Attention Deficit – Is There a Way to Develop Attention of Attention?

Almost every tenth person in the population has symptoms associated with hyperactivity also known as ADHD or ADD. The currently accepted practices to treat children with ADHD are medication (mostly stimulants) and behavioral treatments. However, both have limitations. Medication works only short-term and children often have side effects. 

Studies of teenagers in 2008 and 2011, after 3 months of meditation practice showed results in:

• improvements in brain function measures associated with hyperactivity symptoms,
• improvements in five ADHD-symptoms:

1. Ability to focus on schoolwork,
2. Organizational abilities,
3. Ability to work independently,
4. Happiness,
5. Quality of sleep.

Multiple studies have been conducted showing that utilizing meditation regularly and also using techniques throughout the day to “check-in”, help with ADHD symptoms.

Dr. Lidia Zylowska and her team of researchers released a study in 2008 on adults.  Results stated a 30% reduction in ADHD symptoms among 78% of the participants in the study. As a bonus, anxiety and depression symptoms also showed improvement. Participants who completed this study reported extremely high satisfaction levels, giving the program an average score of 9.

Unlike medication, meditation develops the individual’s inner skills. Through regular use, it strengthens the ability to self-observe, to train attention, and to develop different relationships to experiences that are stressful.  It can be very helpful in teaching you to pay attention to paying attention, helps you to be aware of your emotions, and therefore it can help you to be less impulsive or reactive. That’s often a real challenge for people with ADHD.

Just as an aside, a 2012 study showed that ADHD is most often a highly subjective diagnosis.  ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder increased 381% between 1989 and 2001 most often being applied to boys unable to sit still or pay attention rather than through a clear diagnostic standard of testing.   

Dr. Edward Hallowell, a Massachusetts-based psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and has written a book with the self-explanatory title CrazyBusy. In his book he calls multitasking a “mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously.” He describes a new condition, “Attention Deficit Trait,” which he claims is rampant in the business world. ADT is “purely a response to the hyperkinetic environment in which we live,” …“Never in history has the human brain been asked to track so many data points.”
 
A new study out of Princeton University showed that students who constantly checked on their own levels of attention performed with fewer mistakes and were better at focusing. This proved that our brains possess attentional plasticity — or the ability to improve focus when checked on. 

In this era of distraction through our use of cell phones and social media, whether one is diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, the benefits of learning to “pay attention to attention” is going to become an ever more important skill for everyone.  

The Art of Ascension cultivates the skill of paying attention to attention, which can begin at a level of being aware of your train of thought in this moment. However, through continued regular practice, can lead the awareness to ever deeper levels of the mind, into higher consciousness.

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