Why is it so important to me:
I realized over the years how technology influences my life and makes me take constant study breaks, and disconnects me from the environment I am in. I decided this is one of my biggest uncertainties and so important to me, as this doesn’t just affect me, but also generations younger than me, including my seniors today who use technical devices. A survey for instance showed that almost half of the students felt distracted by technology such as laptops or phones. On the other hand, it also felt like a necessary tool at the same time. Mostly students distract themselves with texts etc., as soon as they feel overwhelmed with information in class or when studying. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/07/10/survey-shows-nearly-half-students-distracted-technology
What did I discover? (Research):
Social media is stealing our time, attention and we stop living in the moment:
What just seems like a small distraction turns into an inability to concentrate on tasks and being interrupted on a constant level, which can have a similar effect on people such as losing a night of sleep. People start to realize how in the past their ability to read for a while was good, whilst now after only 3 pages it is easy to become distracted. In most cases, these interruptions take away 5 minutes at a minimum. It is with no surprise that Instagram and Facebook have integrated tools that prevent people from overusing social media.
There are already a few exercises you can do, such as trying to do 5 more minutes of an activity e.g. studying, or 5 more exercises of whatever you are doing. With this, you can train your focus and feel like you have achieved something. Physical exercise is especially good for children’s attention span and yoga is recommended for adults. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/14/the-lost-art-of-concentration-being-distracted-in-a-digital-world
Further existing exercises are games like Sudoku, puzzles, chess or even coloring. Meditation and connecting yourself to nature is also a known fact, while even including plants in your study room can help. Additionally, instrumental music without any lyrics can be a good tool to relax and regain focus. If it is music you love or hate it might achieve the opposite. Besides not eating sugar or greasy food, drink green tea. Aside from more known facts, a tool can be drawing, playing with a ball, or trying not to blink as much as you can for 3 minutes. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/14/the-lost-art-of-concentration-being-distracted-in-a-digital-world
Another experiment regarding performance and concentration was made where some participants looked at a concrete roof and others at a green roof. Those who looked at the green roof performed much better, even better than before, while the people who looked at the concrete roof, their concentration worsened. Generally, you can also just look at a picture of nature for about a minute or less to regain focus. https://hbr.org/2015/09/gazing-at-nature-makes-you-more-productive
Green roofs are also good for mental support and not just to reduce carbon dioxide. Microbreaks and simply looking at a picture of nature can support you on a mental level, which will automatically mean performing better and having better outcomes. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/05/26/viewing-nature-can-help-your-brain-work-better-study-finds/
Again, it does not necessarily require real-life nature to boost concentration and reduce stress. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/au/entry/just-looking-at-a-picture-of-nature-can-restore-concentration_n_9735656
More so, certain sounds can also help to focus. Either silence or white noise, which can be described as ‘shh’ sounds or waterfalls, ocean sounds like waves, and raindrops can support with focus. https://krisp.ai/blog/top-relaxing-sounds-to-increase-focus/
Other people can also feel an improvement in their concentration after doodling and become more creative, while they also come up with better ideas. https://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/forgetfulness-is-just-annoying-9-unusual-ways-to-improve-your-memory.html
Whilst engaging in such exercises, people improve their focus and produce better quality work too. This will also help with becoming less distracted. A Rubik’s cube is a good example of a better option to use in a break than your phone.
https://www.betterup.com/blog/concentration-exercises
Since smartphones are the tool mostly used by people on breaks to answer their emails, in most studies it is said that technology is the first reason to become distracted at the workplace.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-your-smartphone-could-be-ruining-your-career-2017-03-31
It has to also be considered that it takes about 23 minutes to return to focusing on the task you worked on after a distraction.
Certain lights can be used as another option at home to assist concentration. Bliss Lights offers tools that, depending on what one wants to achieve, can use a specific light, such as red and green to relax, or blue to decrease your stress levels.
https://blisslights.com/blogs/blisslights/lights-for-relaxation-and-creating-a-calm-atmosphere
They also offer lights to study and work more productively.
https://blisslights.com/blogs/blisslights/best-lights-for-studying
As an auto-ethnographic exercise, I visited the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Tate Modern on Friday 10th February 2023, which allowed me to further understand the meaning of light and how it influences me. Just being inside the infinity room with changing light installations and the combination of darkness for about 3 minutes calmed me down. Additionally, the fact that I was inside an enclosed environment made me feel safe and could be compared to feeling like a bird in a nest. In this case, there was no sound and it was purely visual. There was just a slight ripple of the water that was placed below the lights, which created a purely relaxing environment. As I visited the gallery in the evening, the lights assisted me to retire for the day, hence I could not record the concentration levels, however, I discovered the impact of lighting on the mind.
In essence, images have much power considering people remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, and 80% of what they see. Colorful images are especially powerful and memorable. Images are also much faster perceived by the viewer:
Intervention
I described my intervention to my participants as an attempt to find ways to regain concentration while on a break or when the concentration just starts to disappear.
In this case, I decided to experiment with image and sound as a combination. I instructed participants to choose 1 out of 3 images and also one sound piece they feel most comfortable with. Next, they should use both at the same time for about a minute in between studying or in between using technical devices. Afterwards they needed to describe what was helpful and if the tools enhanced their concentration.
Sound options:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buqt6_CjtuI (Rain)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKKGX7ezV9Q (Waterfall)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLOM8R6lbzg (White noise)
Intervention:
Participant 1:
My first participant described the experience with the image as being very useful for him since it was more related to emotion and memory. The images were more helpful and powerful for him in order to gain back his concentration. He only found the first sound of rain helpful. My intention was only to focus on nature and how this could heal and help the mind, however, I discovered that healing has many branches, such as emotional connection. Additionally, I realized cultural context was a consideration in my feedback e.g. listening to rain can be depressing if they are from the UK, whereas rain can also remind someone of monsoon season and relate it to a more romantic feeling elsewhere in the world such as India.
Participant 2:
Participant two described her experience as really relaxing. She compared it to and described it as a meditation. She decided to choose the waterfall as an image and the rain as a sound combination, and just mentioned she would need slightly more than a minute to gain more out of the experiment, however, she did not feel the need or urge to use her phone afterwards. She additionally added that she had a sense of preferring to read a book instead.
Participant 3:
My final participant of this intervention chose the cherry blossoms image as she could associate mostly with the flowers, and combined this with the white noise as this just made the most sense in combination with the imagery of a still lake and mountain. Getting into this was a bit difficult at first for her, as she too felt like she would need more time to properly relax, however, she also had the feeling of being transported from the everyday stress and workload.
What did I learn from this?:
Connecting emotions can assist to refocus, and further to this I would explore anything from childhood imagery to a space, a relationship, an experience, etc. Additionally, the meditation process would need to be a bit longer in order for participants to really get the chance to calm down, as they might need a short period to also absorb it.
What would you explore if you would go further into the topic and where would this go? /What has not been explored yet?:
What is yet to explore are several combinations of sound and image or even the introduction of lighting (as experienced in Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition).
Additionally, if I decide to continue this project, I would work with images from my childhood such as when I felt connected and safe, or overall images that take you back to a happy space in which you felt safe. For instance, personally, that would be for me as a kid being in Germany with my family and horses.
This technique using familiar and personally responsive imagery can be very intimate to the person and would differ from person to person to make the connection more bespoke. It would also be interesting to explore what I have found through my research and the feeling of people being more relaxed when seeing something they can connect with in their personal lives.
Is there a risk in exploring it?:
There is certainly a risk included in this, knowing that certain methods do work for some people, but also it can have the opposite effect on someone else as there is also the risk of people concentrating less, or being too emotional when relaying to an image from their past or childhood.