Meandering about the ways our mental focus ebbs and flows, how

we can harness and train that focus, and what might be hindering

our ability to pay attention.

Sources for information on Januarys handout:

1) “Attention has components (alerting / orienting / executive control).” PubMed+1

2) “Sleep is a major driver of attention + performance.” (meta-analysis) PubMed

3) “Brief breaks can help prevent vigilance/attention drop-off.” PubMed+1

4) “Notifications disrupt attention even if you don’t check the phone.” PubMed

5) “Phone presence (even unused) can reduce available cognitive capacity.” Health Professionals For Safer Screens+1

6) “Multitasking / heavy media multitasking is linked with worse cognitive control/filtering.” PubMed

7) “Task switching has measurable time/accuracy costs.” PubMed

8) “Mind-wandering can support creative incubation (in the right conditions).” PubMed

9) “Affect labeling (‘name it’) can reduce emotional reactivity in the brain.” PubMed+1

10) “If–Then plans (‘implementation intentions’) reliably help follow-through.” (meta-analysis) ScienceDirect+1

11) “Nature exposure can help restore directed attention (Attention Restoration Theory).” SCIRP+1