When we think about our deteriorating focus as a society, the main culprit we all point to is social media and the current technology climate. While that is a major part, I also think it’s important to consider what we can change physically to help maintain our ability to focus. Dale Pinnock, one of Britain’s leading nutritionists, puts it simply: “If you put shampoo into a car engine, you’re not going to scratch your head when the thing conks out.”
We spend a lot of time feeling guilty for not being able to focus because of our phone use and doomscrolling habits, but it’s hard to give ourselves a leg up on evolving technology when we aren’t giving our bodies the fuel to keep up.
How Does Food Affect Our Focus
While ready Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention – and How To Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari, he breaks down the three main ways food is known to affect our cognitive abilities.
Spikes and Crashes:
I feel like we’ve all experienced the mid-day crash. 2:00pm rolls around, and it’s getting more difficult to stay awake at work. The typical response is to grab more caffeine or a sweet treat to boost you up – it works for about two or three hours, and then the crash is back. While this dip in energy can be partly attributed to our natural circadian rhythm, much of it comes from what we feed ourselves. We typically aren’t giving our bodies the nutrients that they need to operate at their highest level. When these crashes happen multiple times a day, it can be difficult to focus for long periods.
“If every mealtime you’re consuming those cheap, shitty carbohydrates, then you’re going to be going on that rollercoaster over and over again.” Dale Pinnock
Processed Foods:
During WWII, processed foods were becoming more popular. Shelf-stable foods like powdered cheeses, dehydrated potatoes, canned meats, and melt-resistant chocolate bars were developed to feed soldiers. By the 80s, processed foods became less about preservation and more about convenience, while still maintaining a long shelf life. Now, 55.0% of Americans get their total daily calories from ultra-processed foods. These foods hold little to no nutritional value and, as Hari states, “…it’s very hard to figure out what the original ingredients even were.”
Harmful Ingredients:
Ingredients put into everyday foods can have chemical effects on our brains, similar to drugs. Added sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are directly linked to declining hippocampal function, whose main role is memory formation. A small 2023 study found that participants who consumed the most sugar were two times more likely to develop dementia than those who ate the least. Pinnock explains that if you look at countries that are experiencing higher health and cognitive rates than the US, you will find one common factor,
“They’re all leaving out the crap that’s making us sick in the first place. They’re all building their foundations on whole foods….That’s the key.”
Trapped by Systems
Breaking away from processed food is difficult. I relate it to trying to improve your social media intake, but you find out that there’s something much bigger than you keeping you in a loop of harmful habits. Major companies have found a perfect way to appeal to the working class with simple, cheap, and delicious meals that are low-cost to produce and return great profit. Companies know that convenience will sell, no matter the consequences.
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