“I’m going to ask you to really mentally commit to concentrating,” says Mustafa Hamada, as he hands me the box. “Try to adopt a soft focus, but really mentally commit to it.”
The £259 gadget I’m strapping to my head is a brain training device made by a Swedish biotech company, Mendi, where Hamada is chief product design officer. It’s been described as a “Fitbit for the brain”.
Hamada is presenting the technology at the Royal Society in London and members of the public are queueing up to try it out.
The interest is unsurprising. The device promises to improve focus, regulate emotions and even enhance impulse control. Really? I’m sceptical that this plastic headband — with four sensors that monitor blood flow to the prefrontal cortex — can stop me from having one too many glasses of wine.
But Hamada, a trained neuroscientist, is insistent. “The prefrontal cortex is the cockpit of the brain,” he says. “It’s the seat of executive function: that means focus, attention, emotion. Everything you need to navigate your day.”
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Setting aside my cynicism, I download the Mendi app and start the brain training program. On the screen of my phone is a white ball. When I focus on that ball, Hamada explains, the Mendi device — connected to my phone via Bluetooth — will track the increased blood flow to my prefrontal cortex, and the ball will go uphill. When my focus drifts, the blood will divert to a different part of my brain, the device will track this, and the ball will go back downhill.
So far, so easy: the ball soars upwards. This is something close to mind control — I will the ball to roll uphill, and upwards it goes, following my thoughts. This is so easy, I think, idly wondering if I’ve got time to get a cup of coffee after I finish up here. Oh, and I must remember to nip to the shops to get some milk before I go home. Suddenly the ball is plummeting downwards as I drag my focus back to the screen.
After three minutes the exercise ends and I look at the scores. In that time, the longest I have managed to continuously focus is just 29 seconds. Not so easy after all.
• In a lab, covered in wires: the sleep I planned for weeks
The aim, says Hamada, is to work on our focus, much as we would develop a muscle in the gym. By doing regular exercises we can learn to concentrate, he says. “It works via neurofeedback,” he says. “Your brain is plastic — it has the ability to mould itself. So when you learn something new, it literally rewires your brain.”
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And in today’s hyperconnected world, we could all do with a bit of rewiring. “We all need help to better focus, to avoid distractions and to develop mental guardrails in today’s world,” Hamada says. “We are bombarded with information from left and right and we are all a little distracted.”
According to a study by King’s College London, half of adults believe their attention span is shorter than it used to be. And Gloria Mark, professor of informatics at the University of California, found last year that people can only hold focus on one task for an average of 47 seconds, compared to 75 seconds in 2011 and two and a half minutes in 2004.
People used to read novels on the train. Now they play Candy Crush.
This “crisis of concentration” is being made worse by smartphones, Hamada argues. “We’ve put a hypodermic needle in everyone’s pockets.” Constant news alerts, messages, WhatsApps are challenging our brains in ways they have never had to cope with before. “We’re stretching our cognitive bandwidth to a limit that we can’t really handle any more,” Hamada says. “We can see this through burnout, stress and constant distraction.”
There is an obvious irony here. Technology has created this crisis. Is the answer really more gadgetry? What about occasionally just switching off altogether instead? Hamada accepts the paradox, but argues: “We can’t go back to a stone tablet and chisel.”
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Jwan Shaban, a PhD student at the University of Nottingham, is investigating how these devices can be used to improve people’s day-to-day wellbeing. People who are feeling burnt out or struggling to concentrate on their children, for example, might find that they could rearrange their day to ensure they are applying their focus.
“By measuring how much cognitive effort each task is taking, you can understand more about your mental health and how to achieve your goals,” she says. “Shuffling tasks around can make a big difference. And the great thing about these is that you can actually take them home and experiment with them.”
Back in the Sunday Times newsroom, my colleagues are keen to try out the Mendi headband. Although I repeat what I have been told — everyone is different neurologically and it is meaningless to compare concentration ability — a league table rapidly appears. The best score is 37 seconds of concentration at a time, the worst 14 seconds.
As I sit down to write I strap the device to my head again. This time I manage 31 seconds. A small improvement. Now, I must not forget the milk.
Improving your focus — without shelling out £259
• Make a conscious decision to set aside your phone when not at work. Placing it in a box out of reach can help.
• Prioritise sleep. Scientists have found lack of sleep can affect concentration. Going to bed an hour earlier is a quick win.
• Set aside time for exercise. Vigorous activity can promote relaxation and boost energy.
• Feed your brain. What you eat can affect how you feel — not too much but not too little. Fats are important (in moderation) for brain health.
