How Chiropractic Can Help You Focus
We know what you may be thinking: how could pressing on my back ever improve my focus? Though it may seem like these two things are vastly different, the reality is that they’re more connected than you’d expect, and here at Adapt Chiropractic, we want to explain how.
WHAT CAUSES A LACK OF FOCUS?
The inability to concentrate is a problem that almost everyone has experienced. We’ve all had days when it’s impossible to concentrate, even if you don’t have a mental illness or learning disability. However, have you ever questioned what causes this complete failure to focus? As broad as it is, there are a few common reasons why you may be unable to focus.
Pain
Coming as a shock to no one, pain is very distracting. When you’re in pain, it can be hard to think about anything except whatever is causing it. This is perfectly natural and is just your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Unfortunately, your nervous system does not understand the difference between a sore back and a broken bone and will distract you in much the same way regardless.
Stress
Though stress can sometimes improve concentration, more often than not, it’s not in the way you’d want. The human stress response is just an extension of the fight-or-flight response passed down from our ancestors, and a pile of bills can set off the same internal alarms as a snake in the grass. What this means is that your brain will focus on whatever the threat is and reduce cognitive functions that are unnecessary for survival, in order to get you away from the perceived threat. Unfortunately, if you’re stressed over your home life while you’re trying to complete a project for work, your brain will focus on the former.
HOW CAN CHIROPRACTIC HELP?
Pain and stress are both the result of the nervous system doing what it was designed to do, though perhaps at the wrong time. Think of the body’s nervous system like the wiring in your house. When you flip a light switch, it connects two wires and allows an electric current to pass through, illuminating the bulb. Well, when the wiring is faulty, you call an electrician. When your nervous system is on the fritz, it may be beneficial to call a chiropractor. After all, as all electrical systems have a main wire, so does your body, and that main wire just so happens to run down your spine. When the spine’s misalignments are corrected, it can undo pressure on the spinal cord, thus correcting problems elsewhere in the body by correcting the central nervous system.
Chiropractic adjustments themselves should be stress-free and even relaxing to undergo, and any good chiropractor will be able to deliver on that. For the best chiropractic care in the Raleigh area, contact Dr. Nikolai Simonsen at Adapt Chiropractic. Our well-trained team is here to help make your world just a little bit clearer.
Sources
Degroote, Cathy, et al. “Acute Stress Improves Concentration Performance.” Experimental Psychology (2020). https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000481
