MS and attention
What is attention?
Attention is a complex thinking skill that has many different parts. It includes the ability to focus on a task or a thought, and to return to a task or thought after doing or thinking about something else. Problems with attention can affect the ability to remember new things. If you can’t focus long enough, you may struggle to take in new information.
Why does MS affect attention?
Changes in the brain caused by MS can affect attention. Different parts of the brain help manage different kinds of attention, such as being able to:
- Keep your focus on a task or thought
- Direct your attention to a specific task or thought
- Notice visual details in your environment
- Focus on only one thing and ignore distractions
- Switch your attention from one thing to another
- Focus on more than one thing at a time
Attention Problems
People with MS and attention problems may find that it is hard to:
- Listen to other people talk
- Read a story, a magazine article or a chapter in a book from start to finish
- Tune out distractions
- Watch a TV program or a movie
- Drive
What can make attention problems worse?
- Fatigue and lack of sleep
- Stress or illness
- Doing something you are not interested in
- Medicine side effects
- Depression
"I have the attention of a goldfish"
Strategies to help
1. Take care of your body
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a well-balanced diet
- Get plenty of sleep
- Take breaks during the day
- Try to do only one thing at a time
- Follow a daily, weekly, and monthly routine; this can help you be less distracted
See also:
2. Change your environment
- Make sure you have enough light to see what you are doing
- Do activities in a quiet place
- Turn off the TV or radio
- Work in a clean and uncluttered environment
- Do things that need your attention at times of the day when you have the most energy
- Wear ear plugs when you are reading or looking at something
- Ask people to speak slowly and clearly
- In a busy place, face away from the crowd
3. Practice paying attention
- Face the person you are speaking with
- When talking with another person, summarise or repeat the key ideas to them
- Take notes
- Say the steps of a task out loud while you do the task
- Set aside distracting thoughts when you are trying to focus
- Practice doing the things that are hard for you by breaking them down into small steps
- Remind your brain to focus as you are doing an activity. In other words, when you are trying to complete a task and notice your attention is wandering, try to bring yourself back. It may help if you prompt yourself by saying “focus”