9 Reasons Why You Can’t Concentrate

This just happened to me this week.  I walk out of my office on a mission and I get down the hall and suddenly wonder where the heck I was going.  Just about everybody has a momentary lack of memory or concentration and, according to experts, here are some reasons why:

1. Your numbers are low. Fuzzy mindedness could signal a vitamin or hormone deficiency, especially if you're also feeling unusually tired. For example, hypothyroidism -- too-low levels of thyroid hormone -- could be to blame, says Robert Orford, MD, consultant at the Mayo Clinic's Preventive Medicine Division in Scottsdale, AZ. "If there's a deficiency in thyroid hormone, metabolism slows, which reduces blood flow and cellular function in various parts of the brain," Dr. Orford says. B-12 deficiency and related anemia can have similar symptoms. Most people get plenty of B-12 in their diet, but an underlying condition such as Crohn's or celiac disease can prevent your body from absorbing it.

Try this: Schedule an appointment for a physical with a doctor who'll take time with you. Make a list of any other health changes you've noticed that could help pinpoint the source of your problems concentrating. "You want a comprehensive medical exam, including blood tests," says Dr. Orford. Also ask your doctor to test for cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol, metabolic syndrome or prediabetes: if left untreated, they can cause cognitive decline.

2. Your hormones have gone haywire. If you're nearing the end of your baby-making years, your inability to think clearly may signal the start of perimenopause -- that run-up to menopause when menstrual cycles become irregular and estrogen drops. Lack of concentration is a common complaint of perimenopausal women, says Kimberly Pearson, MD, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Women's Mental Health. "They describe it as feeling fuzzy. That's the word a lot of women use. They feel like their vocabulary is diminishing, like they're not as sharp, not as crystal clear."

Try this: If other signs point to perimenopause (hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness), consider short-term hormone replacement therapy to get you over the hump. "Women who go on replacement notice such a shift," says Dr. Pearson. "They say, 'Oh my God, I have my brain back.'" If HRT is out because of the health risks involved, ask your doctor about the possibility of taking a low-dose, concentration-boosting stimulant such as Ritalin instead. "And exercise seems to help everything," says Dr. Pearson.

3. You've changed your meds. Anti-depressants can affect mood and concentration when you go on or off them. Antihistamines, sedatives, and anti-anxiety medications can cause lingering drowsiness, and antidepressants, beta blockers, and other medicines can cloud your mind. People who take statins sometimes notice a loss of mental clarity, says Dr. Orford. A daily dose of Coenzyme Q10 may counteract this effect. As for sleeping pills -- please.

Try this: Write down all the meds you take or recently stopped taking and review this list with your doctor. Ask if any of them are known to cause concentration problems when people go on or off them, or mix them with other medications, or take them long term. Educate yourself about the drugs on your list so you can have a more fruitful discussion. Go to the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Health, MedLine Plus and DailyMed Web sites for good information.

4. You're quitting smoking. Yaaay! Two things to remember when you're tempted to cheat: 1. The more and longer you smoke, the more gray matter you lose. That's proven. The sooner you quit, the more you maintain. 2. Yes, you'll have trouble concentrating as you go through nicotine withdrawal, says Christopher Kahler, PhD, professor of behavioral and social sciences in the public health program at Brown University. It's a common complaint. But that passes, and the mental-health boost you get from quitting more than compensates: You did what? You quit smoking? Wow. "There's a lot of psychological benefit to it," he says.

Try this: The happier you feel when you tackle quitting, the more likely you are to succeed, says Kahler. His tips for boosting mood: Track three good things that happen to you each day and write about them each night. Write a letter of thanks to someone you never thanked for something and deliver it. If you can spend some of the money you save by not smoking, skip the material purchases and do something fun with a friend. Shared experiences generate lasting happiness.

5. Your diet has deteriorated. What you eat can have a major impact on mental clarity, says Laura Middleton, PhD, assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. Bad eating habits increase your risks of obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol and related ills that can impair cognitive function, and being overweight or obese makes it harder to stay active, which is essential for brain health.

See the rest via 9 Reasons Why You Can't Concentrate | Vitality - Yahoo! Shine.