What is Monkey Brain, and do you have it?

I always enjoy leading gatherings with my fellow oilers! My gatherings are informal classes where everyone comes to learn about a certain topic. We have open dialogue and questions or comments are welcome. This past week at my monthly Coffee, Oils, and Friends gathering, several guests spoke to their inability to focus these days. Today I will address focus and what we can do to improve our clarity and concentration.

There are many reasons you may be experiencing a lack of focus or clarity. The good news is that many of these factors we can control, and there are natural solutions to improving focus. Here are key reasons for lack of focus, and what you can do to improve your focus, clarity, and concentration:

🎯 Distractions and Environmental Factors:  In our digital age, smartphones, social media, and email notifications can constantly interrupt our train of thought. We are surrounded with distractions. You are able to control most distractions and environmental factors. When you need to focus, turn off your phones, notifications, and make sure you are in an environment that lends itself to you being able to concentrate. Close the door to your office, and don’t let anyone in! Time block your day and let others know when you need to be distraction free.

🎯 Multitasking:  Trying to do too many things at once can spread our attention too thin and reduce our ability to focus on individual tasks. Our brains were not meant to multitask. Focus your attention on one task at a time.

🎯 Stress and Anxiety:  High levels of stress or anxiety can overwhelm the mind, making it difficult to concentrate. Consider prayer, meditation, and deep breathing exercises. You may find keeping a journal noting when you are experiencing stress or anxiety may help. If you see a pattern or trigger, you can work to eliminate the stressor.

 🎯 Poor Sleep:  Inadequate or disrupted sleep can lead to fatigue, which impairs cognitive functions and focus. The lack of sleep impacts us on so many levels physically and emotionally. Did you know that the typical healthy adult can go 43–70 days without food, 4-5 days without water, but only 3 days without sleep before there is physical damage to the body? Dedicate your bedroom to sleep and eliminate all electronics from your sleep area. Use black out curtains and ear plugs if necessary, and work to get on a sleep schedule.

🎯 Nutritional Deficiencies:  Lack of certain nutrients, like omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, and iron, can affect brain health and focus. Nutrition is the foundation of all health. Be sure you are taking quality whole food supplements that your body recognizes as food; diet alone cannot give the body what it needs. We no longer receive the nutrition from our food that our parents and grandparents did.

🎯 Lack of Exercise:  Regular physical activity helps increase blood flow to the brain, which can improve cognitive function and focus. Release those endorphins!

🎯 Health Conditions:  ADHD, depression, and other mental health issues can contribute to difficulties with concentration. There are natural solutions that cross the blood-brain barrier and work at the cellular level to help aid the body in addressing these mental health conditions.

In addition to the tips given above that you can implement to address lack of focus, there are many essential oils that can aid with sleep, relaxation, stress, and anxiety. There are two essential oil blends that are dedicated to focus and of course there is the Serenity Sleep System to aid with sleep and rest. The two oil blends are:

🎯 In Tune – One of my early favorites! As a competitive tennis player, I found as I was getting older it was harder to keep my concentration during a match. I began applying In Tune to the back fo my neck before my matches and saw an immediate improvement. In fact, when I was coaching girls’ tennis at a local high school, this became a pre-match protocol. Before each match, I would call out “Ponytails up!” Each girl would lift her ponytail to have the In Tune rolled on the back of her neck. The In Tune helped each one of them settle down and concentrate on their match.

🎯 Adaptiv – This oil blend is great for focus during the day. Adaptiv comes in an oil blend, a touch roller bottle, and capsules. I keep the roller bottle in my purse for emergency applications as needed during the day, diffuse if needed at home, and when I know I am going to have a stressful day I take a capsule in the morning.  It also helps with “monkey brain.” “Monkey brain” being where your mind jumps from thought to thought, just like monkeys jumping from treetop to treetop. Some people like Adaptiv at night before bed to calm the mind for sleep.

 So let’s get rid of the brain fog, start focusing, and make a lack of concentration a thing of the past! Begin making some small changes today, and reach out to me for more information on natural solution protocols to help you be more productive and feel the clarity you deserve.

Bonus Tip – Frankincense and Rosemary are two essential oils that cross the blood-brain barrier. In addition to helping with focus and memory, these two oils show amazing results with ADHD patients, and have given hope to those suffering with dementia and Altzheimer’s disease. I am happy to forward the published research.

Hugs and Health!