produce endorphins that have a relaxing effect, bringing a feeling of refreshment and relaxation. In addition, increased endorphins also help regulate serotonin levels, reduce cortisol and adrenalin. Ensuring the balance of neurotransmitters will help the brain function properly and increase memory and concentration.
Every day, you should spend 15-45 minutes to exercise. Start with gentle intensity activities such as walking, jogging, cycling and yoga. In just a short time, you will notice a significant improvement in your physical and mental health.
In addition to the benefits for the brain, exercise also brings many effects to physical health such as increasing the flexibility of bones and joints, reducing shoulder and neck pain, muscle tension due to stress, regulating bowel movements, improving Digestive ability, etc. For women, exercise also helps regulate menstruation and reduce the level of menstrual pain during menstruation.
5. Find a doctor, specialist
Forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating can be a sign of a number of medical conditions such as anxiety disorders, depression, neurasthenia or more seriously, Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, this condition can also be a manifestation of Burnout syndrome.
You should see a psychologist or doctor if it is difficult to concentrate, or forgetfulness persists
If you can’t improve on your own, you should see a doctor or specialist for help. After determining the cause, you will be guided in treatment / psychotherapy to overcome the health problems you are facing. When these diseases are controlled, the ability to remember and concentrate will be markedly improved.
Difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness is a fairly common condition that can affect both children and adults. Hopefully, through the above useful information, readers know how to improve this situation effectively. If necessary, consider seeing a doctor/specialist for timely examination and treatment.
