Online Class Notes (Mike)

How do you concentrate when there is distraction?

When you were at school, were you ever told to stop daydreaming and concentrate? It was easy for your mind to wander if you weren’t interested in what you were learning or if you had better things to think about. Staying focused can still be a challenge in adult life, but understanding how to do it, and knowing what is distracting you, can help.

Scientists have looked at what makes us procrastinate and found a number of ways to help us stay in the zone. One of the most obvious things is eliminating noise. Research by Science Focus magazine found silence is best for concentration, or a gentle background hum and coffee shop noise is great! It also found turning off notifications on your phone, or switching it off altogether, removes a major distraction and helps us focus on the task at hand.

Another possible cure for a short attention span is brain training. Psychologists and neuroscientists are increasingly interested in our ability to knuckle down and have looked at what we can change inside our head to make us concentrate. An article for BBC Future by Caroline Williams says that “Attention Researcher Nilli Lavie of University College London has found that making a task more visually demanding… takes up more processing power and leaves the brain nothing left to process distractions.” So, keeping your mind busy might be the answer.

There are more practical tips to keeping your mind focused. These include making a list or timetable of the tasks you have to do, finding a workspace where you’re not tempted to do other things, or chewing some gum! It’s possible the movement in your mouth occupies parts of the brain that might otherwise get distracted.

But according to Science Focus magazine, distraction isn’t all bad. “If we were always so focused that we never got distracted, we’d miss potential changes, such as threats, in our environment. Distraction is vital for survival.”

1. 

1. What should you try to remove if you want to concentrate properly?

2. According to one expert, what uses up processing power in our brain?

3. What might we miss if we didn’t get distracted?

4. Why might finding a suitable workspace help you concentrate?

5. Who are particularly interested in our ability to stay focused?

2. 

1. I was _______ on the train and missed my stop!

focused                      distracting                   daydreaming             silence

2. My son has a _______ and can’t concentrate on his schoolwork.

short attention span                                        short attention spans

short attentive span                                        attention short span

3. You need to _______ if you want to get all your work completed on time.

procrastinate               task at hand                 knuckle down           daydream

4. There must be absolute _______ in the exam hall.

threats                         silence                         focused                   neuroscientists

5. In our yoga class, we were told to relax and allow our _______.

wander our mind                                             wandering mind

mind to wandering                                          mind to wander

Coffee and tea become popular between us.We can’t hang out with friends,do some business things or stay at home without them. They are pick me up because of coffine component.The similar, they are also give us advantage in our health such as they can avoid the risk of stroke or take us away heart disease,but we can’t drink a lot. If you drink a lot, we will become nerve excitement ,and then it can take us some sleep problens

Coffee and tea become popular among us. Without them, our time with friends and family will be less interesting, we will not be able to focus on our work. They are pick-me-up because of the caffeine component. Similarly, they also give us health benefits like reducing the risk of stroke and heart disease. But we shouldn’t drink too much, otherwise, it will overstimulate our nerves/neural system and lead to sleep problems.

Vocabulary

trend (n) 趋势，流行的东西
trendy (adj.) 流行的东西

habitual (adj.)
He is a habitual liar. 撒谎成性的人

restore – restorative (adj.) 促进健康的，促进康复的
This is a very helpful restorative method for people who have bone issues.

caffeinated (adj.) 含有咖啡因的
a ~ drink

neural (adj.) 神经系统的

insomnia:
My doctor thinks that pressure is the main reason for my insomnia.

sleepless night
I spent many sleepless nights preparing for my exam.