Your Social Science Snack for the week is about using social science to become more aware about mental wellbeing.

Psychologist Wendy Hasenkam has conducted research on how to improve mental focus. She argues that “The more focused we are, the more successful we can be at whatever we do.” She shows that the ability to focus is like a muscle that you can train. There are four key ways to achieve this, centred on better breathing methods and a deeper understanding of our thinking patterns. Using psychology, Hasenkam offers the following techniques to improve focus:

1. Concentrate on the flow of your breathing;
2. Be mindful when your mind strays off task;
3. Return your thinking to the job at hand;
4. Do this by focusing on your breathing once more.

Over to You!

Do you have good mental focus? What helps and how do you think you can improve things?

Post your questions in the comments section below!