When you’re working on a particular task or engaged in a specific activity, are you able to keep your focus on it? Or are you instead distracted easily by surrounding noises, motions, or the temptation to reach for your phone and scroll through social media? Not everyone finds it easy to stay focused when other options vie for your attention.

Did you know that genetics could play a role in your concentration aptitude? AncestryDNA ^® + Traits has discovered genetic variations in your DNA that may be influencing your ability to focus.

What Does It Mean to Be Able to Focus?

Being focused is to keep your mental attention on the specific task you're doing, despite any distractions that may arise. For example, as you read this, you're focused on taking in the words on your screen in order to learn about the topic at hand. If you lose focus, perhaps due to a dog barking, an airplane flying overhead, or even a show playing on the TV across the room, your brain won't fully register what you've just read. You might find yourself reaching the end of this paragraph, unable to remember how it started.

The ability to focus primarily comes from your brain. It's controlled by the visual-movement neurons in your frontal cortex that help you decide which activities to focus on. As distractions occur within your attentional field, your brain is responsible for keeping you on task and filtering them out.

All sorts of activities require focus. When driving, for example, it’s incredibly important to keep your full attention on the road. Reading, writing, and even talking to someone requires concentration. Likewise, participating in sports, playing an instrument, dancing, and practicing your favorite hobbies require attention.

Genetics and the Ability to Focus

Ancestry ^® scientists sought to investigate how the ability to focus was influenced by genetic factors. To do this, they compared the DNA of over 260,000 people who self-reported how they rated their focus as part of a genome-wide association study. The scientists identified 451 DNA markers connected to the ability to focus. Using this information, the scientists then calculated a polygenic risk score, a tool to predict your ability to focus using just your DNA information.

While Ancestry ^® scientists confirmed that genetics played a role in a person's ability to focus, that role was relatively small. Specifically, they found that only 5% of the variation in people’s reported ability to focus could be explained by differences in their DNA. That means that most of the difference in why some people are better able to focus than others is explained by non-genetic factors, like learned behaviors and skills.

How Environmental Factors Impact Focus

Environmental factors, both those immediately in your vicinity and those that influence your upbringing, have a higher impact on your ability to focus than your genetics. Likewise, how you spend your time can help or hinder your ability to focus.

In 2023, scientists in China investigated the relationship between the use of short-form videos and academic performance. For the purpose of the study, short-form video content is defined as videos less than 15 minutes long but typically between 1 and 5 minutes in length. After evaluating 1,047 college students, they found addiction to short-form videos weakened attentional control. As attentional control weakened, so too did students' ability to focus while suppressing irrelevant information.

The attention span of the general population also appears to be rapidly decreasing. Some attribute this to the increasing rise and prevalence of technology—our more-connected world.

Yet there are certain activities, like meditation, which can actually boost your concentration skills. It's especially useful for people who find themselves frequently distracted by stress or anxiety. A few minutes per day of meditation has been found to improve skills for focus and tune out distractions.

Interesting Insights About Improving Focus

While screens may be to blame for decreasing attention spans, certain computerized cognitive training games can be used to improve the ability to focus. These games often center on improving cognitive activities in daily life rather than in the game itself. As concentration skills improve in the game, this may also translate to real-world improvements.

Likewise, fostering a healthy lifestyle is one of the best techniques to improve attention. For example:

• Exercise and cognitive ability are closely related. Exercise improves the bioavailability of hormones necessary to reduce stress and create new neuronal connections.
• Eating a healthy diet is known to boost focus.
• Getting enough sleep also factors into your ability to focus. Sleep deprivation is known to worsen cognitive ability, and it can hinder the ability to focus.

Ready to learn more about the genetic influence on your ability to focus? Results from an Ancestry DNA + Traits test can tell you. If you already have your AncestryDNA tests, your results are available with an Ancestry membership.

References

Cohut, Maria. “Sleep deprivation ‘triples the number of lapses in attention.’” MedicalNewsToday. November 24, 2019. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327108.

“How Meditation Can Help You Focus.” Columbia School of Professional Studies. May 10, 2021. https://sps.columbia.edu/news/how-meditation-can-help-you-focus.

“Penn Medicine Neuroscientists Identify Brain Mechanism that Drives Focus Despite Distractions.” Penn Medicine News. August 9, 2023. https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2023/august/neuroscientists-identify-brain-mechanism-that-drives-focus.

“Speaking of Psychology: Why our attention spans are shrinking, with Gloria Mark, PhD.” Episode 225. American Psychological Association. February 2023. https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/attention-spans.

Stepan, Michelle E., Erik M. Altmann, Kimberly M. Fenn. “Effects of total sleep deprivation on procedural placekeeping: More than just lapses of attention.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000717.

“Tips to Improve Concentration.” Harvard Health Publishing. November 20, 2023. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/tips-to-improve-concentration.

Xie, Jin, Xinyu Xu, et al. “The effect of short-form video addiction on undergraduates’ academic procrastination: a moderated mediation model.” Frontiers in Psychology. December 14, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1298361.