Your Focus

It’s 3pm in the afternoon. Your co-worker barges in for the zillionth time while your phone incessantly rings. You being the ordinary, upstanding citizen are now beginning to harbor unsavory thoughts towards humanity. Or if you’re the typical college student, imagine it’s 3am in the morning. You’ve got one night to bang out that paper assigned only mere months ago. Alas, you’re beset by serious munchies and urges to check your brother’s girlfriend’s neighbor’s Farmville updates on Facebook.

Do you reach for a Snickers? Coffee? Red Bull? Maybe something natural and healthy, like a banana? Dial for a pizza?

No matter what the old GRE Verbal section may have me believe, my best analogy for food is likening it to fuel for car engines. Our motor shuts down when we run on empty. Regarding gingko biloba and other herbal supplements, there really are no miracle concentration cures. Anyone who says so will also probably sell you natural hair solutions from Donald Trump and other sorts of oil from slithery, coldblooded creatures. Yet some food combinations are indeed better than others when it comes to fighting slumps. Nothing, however, will rescue you from the food coma that results from overeating any combination of food, healthy or not. How does this all work? Why does such a fine line exist between not enough food and the all-you-can-eat buffet that disturbs our focus? And how does this knowledge help you make better food choices for optimal concentration?

Crash course through basics of metabolism and your brain function

Remember the kid from Jerry Maguire who says, “Did ya know the human heads weighs 8 pounds?” It actually comprises 2-3% of an adult’s body mass. Thus for the average person of 150 lbs, the brain would indeed weigh about 8 lbs. Despite its relatively small percentage of mass, it consumes about 10% of the body’s entire metabolic energy due to the constant firing of the neurons. The primary fuel to run the brain is glucose, which the neurons cannot store.

When you eat, your pancreas releases the hormone insulin into the blood stream. The insulin scoops up excess glucose and starts a chain reaction where the glucose is added to glycogen molecules for storage in the liver. At the lowest point, i.e. your fasting blood glucose level, you have about the equivalent of one teaspoon of sugar floating in your blood. Simple carbohydrates easily enter the blood stream via the stomach, which is why you feel the surge from simple sugars so quickly. Another hormone from the pancreas called glucagon breaks down the glycogen back to glucose when your body needs to increase the blood sugar level.

While used in by most cells, glucose has been observed to increase activity in certain hippocampus cells of rats, as well as inc. The hippocampus is one of the major areas of the brain associated with short-term memory and learning. Previously, it had been believed that the brain was able to maintain stable glucose levels. In the early 2000′s, Ewan McNay of Yale School of Medicine observed that for rats learning new mazes, their glucose levels were depleted in the hippocampus, and the older rats faced a faster rate of depletion. Other studies have examined the effects of glucose on acetylcholine formation, a key neurotransmitter involved in sustaining attention and in controlling the motor movements of muscles.

So more is better, when it comes to glucose? Depends. Marathon runners can get away with pasta and other simple carb loading for speedy pick-me-ups. But unless you swing a night job as a lab rat hooked to a wheel or as a professional marathon runner, that amount of carbs will usually lead to nothing more than a crash later. Too many carbohydrates can trigger insulin overload, thereby pulling too much glucose from the blood stream.

If your brain can only remember one thing at the moment…

So the golden rule of food for focus is to keep your blood sugar stabilized. Stay hydrated, get caffeine in moderation, and eat small meals combining complex carbohydrates, lean protein, and a little fat at regular intervals throughout the day. Eating every 3-5 hours should be sufficient, if the meals are small enough.

Be reasonable, though. If you cannot bring yourself to drink 8-10 cups of water a day, drink seltzer mixed with a little juice and bask in your European chic with their standard way of drinking juice. Or if you do reach for a candy bar, find one that has nuts and/or dark chocolate. Digestion rates can be slowed in the presence of protein and small amounts of fat. Dark chocolate merely has less fat than milk chocolate. If your sweet tooth can be appeased with nonrefined sugars, try a a bit of honey mixed with cinnamon and peanut butter on a rice cake. Tasty and rice cake might not be words normally uttered in the same sentence, but the honey, cinnamon, and peanut butter just nails that perfect salty-sweet combo.

If coffee is your fix, try smaller cups or alternative caffeine sources like teas and chocolate. All contain some level of caffeine, although the levels of metabolized caffeine derivatives like theobromine also may influence how an individual reacts to the caffeine. White, green, and black teas come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. They differ by the length and process of fermentation. Yerba maté is another type of leaf that is brewed and purportedly has a gentler post-caffeine crash than coffee. If you’re really in a focus jam, maybe then an energy drink. Remember moderation, despite what the scantily clad energy drink salesmodels may say.

Try not to eat or drink while you’re working. Take an actual break. Get up, walk, stretch, breathe, and use that 5-10 minutes to enjoy your food or drink. Whether one can truly multitask is under scrutiny; mindless eating, even of focus-friendly foods, can be counterproductive to focus. The world will not end if you take 5 minutes to eat. The world might end momentarily, or at least a small island economy might sink, if you do put a “b” instead of “m” in front of “illion” due to fuzzy thinking from dehydration or while juggling a sandwich and your keyboard. While I exaggerate here, at the University of Geneva Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, the 10-minute water break for every class that met for more than an hour is no laughing matter. Students in my econometrics class practically threatened mutiny when a professor once asked if the water break could be skipped, and a “compromise” was reached that the class would end 10 minutes earlier.

How to Turbocharge Your Focus for The Long Haul

Perhaps you’re still thinking about all the good stuff you’ve read about gingko biloba for memory. That indicates to my highly unprofessional opinion that you might have a better functioning cognitive state than that of the target population who actually demonstrated measurable benefits from gingko biloba. Of gingko’s mixed reviews, the studies who find slightly positive results often are examining laboratory animals under large doses or persons suffering from cognitive decline due to factors like age-related dementia. Gotu kola is another East Asian leaf occasionally declared a new remedy. Peppermint has also been touted as a aid to wake up the senses, and a recent study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found positive memory effects of blueberry juice on elderly subjects at risk of dementia versus the control group. Blueberries, pomegranates, and green tea already have enjoy reputations as superfoods due to their antioxidant concentrations; B vitamins from sources such as whole wheat, vitamin E in sources like avocados or olive oil, and Omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon and other cold-water fatty fish also may prevent cognitive decline.

The media tends to report on one “breakthrough” study that finds x-y-z result, but often it is better to look at meta-studies which review a large portion of studies to see overall trends in findings. Individual studies may achieve results that are very specific to a population under study or certain laboratory control settings. Researchers also may report positive correlations but fail to adequately measure size of effect or control for variables that are inherently linked to the supplement under study. Or the study might have been “published”, but in the world of academia there exists a hierarchy and broad range of certain journals that are more selective in the quality of the studies published.

These supplements probably will not hurt in moderation under careful supervision, but they’re a bit like fancy shoes and performance gear for runners. They are not going to help the person who has not been consistently training their bodies. Generally, the best way to get your vitamins and nutrients is through whole foods. Taking some supplements, like fish oil or vitamin D, might be worthwhile though. Talk to your physician so he or she can monitor possible signs of drug interactions with your current prescriptions. And caveat emptor: be aware of the source. The quality of herbal supplements are not regulated by the Federal Drug Administration in the United States, so look for the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) stamp for some measure of assurance. If you are reaching for the energy drinks for an extended period of time because you are really unable to focus at certain parts of the day, go see a medical professional. All sorts of health issues, often arising from unbalanced diets and sleep affected by said diets, can express symptoms of fatigue or inability to focus.

Conclusion

The advice in this article may seem like common sense and obvious: stabilizing blood sugar levels through moderation, drinking water, and eating balanced, small meals. Eating foods for focus might be hard if no particular list of foods was actually mentioned.

Sharpening focus is a process in which one pares away the nonessential, and let this rule extend even to your eating habits.

Photo Credit

Yesterday morning was a very focused, productive day. I established the daily foundation of writing and jogging. I also met up with a couple local entrepreneurs that are doing some great things, and will hopefully help boost the Southern California Startup brand.

Here’s the thing, though: I didn’t get enough sleep. I got about five hours of sleep. In the past, I once attempted an experiment of sleeping only five hours; however, that lasted about a week. I ended up crashing on a Saturday night and ended up sleeping from 8pm to 12pm the next day. Not very productive. I’ve found that I need about seven to eight hours of sleep to be at my best. My wife needs eight to nine hours.

Anyways, this lack of sleep didn’t really hit me until around 11am. Combined with this, I had a banging headache. And no, it wasn’t a hangover. My theory is this headache and groggy feeling also came from the fact that I had quite a sizeable dinner yesterday.

My thesis for when writing the chapter on the concept of “sleep” and its effects on focus will center on experimenting with different sleep cycles and meal times.

The story of coffee is one filled with twists, turns, politics, adventures, ancient rituals and religious baptism (yes, that’s right, baptisms). Yet, they were sacrifices that you were willing to make in order to enjoy your cup of coffee, eh?

Though not yet certain, it is believed that coffee’s true roots point to Caffa Ethiopia. The discovery came from a sheep herder named Kaldi. One early evening, while rounding up his flock Kaldi noticed that something was wrong with one of his sheep. The odd part centered on the fact that this was Kaldi’s most well-behaved sheep. The sheep wouldn’t follow Kaldi’s orders. It was energetic and focused on continuing to graze the grass.

After investigating, Kaldi was stunned. “There’s blood all over you.” But the sheep didn’t appear to be injured at all. “Wait, that’s not blood, but what is it?” Nearby, he had the answer, red cherries–which we now know is coffee.

Intrigued, Kaldi downed a handful of these “red cherries.” In turn, he became hyper. Hyper enough to try and sell the idea of coffee to all the people in his village. Some met him with uneasy smiles, most met him with indifference and the village monks met him with strong disapproval–that is–until they tried some themselves. After experiencing the coffee kick, the monks were literally up all night praying. Why wouldn’t God want one to enjoy coffee?

After years of consumption, the natives of Kaldi’s village quickly learned the ins-and-outs of preparation. The use of coffee back then was no joke–it was used for war. Before leaving on long battles, men would wrap coffee beans in animal fat. In a battle’s most crucial moment, the coffee bean would be consumed. Back then, it was baseball’s equivalent to performance enhancing drugs.

This secret boost was kept sacred until commercialization reared its ugly head. The Arabians took the coffee plant from such villages and proceeded to establish a coffee monopoly. With more exposure also came more ways in which cofee was prepared. In 1453, the Turks discovered that when brewed, coffee gives off a nice aroma. Not only that, it tastes good, too. After people’s tastes for coffee were established, the first coffee shop was opened: Kiva Han. Humorously, this also gave rise to a law in which a man must provide his wife with enough coffee to last her throughout the day. It was like our recent law about wearing a blue-tooth headset. It was absurd that it was forced on us, however it kind of made sense, plus the bluetooth makers cashed out. This was the same deal for the coffee industry. And it would only get bigger.

Around 20 years later, amidst the growing surge of coffee, the governor of Mecca, Khair Beg, campaigned to banish coffee due to its influence. He felt it may give rise to anarchy within his rule. The Sultan of Arabia didn’t share his view. At all. In fact, he had the governor killed because he felt coffee was not only a core component of their economy, he felt coffee was sacred–sent by the gods. For years, the coffee plant was Arabia’s core product. However, this monopoly could only last so long. In an amazing tale of adventure and espionage, a man named Baba Budan infilitrated Arabia’s cash cow and smuggled coffee beens to his homeland: Mysore, India. Even to this day, coffee is grown in Mysore, and Baba is still highly revered.

After nearly a hundred years, word of coffee trickled its way down to The Catholic Church. It was now time for The Vatican to address coffee and whether it was good, or if it was the devil! (like fooseball). Pope Vincent III took on this task of evaluating coffee. Turns out, that’s pretty much all we know about Pope Vincent III. “Drink only a small amount, your grace,” warned Pope Vincent’s servant. “Coffee is the devil’s drink.” Upon sipping the coffee, Pope Vincent exclaimed that it was so delicious, not only would he declare the Christians should drink coffee, he baptized the coffee on the spot.

Shortly thereafter, John Smith traveled to America to found his first colony of Virginia at Jamestown. Guess what he brought with him? Coffee. Soon after that, the first coffeehouse opened in Italy. This then filtered throughout Europe–with coffeehouses opening up quite frequently. The popularity of coffee sky-rocketed. In New York City, coffee quickly became a favorite drink upon everyone.

Ever heard of Lloyd’s of London? It’s the most acclaimed and profitable insurance companies in history. Around this time, Lloyd’s of Lond gained popularity. However, it started as a coffee shop. Yes, that’s correct, a coffee shop. Edward Lloyd’s coffeehouse was so popular, it attracted so many regulars that it was the epicenter of the town, and over time, it took on the business of selling insurance. Why? Because through gathering for coffee, it understood the needs of the local people–the need for quality insurance.

When the power and profit of coffee suddenly became clear, the Dutch smuggled coffee out of Arabia and duplicated the cash cow established by Arabia. After observing this craze, French naval officer Gabriel Mathieu do Clieu saw his opportunity, stole a coffee plant and shipped it to Martinique. This plant would turn out to compose the most sought after coffee crop, serving 90% of the worlds coffee.

In Brazil, Colonel Francisco de Melo Palheta went on a voyage to mitigate a border dispute between the French and Dutch colonies in Guyana. While there, he had an affair with the wife of the French Guyana. Upon departure, he was secretly given bouquet by his mistress. In the bouquet sat hidden coffee seeds–these seeds drove the Brazilian coffee farms for years to come.

Meanwhile the Americans were throwing coffee and tea overboard afoot a revolution. You may know this as The Boston Tea Party.

Moving forward a hundred years, coffee’s biggest moment came during the roaring 1920′s in the U.S. during prohibition. Coffee sales went through the roof. When World War II arose, soldiers were issued rations of coffee to keep them alert. In fact, 70% of the world’s coffee was imported for the United States citizens and soldiers.

In Italy, they were nurturing the power of coffee, as well. An Italian named Achilles Gaggia invented the espresso machine. In turn he named the Cappuccino after realizing that it mirrored robes of monks in the Capuchin order.

The love of coffee continued with niche coffee shops opening and doing very well. That is, until Starbucks hit a home run in 1971 with their first coffeehouse in Seattle’s Pike Place public market. In less than thirty years, coffee became the power that you know today.

More reading, sources and resources

• Wikipedia
• Coffee Research
• Talk About Coffee

Before diving into specific focus foods, drinks and supplements, it’s critical to first understand details of the most widely used focus supplement: caffeine.

We all love caffeine. Or at least in North America, 90% of us do on a daily basis–and that’s a fact. Defined, caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that causes one to become more alert, and less drowsy. That, too, is a fact.

History:

Caffeine isn’t new. Humans have consumed the substance since the Stone Age. First, this came in the form of bark, seeds and leaves. Humans would consume them in order to ease the effects of fatigue. It also promoted alertness, which was critical to survival in that age–especially in battle. Surprisingly, the form of consumption that we know today (coffee and tea) was a much later discovery, and its roots can be attributed to ancient tribes and rituals. 

The first time the term “caffeine” was coined came in 1819 from German chemist, Friedrich Ferdinand Runge. He used the phrase “kaffein,” a chemical compound in coffee, which in English became caffeine.

The 4.5 Myths of Caffeine:

Myth 1: Caffeine Causes Dehydration: Ever heard that caffeine causes dehydration? As of today, that’s a hypothesis not a fact. In a New York Times article, Anahad O’Connor writes, “Caffeine may not be as powerful a diuretic as it’s often said to be.” In other words, caffeine doesn’t cause the dehydration claimed by many.

Myth 2: Coffee Contains More Caffeine Than Tea: Tea leaves contain more caffeine than coffee beans; however, once it’s prepared, coffee contains more caffeine than tea (yea, that’s a cheap myth–still, it’s a myth). 

Myth 3: Caffeine is Inherently Bad For You: The most extensive research study on caffeine was conducted by Harvard University. They studied 126,000 people over an 18-year period. They found that people who drink one to three cups of coffee/day are up to 9 percent less likely to contract diabetes. What’s interesting is what happened to those who drank six or more cups of coffee per day – men slashed their chances of contracting diabetes by 54 percent, and women by 30 percent.

Myth 4: Caffeine is Safe.  Caffeine can actually kill you if you go overboard with intake. You’ll need to go really overboard. For me at my weight of 170, it would take 107 cups of brewed coffee to kill me. Here’s a site that allows you to calculate how much caffeine will kill you: energy fiend.

Myth 4.5: Caffeine Makes You Piss Like a Race Horse: Last, but most importantly, caffeine helps you poop. It’s a good reset button for the first thing in the morning. This helps you focus, right?

What forms caffeine comes in:

When people think of caffeine, they think of coffee; some think of tea. In reality, caffeine finds itself spread through a variety of foods and plants: beans, leaves, herbs and in fruit, where it acts as a natural pesticide. Different cultures use caffeine in different ways. There’s the Yaupon Holly, which ancient tribes made “Asi,” with (commonly referred to as “The Black Drink.”) There’s also the Kola nut (coca cola–sound familiar?), guarana berries, yerba mate and more. We will discuss these preparations and types of use in future chapters.

5 Other Health Benefits of Caffeine:

1. Regular coffee drinkers are 80 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.
2. Two cups a day gives you 20 percent less risk of colon cancer.
3. Two cups a day causes an 80 percent drop in cirrhosis.
4. Two cups a day prevents gallstone development by 50 percent.
5. It has also shown to be beneficial in asthma, stopping headaches, boosting mood and even preventing cavities

The Bottom Line:

Dr.’s are beginning to find that caffeine is only a temporary solution for focusing. The more one takes in caffeine, the more he or she will become immune to caffeine. Because of this, you may want to rotate different Focus Foods, or simply take in caffeine when you feel the need to get focused. In other words, for caffeine to work, one should use it as a solution; not out of habit.

More readings, sources and resources:

1. How Stuff Works on Caffeine
2. Actions of Caffeine in the Brain with Special Reference to Factors That Contribute to Its Widespread Use
3. Coffee — The New Health Food?
4. Wikipedia on Caffeine