Foods that improve memory, concentration

Did you know that the foods you eat can help you concentrate and get things done? Caffeine present in coffee, fla – vonoids in chocolate, and the amino acid L-theanine in tea can sharpen your focus – provided you get these in moderate amounts.
Having blueber – ries or taking flaxseed oil can also be useful.
Meanwhile, seafood is rich in iron, which is important not only for improving attention but also memory and learning.
Do you find that your attention drifts off every once in a while? The ability to concentrate, focus, and stay on task is important for accomplishing anything.
And when you consider cognitive func – tioning, the ability to pay attention and stay focused is the “gateway” to other cognitive functions – if you can’t pay at – tention to something, you can’t under – stand, learn, or remember it.
As we grow and develop, our ability to concentrate also improves.
For in – stance, 6-year-olds can focus on a task for only about 15 minutes but by the time they are 9 years, they should be able to stay focused for around an hour.
But if this is the case, why is it that we find our ability to focus floundering quite often? We find it difficult to concentrate for many reasons, including our inter – est in the task at hand, our physical and emotional state, our environment, our neuropsychological mapping, and our skill level vis-a-vis the task.
A variety of physical and psychological factors can help enhance this ability – food is one such factor.
Here are food that improve memory and Concentration To improve your power of concentra – tion, try these foods out.
* Coffee Many of us start our day with a cup of coffee.
And there’s a good reason why coffee works so well as an eye opener – caffeine! Consuming caffeine in moder – ate amounts can not only improve your ability to focus and concentrate, it can also make you feel more energetic and alert, quicken your reactions, increase accuracy, improve short-term memory, and increase your problem-solving abili – ties.
But do keep in mind that the key word here is “moderate.” Too much coffee can leave you feeling jittery.
It’s not a good idea to have more than 400 mg of caffeine in a day.
An 8-ounce cup of coffee contains around 95 to 200 mg, so no more than 2–3 cups a day.
Experts also suggest that pregnant women should either avoid caffeine or limit their con – sumption to 300 mg in a day.
* Chocolate Yummy chocolate can also help im – prove attention and concentration.
This is because cocoa beans are a rich source of flavonoids, particularly epicatechin and catechin which have antioxidant properties.
Cocoa also contains caffeine.
And according to research, cocoa can improve attentiveness as well as mood.
So bite into a delicious dark chocolate bar or have an antioxidant-rich cocoa drink when you feel mentally fatigued and distracted.
* Tea Tea is said to the most commonly consumed beverage after water.
Like cocoa, it is a great source of flavonoid antioxidants.
Tea also contains the ben – eficial amino acid L-theanine, which can modulate certain aspects of brain func – tion.
Studies have shown that L-thean – ine significantly increases brain activity in the alpha frequency band.
This means it can relax you without making you feel drowsy, promote mental alertness, and improve attention.
No wonder Buddhist monks commonly use tea to help sustain attention over long periods of medita – tion.
You too can try a cup of tea when you find that your focus is fading.
But then again, no going overboard.
Limit to 2–3 cups a day.
* Blueberries Blueberries are another food that can be beneficial for your brain.
Research – ers have found that sustained attention improves after having a blueberry drink.
But blueberries don’t just help you con – centrate, they may improve your memo – ry too.
Research suggests that the neural circuitry involved in sustaining attention is enhanced by flavonoids present in blueberry may be responsible for these beneficial effects.
* Seafood Iron is a particularly important min – eral for your brain.
It plays a role in mak – ing dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is not only involved in attention but also memory, learning, stress responsivity, and hormonal regulation.
Studies have found that when iron-deficient women were supplemented with iron, their cognitive performance as well as perfor – mance accuracy improved.
Crabs, oysters, clams, and fish are all rich sources of iron.
If you’re a vegetar – ian, lentils, kidney beans, raisins, and green leafy vegetables like spinach work well too.
And do keep in mind that your body is able to absorb iron from plant sources better when accompanied by foods like citrus fruits, tomatoes, and sweet peppers that contain vitamin C.
Adult men need about 8 mg of iron per day while adult women need about 18 mg per day.
About 45 mg of iron per day is the upper limit that can be safely consumed.
Excessive amounts of this mineral can be harmful, so do run it by your doctor before taking supplements.
* Flaxseed Oil Flax seeds contain alpha-linolenic acid, an omega 3 fatty acid.
This essen – tial fatty acid cannot be synthesized by the human body and has to be supple – mented through diet.
It is well known that alpha-linolenic acid is beneficial for your heart, but did you know it’s im – portant for your brain too? One study found that when children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were supplemented with flaxseed oil and antioxidants in the form of vitamin C they were benefited.
And symptoms like inattention, impulsivity, restless, and self-control were improved.
But do keep in mind that it’s best to avoid flaxseed oil while pregnant or breastfeeding as it can have hormonal effects.