Help! Can't concentrate while reading
So I am currently reading books to pass time but they aren't fictional books; rather they are books on philosophy, religion, politics, state formation and history. They do require some level of concentration as they contain concepts of varying complexity and most content is invariably causally linked to the previous content but I just can't concentrate. Like at all. I'd read a sentence four or five times and still wouldn't know what's in it because I lose concentration mid sentence. This not only slows me down considerably but is also annoying and causes me to lose interest. I have a bachelors in EE and didn't have considerable problems (only an year ago) reading course books and understanding what was in them and applying the concepts so I don't really understand what's wrong with me. Can someone kindly help me? Thanks.
Thoughts:
Thanks a lot for the advice btw. I really appreciate it.
Your difficulty in reading comprehension is something I specifically experience when sleepy. I sort of have the opposite problem, in that I have to 'wear out' my brain before I can reach a sleepy state. Sudoku, ridiculously hard Sudoku, serves this purpose very well.
My theory, hardly a theory, since I have enough first hand data to validate it, is that our brains are energy hogs and more importantly, are very good at covering this fact up. I would submit that your reading difficulty stems from secondary distraction, very possibly interrupting your ability to focus and even reducing the quality of your sleep.
When your mental energy is depleted, there's not much you can do about it except rest and allow it to build back up. Energy drinks and all the speed in the world aren't going to change the mind's need for rest. In my experience the mind is very good at staying in denial about this need.
My suggestion: Get some sleep.
This was going to be my next suggestion. I definitely feel like not being well rested could be playing a significant role!
Hey, thanks for the suggestion. While I do agree with you that sleep matters a lot and that one resists sleeping and can run on little sleep without realising, I went through this myself when I was in college, lack of sleep currently isn't a problem for me. I regularly sleep around 6 to 8 hours each night and wake up naturally most of the time. So sleep is fine.
I'm not so sure. In a very interesting psych class, my professor pointed out that even though willpower is popularly thought of as a resource that can be depleted and refilled, there is very little valid evidence for this, and most researchers don't believe it anymore.
I know you weren't talking about willpower specifically, but I'm hesitant to apply the "I need to recharge" idea to any mental faculty.
Yes, you're right, there is little or no valid evidence that I've found either. I'm speaking purely from anecdotal experience. I do think that such evidence will be forthcoming. I had a similar experience with the idea of gut microbiota influencing both appetite and emotional experience and we're now seeing this enter the mainstream of scientific thought.
For what it's worth, I don't think that 'willpower' is what I what I've experienced, this is more definite, a particular threshold where some part of consciousness simply says 'enough'. I also read regularly when jogging on a treadmill, and a similar phenomena happens depending on the difficulty of the work I'm reading. It's as if the effort of supplying the brain with energy competes with supplying the body with energy for jogging. A switch to simpler material makes the dual tasks achievable, otherwise the body ends up walking to allow the brain to have the resources to keep reading the difficult material. I think that 'willpower' is an expression that just talks around the actual resources that are being competed for.
You are just passing by with your eyes instead of reading, your mind is elsewhere when doing that.
Can you narrow down what is grabbing your attention? Is it the environment (people passing by... car noises..) or it's just your own thoughts (concerns, day dreaming, expectations)?
When I need to read some exhaustive content or something that I really need to understand and need to do it fast I drink tea, if on a calm and quiet environment (matcha tea usually, no specific reason, I just like it), otherwise I listen to music, but I just repeat the same 3-4 musics over and over, it's something the isolates me from the outside and my brain does not use too many resources paying attention to the lyrics since I know them like the back of my hand.
It's generally my own thoughts that distract me. I have a wandering mind I guess. I think I'll try the repetitive music thing and see if it helps. Thanks!
Have you considered learning to meditate so you can quiet your mind at will and concentrate more clearly?
The Buddhist / Zen term for the problem you describe is xinyuan/shin'en (monkey mind) and it's one of the first things you learn to control so you can meditate.
I made a comment a few days ago on learning Zazen style meditation (what I practice), if you're interested. It's super easy to learn, takes only a 15min a day commitment, requires no special props (other than a cushion or chair if you want) and the more you practice the easier/faster you can achieve your desired state of mine.
Thanks for the advice. I'll give this a try.
Sure thing... good luck and feel free to let me know if you need any help or advice.
The biggest advice I can give is to start is, don't fight your monkey mind. Let it wander and produce its random thoughts. Acknowledge the thoughts, accept then and then continue breathing and counting. Eventually your mind will quite on its own as you get deeper and deeper into the meditative state through breathing and counting.
Also try not to get frustrated if your mind keeps wandering. Just keep breathing and counting and eventually you will get to a quiet state, though it make take a few days of practice to achieve silence the first time. Persevere and if you keep at it long enough, you will start to be able to achieve that still state of mind faster and faster until it becomes almost reflex once your body in position to meditate. That is when the true payoff begins IMO... as any time you feel stressed or distracted you can cross your legs and do a few deep breaths to get yourself centered again.
Sounds interesting. I'll definitely give this a try.
What kind of distracting thoughts do you have?
Umm I'm not even sure? They can be anything. About anything. Related to life or family or the future or something I read in the last line or something I watched yesterday. The randomness of it makes it all the more confusing as I cannot identify and stop the process before it takes too much of my time.
When I was growing up I could get through an entire book in a few days, but I've found that recently it takes me weeks to get through the first few dozen pages if I'm determined. I'm actually in the process of getting diagnosed with ADD, so I might consider that as a possibility because this post sounds a lot like what I've been experiencing tbh (although that's just a wild assumption based on one piece of information), but I found that listening to audiobooks has really helped me. Audible is great because it renews every month which is how long it takes for me to comfortably get through a book. My comprehension has gone way up and I get that feeling of getting lost inside a book again
Actually that's one of my biggest fears: having ADHD/ADD. Btw have you considered that the material you read at a younger age might've been simpler and hence demanding lower levels of concentration? Like a story is generally just a linear series of events with detailed descriptions of said events which allows you to ignore most of the text and only remember a few important details hence a lack of concentration doesn't really affect one's ability to read a story book.
Regarding audio books; I've always presumed (unfounded one) that I would hate audio books as if I lose concentration going back is an annoying process and you can't scroll and look at what came before and what is to come easily. Also your speed is limited by the pace of the speaker. I guess if it helped you focus then it might not be such a bad idea? I have a couple of audio books someone gifted me but I never got to them because I was afraid I'd get annoyed more so than an actual book. I guess I'll give them a listen.
Well when I was younger I read fantasy stuff like Eragon and Harry Potter but now it's more nonfiction like Failure is not an Option (highly recommend), but while I can't say with any certainty, I'm pretty sure the genre isn't a major factor. I think I lose focus just from reading print at all.
I actually was always pretty apprehensive about audiobooks for many of the same reasons you're describing. Yes you're speed is limited by the pace of the speaker (although I'm pretty sure there's an option to increase the speaking speed if you really want to), but honestly it's never bothered me. I don't get through books at breakneck speeds, but its a comfortable pace for me and tbh I've never understood the mentality of trying to get through books as fast as humanly possible. Now with losing concentration, it happens (probably way too much in my case) but these apps generally give you the option to go back 10 or 15 seconds at a time so it's not like you're trying to scrub through hours of audio every time it happens.
are you me? I feel your pain, it's disheartening to put your nose to the grindstone, to try so damn hard, only to be defeated by your own brain.
Unless it's a topic I'm intensely interested in my attention span taps out at around 20 minutes, this is common among those with A.D.D see "hyperfocus".
The other thing that works for me is topics where I'm actively using the information as I learn it, for example I can learn programming because I learn a little and then apply it by writing code. My theory on why this works is because I'm externalizing the content, it's on the screen in front of me; whereas when the information is in my mind it's impossible to process, my brain holds onto the ideas like a sieve holds water.
So my advice would be to try read a few pages, then write a few, then read some more etc. It works better if you center it around a concept of interest to you(again, hyper focus can be used to your advantage), apply the knowledge towards solving a problem which you're personally concerned about. What excites you? what worldly injustice most strikes a a chord with you? What change do you think the world needs?
People will tell you about mindfulness and meditation, they're not wrong, it is of help but it's not an ultimate solution, more of an aid.
Let me know how you get on, don't lose heart : )
Hey, thanks for the advice. I'll give this a shot. Thanks!
Sounds like a natural reaction to exposure to unfamiliar ideas. Your brain is using a lot of extra energy to form completely new neural pathways, so you get sleepy and lose focus quickly.
2 suggestions: Keep at it, it will get easier over time as your brain acclimatizes to the new material. And eat sugar (gasp!) because your brain needs it when it is working this hard.
Does this happen as soon as you start reading or after some time? You may need to take a short break after some minutes reading. What happens to you used to happen to me when I studied for university, your mind can't stay focused forever.
Like 5 minutes after I start? It's a very short amount of time so taking a 5 minute break every five minutes doesn't seem productive to me especially considering the fact that it takes you some time to start focusing again.
In that case I don't think my advice applies to you, I hope it's useful to someone else.
Do you get distracted by your phone sometimes? It might be helpful to put it in another room, or mute any notifications.
Haha it's generally in another room when I'm studying. My thoughts on the other hand…
Physical books? Grab a pencil and make notes.
I try doing that but you can't do it all the time. Sometimes the place or situation doesn't lend itself to sitting down and taking notes and sometimes you just don't feel like it.
Mindfulness of breath
Meditation has helped me so much in life, including studying. Being mindful of your breathing while doing your reading and taking notes makes it stick so much better. Minimize distractions, no music, maybe white noise if in a noisy environment.
One thing I have done in the past is listen to the audiobook while I read. It helps me stay concentrated as I am dedicating two senses to the book, limiting my distraction.