How to Enhance Focus and Transform Your Brain

Neuroplasticity is what enables our brain to learn, that is, to transform.

Thanks to neuroplasticity, we can become better human beings, a better version of ourselves.

Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change and is arguably one of the most important aspects of human brain function.        

Neuroplasticity enables your brain to think differently, to learn new things, to forget things that no longer deserve your energy, to overcome painful memories, and to remember traumatic events without feeling pain. It allows you to alter your emotional patterns, turning your emotions into allies rather than enemies. Neuroplasticity is also responsible for the incredible human capacity known as emotional intelligence.

It enables us to adapt to everything in our lives, both good and bad.

To transform your brain, and consequently your life, you need to understand how to use neuroplasticity to your advantage so that your brain becomes better over time.

However, there's a catch: in the adult brain (from around 25 years of age onwards), neuroplasticity only occurs when you have some special conditions, and one of them is FOCUS.

Without focus, your brain languishes.

In today's world, we're constantly stimulated to be distracted, which presents a significant challenge.

And the only type capable of activating brain neuroplasticity is selective and sustained attention.

So, how can you improve your focus?

Understand how your brain works so that you can take control of your life, because knowledge is power, and power is freedom!

If you're alive, you have the ability to transform!        

But for this to happen, for you to transform, certain essential characteristics are needed. You need to open the windows of neuroplasticity, the mechanism by which the brain transforms, taking it out of automatic mode.

What are the conditions for neuroplasticity, that is, for the transformation of your brain?

1. Condition #1: being in a state of alertness, when adrenaline produced in the brain is activated.
2. Condition #2: full, selective, and sustained attention. Saying yes to one stimulus and no to others.
3. Condition #3: when acetylcholine produced in the brainstem and acetylcholine in the basal nucleus of Meynert, are activated.

With these three conditions simultaneously created, brain transformation is inevitable.

So, become self-aware of what you are doing.

The state of alertness: These are emotional, affective, and cognitive conditions. From a chemical perspective, this means the presence of adrenaline in your brain. Adrenaline functions as a brain neuromodulator – condition #1.

In the other way around, adrenaline is an excitatory substance that increases our state of alertness, which is necessary for brain transformation. And it doesn't have to be something very intense, like the experience of skydiving, for example. It can be the experience of a class with a great and exciting teacher that holds your attention.

So, alertness is necessary, it's an emotional, affective aspect necessary for your brain to transform. When you do things that engage you, motivate you, give you energy and desire to do you easily transform your brain.

Some known triggers that put us in a state of alertness, that generate adrenaline: fear, joy, excitement, motivation, sense of purpose.        

So, check it out, regardless of whether the trigger is positive or negative, adrenaline is adrenaline for your brain, and this is an affective aspect.

But adrenaline alone isn't enough for your brain to transform. It's a necessary condition but not sufficient. There's another aspect, which is cognitive, that is, focus, selective and continuous attention simultaneously – condition #2.

There are essential circuits in the brain responsible for facilitating the learning and adaptation process, known as neuroplasticity.

These circuits involve a chemical substance called acetylcholine, which acts as an important messenger. For neuroplasticity to occur, it's crucial that acetylcholine be activated in two specific areas of the brain.

This activation of acetylcholine cholinergic circuits, originating in the brainstem and projected to the thalamus, is crucial to promote neuroplasticity and improve our cognitive ability. And the second circuit involved in transforming your brain is produced elsewhere in your brain, in the prosencephalon, in the basal nucleus of Meynert. It also increases the signal of what you need to pay attention to – condition #3.

But how do you train your mind to maintain constant focus, selective and sustained attention to generate neuroplasticity in your brain?

A tool to stimulate mental focus is directly associated with visual focus. Studies estimate that 1/3 to 2/3 of the human brain is directly or indirectly linked to vision.

When you learn to focus your vision, you learn to focus your mind.

Stanford University professor and neuroscientist Andrew Huberman teaches an exercise to regulate the focus cone of your vision.

Reduce the lens of your vision with your consciousness.

When you consciously decrease it, you're reducing the inter-pupillary space, your eyes come closer together, and your pupils change dilation.

This simple exercise has proven to be extremely efficient and practical in helping to focus. By doing this, you'll be promoting a signal that goes to your brainstem in the brain and will cause the secretion of adrenaline and acetylcholine.

The chemical window of neuroplasticity opens. And the brain adapts to what you repeatedly do.

How's your focus today? Are you staying concentrated or jumping around like popcorn?

Change your habits to change your brain.        

Look for environments that offer fewer distractions.

It may seem like an obvious suggestion, but have you tried it?

Take a day to evaluate how your focus is, if it fluctuates during the day.

• Is there a moment in the day when you feel your concentration is higher?
• When it's lower, is it the result of a process that left you very tired that day, or is it common?
• Right after lunch, do you have difficulty getting your thoughts going?
• Are you the type who gets easily distracted by messages on your phone and always "needs" to respond at that moment?

To deal with so many possibilities, initially try to sleep for more hours and switch from heavy lunch to a lighter version (and taking short breaks to eat something, those snacks). Turn off social media notifications and establish some breaks in your day to respond or interact. Perhaps you'll discover in the process that some places allow you to be more focused, and in that case, make good use of them.

And first of all, respect your circadian rhythm. It's the key piece and the beginning of everything.

If you want to know more about this, read circadian rhythm where I talk about this important means by which our body adapts to life on Earth.

Close the entire cycle and be attentive to your daily activities. Pay attention to what you do, think, feel, and direct your brain towards constant and innovative transformation for your growth, aiming for better positions in your professional, emotional, and everyday life.

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