Attention: The Basics
This Section Includes:
Managing Attention
Types of Attention
Attention is Vulnerable
Attention Can Be Trained
Harnessing The Power Of Attention
Managing Attention
Managing attention can be incredibly hard for many people, especially those with ADHD. Attention is a critical skill, it keeps us on track, helps us accomplish goals, and allows us to live our lives in a way that is consistent with our priorities and intentions. Distractions move us away from our goals and intentions and can lead us astray. This section is designed to help you learn more about attention and ways to manage attention so that you can live out your priorities in life.
According to Dr. Amishi Jah, our attention system evolved to help the brain solve a very big problem; there is far more information in the environment than our brain can process. The attention system filters out unnecessary noise and chatter, highlights what is essential, and dims distractions.
When we focus on aspects of the environment that help us accomplish our goals, we enter a state of readiness or flow. This is when we perform at our best.
Many people use the analogy that attention is like a flashlight that illuminates specific information that is “sucked into the brain like a huge vacuum cleaner”, (Dr. Rick Hanson). Others say attention biases brain activity, it gives a competitive advantage to the information it selects, (Dr. Amishi Jha). Either way, whatever you pay attention to will have more neural activity associated with it. In this way, attention alters the functioning of the brain at the cellular level.
Attention is like walking around with a flashlight while it’s dark out, shining a light around you in small spots. Where your flashlight shines is your attention directing your brain and illuminating information against the rest of the world.
Whatever we pay attention to is gathered up and amplified by the brain. For this reason, attention is often called, the boss of the brain. Where your attention goes, the rest of the brain will follow. If you focus attention deliberately and with specific intentions, these intentions will play out in your life. Otherwise, your attention goes to the highest bidder and you will be on the hook for whatever hijacks your attentional system.
Pictured: A figure shines a flashlight on the word "Attention"
“Attention determines the decisions we make, the actions we take, how we interact with others, what we perceive and remember, how steady or reactive we are and ultimately our sense of fulfillment and accomplishments.” Dr. Amishi Jha
Types of Attention
Pictured: A list of some types of attention. Selective Attention, Vigilance, Allocating Attention, Goal Focus, and Meta-Awareness.
Attention can be directed inside or outside. These two types of attention activate different cognitive networks. Shifting attention outside of yourself involves intentionally noticing your environment and the people you’re around. This might involve small behaviors such as noticing people you encounter every day in a more friendly or attentive way calling to check on a friend, or going to see someone who is having difficulty in some way.
Dr. Jha describes Three systems of attention.
The “Flashlight” system is narrow and focused. Where you point the flashlight becomes brighter and information not in the beam is suppressed. This is also called alerting or focusing attention on specific information.
A second type of attention is the “Floodlight” which is broad and open like being on alert and looking for something, but you may not be sure what you are looking for. This is also known as orienting or deciding what is important amid a background of distractions or possibilities.
The third system of attention is the “Juggler”. This type of attention oversees and directs executive functions, which involve managing multiple skills in pursuit of goals. This third sub-system of attention helps us restrain ourselves from responding to distractions and helps us monitor how well we are staying on track. Executive skills include prioritizing, decision-making, working memory, and self-regulation along with allocation and management of all three types of attention.
Dr. Jah has developed strategies for strengthening different types of attention which involves training people in specific types of meditation to strengthen each type of attention.
Visit our Attention Strategies section for more information about this.
Now that you know about the basics of attention, let's learn more about how to improve it over time.
Attention is Vulnerable
Attention is powerful and it amplifies whatever we pay attention to, but it is also very fragile and can be rapidly depleted by stress, threats, or poor mood (Dr. Amishi Jha). When your attentional resources are spent, you can’t perform well, and you must take a break and replenish. Trying to push through when your attentional resources are low can lead to poor or weaker-than-usual performance, lower self-esteem, loss of confidence, anxiety, or depression.
Attention Can Be Trained
Attention is selected as a top five skill because attention is trainable. The neural circuits that sub-serve attention exhibit plasticity which means they can be strengthened with practice. Studies using fMRI and other measures have demonstrated that significant changes occur both in the architecture and function of the brain when people practice skills like mindfulness which strengthen attention. Observable and measurable changes can occur within as little as eight to twelve weeks of daily practice. To be mindful of attention is to notice where your attention is being allocated and to direct it mindfully toward the information or skills that help us accomplish our goals or purpose in life.
Studies have shown that the average person only pays attention to what they are doing around 50% of the time. This means that we are absent or not fully present for about half our life. The rest of the time we are mind wandering or daydreaming. Mind-wandering is not the absence of attention, it is a pattern of attending to random and often irrelevant thoughts or emotions, and the more you engage in mind-wandering, the more likely it is to continue. This means that we may be physically present but not fully there for important events like birthday parties, meals together, family time, time with friends, or even for our job or business decisions. This obviously can be very costly to relationships as well as business affairs.
Even if we get our priorities straightened out, we still have the problem of staying on track with our goals and intentions. Getting distracted or not paying attention carries real-life issues of poor performance, getting hurt, breaking things, and getting into trouble. Once we master the basic skills of safety, protection, and staying out of trouble, we still must learn through observation and experience how to prioritize our attention to be happy and successful in life.
With the distractions that are present in the world today, it can be difficult to fight the natural draws of attention. The brain automatically responds to information that is exciting, stimulating, interesting, threatening, or anything the brain perceives as important. But we can override these natural pulls of attention and direct our attention wherever we choose. The skill is to notice where your attention is being allocated without fighting the natural pulls on your attention.
Dr. Amishi Jha speaking at the Pentagon Introduced by General Walter Piatt
