Here's How to Develop Deep Focus with 4 Hacks from Andrew Huberman's Focus Toolkit
Whether you want to get more work done, learn on a deeper level for better recall - whatever your productivity goal is - you need to have solid concentration and focus.
But, before we can improve focus, we must first understand how focus works.
Dr. Huberman paints a picture for us with a great example: The arrow of focus
Here’s just a bit of Neuroscience to start us off:
The shaft of the arrow = Epinephrine
The arrowhead = Acetylcholine
(And a surprise molecule you may be familiar with that we’ll discuss later.)
Each of these neurotransmitters facilitate our ability to focus in their own way.
Epinephrine
When there is a release of Epinephrine in our brain, our energy increases as does our alertness.
Epinephrine is also commonly referred to as Adrenaline and is the molecule that puts our bodies into fight or flight mode.
Essentially, this little molecule gives you the guts to attack a situation and focus on responding to stress.
Epinephrine does not increase your focus on its own, though there is no focus without it. Simply put, Epinephrine is required, though insufficient for focus by itself.
It needs a little help from its friend: Acetylcholine.
Acetylcholine
Acetylcholine and it’s function in the body is wildly fascinating.
Think of it as a spotlight: it highlights specific neurons that should be more active than the others in the environment.
Unlike other molecules that are definitively either excitatory (they transmit the message for an action in our brain) or inhibitory (they block the message), Acetylcholine can be either excitatory or inhibitory according to the environment.
It can actually adapt it’s functionality according to what our body needs in the moment:
In your heart, Acetylcholine has an inhibitory function and will slow your heart rate — useful for when trying to calm down
In your muscles, it has an excitatory function and will cause your muscles to contract - necessary for all movement
As for focus, our bodies respond to a given environment with Acetylcholine, providing us the ability to hone in on what is important.
Consider this: if you have an arrow with a very broad arrowhead, by definition, it isn’t very focused on one location at all. (See my masterpiece below)
Acetylcholine is responsible for the direction in which our focus is placed and allows us to narrow in on one thing as opposed to paying attention to every source of sensory input.
Your brain also needs Acetylcholine to form memories - a pretty integral part of the learning process.
As we age, acetylcholine production drops off - this is the reason for cognitive decline.
In theory, if we could prevent the decrease of acetylcholine, we could lessen the effects of aging on the brain.
Surprise, surprise
Next up we have Dopamine: the molecule of motivation
To sustain focus, we need dopamine. Dr. Huberman considers dopamine to be the engine behind the arrow that is needed to keep focus moving forward.
This is an essential part of effective focus because you don't just want to focus for a moment, you want to focus for a suspended period of time.
Though, Dr. Huberman says there is an optimal amount of focus time that you should use for deep work sessions which I'll share later on.
Mediation vs. Modulation
Before we get into how crucial sleep is for your ability to focus, let’s discuss mediation and modulation - two very important bodily processes.
Mediation = how specific types of chemicals, circuits & organs control very specific functions in your body
Modulation = the ability of chemicals, circuits and cells to adjust how different things change & work in your brain body on a more broad scale.
Understanding this is key for your understanding of other important bodily processes like sleep.
Sleep
One of the key ways to build and maintain your focus and concentration is to optimize your sleeping behavior.
Sleep modulates just about every brain / bodily process including your ability to focus tomorrow.
But nobody gets optimal sleep 100% of the nights of their life so don’t stress if you don’t get enough sleep one night. Just make sure it doesn’t become a habit.
Focus is a muscle
Huberman talks about how focus is an ability that can be improved by engaging the neural circuits responsible for focus repeatedly over time.
Here are some focus hacks from Dr. Huberman’s focus toolkit:
Hack 1): Use 40 Hz binaural beats
Multiple studies show 40 Hz binaural beats that play slightly different frequencies in each ear increase concentration
The combination of frequencies is integrated in deep brain centers and increases focus by increasing Dopamine and Acetylcholine.
Here's how Dr. Huberman suggests you should use them:
“Use these binaural beats not for the entirety while working (or even working out) but listen just before for 5 minutes. Though, if you are in a state of mind in which you feel easily distracted, you can work with them on.”
I actually just produced and released my own focus tracks for you to listen to in your deep work sessions. Follow me on Spotify so you don’t miss what I’ve got in store for you.
I’ve been a music producer for quite some time now and wasn’t sure how to integrate that passion into my new brand but…focus music, who knew?!
Okay, back to the hacks.
Hack 2): White, Pink and Brown noise
Studies have shown these types of noise to improve people's ability to transfer into concentrated states.
These two can amplify the neuron activity in your pre-frontal cortex which is the part of your brain directly related to your ability to direct and maintain focus.
These are tools that have been repeatedly tested and proven to help people to focus with more depth and to decrease the transition time into focus.
A lot of us struggle with getting into a focused state but, just like any other activity, mental work and focus requires a warm up.
You can't expect yourself to just flip a switch and attain hyper-focus. That's just not natural.
Anybody who has a strong ability to focus knows that they can't expect themselves to immediately snap into focus and that any expectation of such actually hurts their ability to focus.
Hack 3): The optimal duration of focus
The optimal duration for a focused session of work is 90 minutes.
The first 5 - 10 minutes of each session are a transition time / warmup.
Understand your focus will flicker. The arrowhead will narrow and widen. The skill to build is narrowing it once again after it has widened. This is actually very similar to meditation.
At the end of a focus session, you might even feel mentally tired
Take at least 10 - 30 minutes for what Dr. Huberman calls "de-focus". Focus on low-level tasks that don't require a ton of concentration
Give yourself some time to decompress. This will help your focus later.
Dr. Huberman says you should only perform 2 - 3 deep work sessions of 90 minutes.
If you're wondering "who can afford to work only 3 hours a day?" - that's not what's being said here.
He means 2 - 3 mental work sessions where you deliberately train focus. Not tackling your to-do list or job requirements.
Hack 4) Timing your meals
Dr. Huberman does his first focus session while fasted - just water with electrolytes and some caffeine.
Being fasted is great for focus and concentration. Provided you're well hydrated and have electrolytes, you will have higher alertness than if full.
But, unless you’re doing a 24 hour fast, you’re most likely going to eat at some point throughout the day.
Though, this doesn’t mean you will do so at the expense of focus and clear thinking. Eating isn’t bad for focus - it's the overwhelming portions that hurt your focus.
If you stuff yourself at lunch, you are going to feel sleepy afterwards as a parasympathetic response.
Though with the right portion, a sufficient blood-glucose level will reward you with really clear thinking.
We are all different sizes and have different nutritional needs.
I’ll let you be the judge of whether or not you think you’re overeating because I think you’ll know when you are - it’s just a matter whether or not you can admit that to yourself.
Bonus Hack: Take a Vitamin B complex
This one’s a bonus because I picked it up after falling in a rabbit hole of a discussion with a friend that studies neuroscience.
Increasing the intake of Vitamin B will increase the amount of Choline in your body.
Choline, as you might assume, is a vital part of Acetylcholine production.
It’s important that you be cautious of cutting out certain foods in your diet such as eggs (egg yolk) and animal fats from meat as they are major sources of Choline for your body and thus Acetylcholine production.
Your body is a fascinatingly dynamic machine and if you like learning about it and little hacks like these that you can use to optimize your deep work sessions, consider subscribing here for more content like this.
Check out my focus music here on Spotify for tracks and binaural beats proven by neuroscientists like Dr. Andrew Huberman to help you more easily shift into a flow state.
I hope this made you a bit more curious about the inner-workings of your brain and focus.
Furthermore, I hope this helped you in some way.
- A Ripple in Mind
If you are interested in talking with me directly:
I am now offering 1-on-1 personal training in which I’ll use my 4 years of meditation experience and teach you how to meditate and how to focus better than anyone you know.
Otherwise, my Twitter DMs are always open:
