Why You Can't Focus and How to Fix It
Summary
TLDRAli Al-Caragi, a systems engineer and post-doctoral fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, shares his personal experience with ADHD and offers insights into why individuals with ADHD may struggle with focus. He explains the neurological differences in the brain structure of those with ADHD, particularly in areas like the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus, which affect executive functions and emotional regulation. Al-Caragi also delves into the role of neurotransmittersβdopamine, adrenaline, and serotoninβin ADHD and how their imbalance can impact behavior. He suggests practical strategies to manage these challenges, such as maintaining social connections for serotonin, setting realistic deadlines to leverage adrenaline, and ensuring quality sleep and a healthy diet to regulate dopamine. Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of physical exercise and cold showers to boost focus and mood. Al-Caragi concludes by encouraging a shift in perspective on ADHD, viewing it not as a disorder but as a different wiring of the brain that can be optimized with the right lifestyle and mindset.
Takeaways
- π§ ADHD is a spectrum, not a binary condition, with varying levels of impact on individuals.
- π§βπ§ Structural differences in the brain, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus, contribute to ADHD symptoms.
- π‘ People with ADHD often struggle with executive functions such as decision-making and planning due to these structural differences.
- π Medications for ADHD work by affecting the levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine, adrenaline, and serotonin in the brain.
- πββοΈ Physical exercise, particularly short runs, can help increase focus and dopamine levels, improving ADHD symptoms.
- π Quality sleep is crucial for managing ADHD symptoms as it helps charge the prefrontal cortex and reduces impulsive behavior.
- π½οΈ A healthy diet that avoids processed foods and sugars can help regulate dopamine and prevent mood swings.
- π« Social isolation is detrimental for individuals with ADHD, emphasizing the importance of social connections for mental health.
- β° Setting realistic deadlines and having accountability can help manage the urgency often associated with ADHD.
- π‘οΈ Cold showers post-exercise can potentially increase dopamine baseline levels, providing a focus boost.
- π Adopting a belief that ADHD is not a disorder but a different wiring of the brain can help individuals optimize their unique strengths.
- π Implementing systems and habits in daily life can help manage ADHD symptoms and leverage the advantages that come with the condition.
Q & A
What is Ali Al caragi's profession?
-Ali Al caragi is a systems engineer and a post-doctoral fellow at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
What is Ali's educational background?
-Ali has a PhD in electrical engineering with an emphasis on systems.
At what age was Ali diagnosed with ADHD?
-Ali was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 26.
How does Ali describe the prefrontal cortex's role in ADHD?
-Ali explains that people with ADHD often have differences in their prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive functions like decision-making and planning, leading to perceptions of impulsiveness or immaturity.
What are the three neurochemicals Ali mentions that are affected in ADHD brains?
-The three neurochemicals mentioned are dopamine, adrenaline, and serotonin.
How does Ali suggest managing serotonin levels for people with ADHD?
-Ali suggests maintaining social connections and avoiding isolation to manage serotonin levels.
What is the role of adrenaline in ADHD as described by Ali?
-Adrenaline is associated with urgency. People with ADHD can focus sharply when deadlines are near due to a spike in adrenaline.
What is the primary reason for using ADHD medication like Adderall?
-Adderall and similar medications work by inhibiting the re-uptake of dopamine and adrenaline, keeping these molecules in the brain longer, which can help with focus and task completion.
How does Ali recommend managing dopamine levels naturally?
-Ali recommends ensuring good sleep, maintaining a healthy diet, engaging in short runs to increase heart rate, and taking cold showers to naturally manage dopamine levels.
What is the importance of setting deadlines for people with ADHD?
-Setting realistic deadlines provides a sense of urgency and accountability, which can help people with ADHD to start and complete tasks.
How does Ali suggest changing the perspective on ADHD?
-Ali encourages viewing ADHD not as a disorder but as a brain that is wired differently, which can be optimized with the right systems, environment, and self-talk.
What is the significance of the belief system in managing ADHD?
-The belief system is crucial as it shapes how a person with ADHD perceives their capabilities and challenges. Adopting a positive belief system can help leverage the advantages of ADHD and reduce the focus on limitations.
Outlines
π Understanding ADHD and Its Impact on Focus
Ali Al caragi, a systems engineer and post-doctoral fellow at NASA JPL, introduces the topic of ADHD and its effects on focus and productivity. He shares his personal experience with ADHD and how it has influenced his life both negatively and positively. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding the brain's structure and neurochemistry, which differs in individuals with ADHD. Al caragi explains the analogy of hardware and software in the brain to describe the physical and chemical differences, and how they can be managed to improve focus and life quality.
π§ The Neurochemical Aspects of ADHD
This paragraph delves into the neurochemical differences in the brains of individuals with ADHD. It discusses the roles of dopamine, adrenaline, and serotonin, and how they relate to focus, urgency, and happiness, respectively. Al caragi explains that ADHD medication works by altering the re-uptake of these chemicals, thus affecting their presence in the brain. He also touches on the side effects of medication and suggests natural ways to manage these neurochemical levels, emphasizing the importance of social connections for serotonin and setting realistic deadlines for adrenaline.
π Harnessing Creativity and Managing Adrenaline in Entrepreneurs with ADHD
Al caragi addresses the challenges and advantages faced by entrepreneurs with ADHD. He highlights the creativity and vision that come with ADHD but also the difficulties in starting and following through with tasks without immediate results or external structure. To combat this, he suggests setting realistic deadlines and having accountability to others. He shares his personal strategy of involving others in his projects to create urgency and motivation. Additionally, he discusses the importance of sleep, diet, and exercise in managing dopamine levels for better focus and productivity.
π± Lifestyle Changes and the Power of Positive Beliefs for ADHD Management
The final paragraph focuses on lifestyle changes and mental shifts that can help manage ADHD effectively. Al caragi recommends a healthy diet, regular exercise, and avoiding processed foods to maintain consistent dopamine levels. He also suggests a five-minute run to improve focus and the practice of taking cold showers to potentially increase dopamine baseline levels. Furthermore, he emphasizes the importance of adopting a positive belief system regarding ADHD, viewing it not as a disorder but as a different wiring of the brain that can be optimized with the right strategies and mindset.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘ADHD
π‘Prefrontal Cortex
π‘Neurochemicals
π‘Medication
π‘Social Connection
π‘Deadlines
π‘Dopamine
π‘Adrenaline
π‘Serotonin
π‘Systems and Environment
π‘Beliefs
Highlights
Ali Al caragi, a systems engineer and post-doctoral fellow at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, shares insights on ADHD.
Al caragi was diagnosed with ADHD at 26 and uses his experience to explain challenges and solutions.
ADHD is not binary; it exists on a spectrum with varying levels of impact on individuals.
Structural differences in the prefrontal cortex of those with ADHD affect executive functions and decision-making.
Individuals with ADHD may have slower growth and communication between the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus.
ADHD is associated with higher likelihoods of anxiety, depression, and memory problems.
The analogy of hardware and software in the brain is used to explain ADHD.
Neurochemicals dopamine, adrenaline, and serotonin play crucial roles in ADHD.
Medication for ADHD often works by inhibiting the re-uptake of dopamine, extending its effect in the brain.
Social connection is vital for maintaining serotonin levels and combating depression in ADHD.
Setting realistic deadlines can help manage adrenaline and create urgency for tasks.
Sleep quality is critical for regulating dopamine and preventing instant gratification behaviors.
A healthy diet and avoiding processed foods can help manage dopamine levels and focus.
Physical exercise, such as running, can improve focus and dopamine levels.
Cold showers post-exercise can significantly increase dopamine baseline levels.
Implementing systems and environment design can help manage ADHD effectively.
Beliefs about ADHD should focus on the potential advantages it can bring rather than labeling it as a disorder.
Al caragi's personal strategies for managing ADHD include social connections, deadlines, sleep, diet, exercise, and cold showers.
Transcripts
hey guys my name is Ali Al caragi I am
systems engineer and a post-doctoral
fellow at the NASA jet propulsion lab
and in this video I'm going to explain
to you why you cannot focus and more
importantly what you can do do about it
and how you can solve this problem
hopefully for the rest of your life now
I someone who has ADHD I was diagnosed
at 26 years old and even though ADHD has
caused me a lot of pain a lot of
struggles uh it made a lot of people
think I'm lazy undisciplined I would
just I just kind of had a negative
self-image for a big portion of my life
8 PhD was also the reason I was able to
graduate a PhD at only 26 years old run
two companies while having a full-time
job at Nasa and just being able to uh
function in a way that a lot of people
don't really understand so what I really
want to go ahead in this video is go in
a bit of a detail on why your brain does
things uh it does especially if you're
someone higher up on the ADHD Spectrum
now again I'm not a medical doctor I'm
not here to diagnose anyone although I
am a doctor I have a PhD in electrical
engineering with this emphasis on
systems so I can at least walk you
through from an electrical perspective
what's going on inside the brain and
explain to you what's going on and then
you can decide for yourself what you uh
are able to do about it based on the
recommendations in the video again this
is not medical advice this is electrical
engineering advice okay this is going to
be the analogy we're going to be using
okay so I basically broke it down into
two things basically just like how in a
computer board uh there's two components
there's the hardware there's the actual
wiring the structure of the board just
like inside your brain then there's also
so the software that runs inside the
computer and the software is basically
like the thoughts the the software
things like the beliefs the ideas the
imaginations the things that cannot be
like physically traced or or traced by
in the physical world so I'm going to go
ahead and explain to you three things
first one is the brain structure of
someone with ADHD how it differs from
the other person and then two um kind of
the interface like the chemicals inside
the person with an ADHD versus someone
who is not and again ADHD is not binary
it's not that you definitely have it or
you definitely don't have it ADHD is a
spectrum based on how these things vary
within your brain and then last but not
least more importantly I'm going to
explain to you how you can uh operate
better software as someone with ADHD so
I'm just going to go ahead and hide this
part over here um and I'm going to go
ahead and hide this part over here as
well so let's talk first about the brain
structure right so people with ADHD or
higher up on the ADHD Spectrum uh they
want to be productive they want to be
disciplined they want to be not lazy
they want these things more than anyone
imagines but the problem is they have a
harder time doing it and that's because
of fundamental uh differences in the
brain structure generally speaking if
you read the research papers and some of
the books on ADHD you'll you'll quickly
realize that people with ADHD uh have
diff differences in their prefrontal
cortex which is the part of their brain
responsible for executive function
decision- making planning uh basically
this is the part of the of the brain
that makes you an adult right that's why
people with ADHD are often perceived as
impulsive or childish or people oh they
they get bored very easily um it's
because your prefrontal cortex on
average takes longer to grow and even
when your prefrontal cortex is fully
developed it still has a harder time
communicating with other parts of the
brain same goes for the amydala and the
hippocampus that's why you have people
with ADHD are a lot more likely to be
anxious a lot more likely to be
depressed a lot more likely to have uh
memory problems short-term memory as
well as long long-term memory so there
are fundamental changes in the ADHD
brain uh that makes humans uh behave the
way they do this is again this is a
hardware problem this is just like a
fund fundamentally structured problem in
the brain so the first thing someone
with ADHD needs to understand is if
you're behaving in these kind of ways
nothing is wrong with you inherently
your brain is just wired a little
differently and don't worry there's ways
for us to address that which brings me
to the other part which is the uh
Hardware in the brain right so I'm going
to again remove this software part over
here let's talk about like the brain
chemicals right so what makes an ADH
deep brain different from other brains
uh it really all comes down to besides
the the the fundamental structure of the
brain that we have just addressed uh
what it really comes down to is the
brain chemicals right more importantly
the neurochemicals the neurochemistry
going on in your brain the three famous
ones are dopamine adrenaline and
serotonin now you've probably heard
these words before if you've watched for
example uh Andrew huberman he does an
excellent job explaining what these um
chemicals do inside the brain but to
give you a very brief overview and an
over simplification I like to use to
describe these molecules is that
dopamine is the one associated with
curiosity uh with basically reward with
having an incentive to do something
right um and adrenaline is associated
with urgency and that's why like uh
having deadlines having things that are
important you cannot miss uh this is why
people with ADHD uh basically uh when
when it's like the last day before a
deadline if you have an essay to write
or if you have a project to do for work
uh you are able to focus in very sharp
way that's because your adrenaline is
spiking up obviously there's other stuff
going on again this kind of an
oversimplification and then third is
serotonin serotonin is the molecule
responsible kind of for happiness and
feeling good and this is something
that's generally induced by social
connection right this is why social
isolation is detrimental for people with
ADHD or higher up on the ADHD Spectrum
if you're someone who have ADHD like
tennesses the worst thing you can do for
yourself is lock yourself up in a room
uh and don't don't talk to other people
and not connect with other human beings
that's going to be really really
detrimental for your productivity and
for your mental health now before I
explain how you can go ahead and manage
these things in a really good way
longterm how I do it in my personal life
I want to give a very uh quick uh
addressing regarding medication right uh
so there's obviously very common
medications such as like Rin or adal or
or other types of medication and all
they're really doing is they're just
playing uh on these molecules right um
the general idea is that what what
happens in the ADHD brain is it's not
that you have less dopamine or less
adrenaline or serotonin or things that
that nature the idea is that the moment
dopamine is secreted in your brain uh it
gets reabsorbed very very quickly by the
neurons right that's why um a lot of
these uh medications what they do is
they inhibit the re-uptake of something
like dopamine and what that does is it
basically keeps the molecule in your
brain longer and that way you're able to
focus on a task longer and that's why
something like Instagram or social media
or or a phone in general uh can be very
very addictive for someone with ADHD
people with ADHD are more likely to be
addicted why because every time you go
and scroll down your feed basically your
brain is going to uh say oh all right we
we got over that thing that dopamine has
been kind of reabsorbed let's the the
next one the next one the next one
you're kind of very novelty seeking
people with ADHD are very very novelty
seeking and this is a big part of it so
the problem is not that uh that you
don't have these molecules in your brain
the problem is that when these molecules
get uh produced uh they get re they get
reabsorbed very very quickly again it's
kind of an oversimplification but
basically the idea is if you really want
to um improve your dopamine and
adrenaline and serotonin uh what what
medication does something like adderal
for example uh is is basically keeps the
dopamine and adrenaline especially in
your brain longer such that you have
more more more curiosity and more
urgency to do things kind of
artificially induced now I understand
that medication is very very important
especially for people who are really
really high up on the ad Spectrum or
like literally cannot function without
it but obviously medication has side
effects as well so there are natural
ways that I personally do in my in in in
my day-to-day life to to overcome this
problem um and uh similar to adol for
example there's the cousin of adol in my
opinion something like MDMA or or Molly
or ecstasy these kind of I don't know if
you've ever seen videos of people in
music festivals but what these do is
while Aderall acts more on the dopamine
and and adrenaline something like
ecstasy acts more on the serotonin and
it keeps serotonin longer in your brain
that's why you see people at music
festivals enjoying the music and feeling
euphoric and they go around and like
hugging each other right uh so basically
uh all all these drugs um what they're
really doing in your brain is again just
kind of ensuring that these molecules
stay in your brain longer so that you're
more Curious on the task at hand and
then you're you have more urgency to get
it done and you just feel better so
you're again more likely to get it done
I believe adol does improve serotonin
levels a little bit as well so now um
before I go ahead and talk about
software um what is it that you can do
suppose you don't want to take
medication and suppose you're not uh
trying to rely on medication because
medication is still at the end of the
day like kind of a Band-Aid fix for most
people how do you address the problem at
the rule and again I'm not a medical
doctor so this is not me advising you
what to do this is me telling you what I
like to do in my personal life so the
way I meant I'm going I'm going to start
with the other way around so the way I
manage my serotonin levels and ensure
that they are constantly at a proper
level is very simple it's just people
right I just make sure that I don't
isolate for a very long period of time I
make sure that I'm always around people
I call my I call my parents every single
day I call my brother every single day I
call my sister I call my P I call my my
my friends almost almost every single
night I call one of my friends I make
sure that I'm in touch with people I go
to my in-person job at Nasa where I have
amazing people that I work with uh and I
remember during when I was like by
myself basically for a very very long
time I had a much stronger tendency to
be depressive and to be unproductive so
the way in my opinion to cure serotonin
is just people social connection
obviously there's other chemicals such
as oxytocin whatnot again this is not uh
this is an oversimplification of what's
going on but do all you can to connect
with people that's basically going to
take care of the serotonin aspect now
the way to deal with adrenaline is to
have very good deadlines and realistic
deadlines right so this is actually a
big problem for entrepreneurship if
you're someone who wants to be an
entrepreneur and you want to grow a
business but you're higher up on the
ADHD Spectrum uh there's a pro and a con
there's a there's a big problem uh that
you face but then there's a big
Advantage the advantage is that because
you're higher up on the ad Spectrum
you're more creative you're more
imaginative you have an amazing vision
of what you want to do you're able to
articulate your ideas you're able to do
all these things but the problem is
because there's no like instant
short-term results and there's no
structure to hold you accountable to it
just like in a regular job or in school
you're never going to go start that
business you're never going to go um and
and and and start writing your your ads
so you can run them you're never going
to go make a copy uh for your like sales
letter so you can run on your website
you're never going to go reach out to
people say hey I have this idea what do
you think I'm building this thing um so
the way the only way really to ad to to
attack adrenaline in a very practical
way is to assign deadlines in your life
and you make them realistic because your
brain is smart if you make the deadlines
kind of BS artificial no one's holding
you accountable to them then that's
that's really not going to help you much
one way I manage it is I remember when I
started uh building my online course
which Dives deeper into this stuff um I
struggled a while to get um to make any
progress on the advertising and to get
people to even know about the thing that
I'm building and how it can change their
lives so what I went ahead and did is I
went and I reached out to a former
client of mine who was uh running uh
paid ads and I said hey um do you want
to I'm I'm trying to do this thing I'm
I'm it's going to change the world going
to help a lot of people focus better be
more productive be achieve their
entrepreneurial dreams what not do you
want to help me with this can you do you
want to help me with the ads and he said
yes of course and and what that really
helped with is that I would meet with
him every other week or like every week
and what that would do is it would give
me deadlines right it would give me
urgency of like oh I got to see
Thomas in two days I really got to go
sit down and write my ads I really got
to do these things and when I started
spending money then that gave me even
more urgency and and and then I had
deadlines to get all these things done
so again the way to attack adrenaline in
a kind of natural way is ensure you have
deadlines that you respect ensure that
you have accountability by people that
you respect because that's basically
going to give you that little Panic of
like oh I got to get this thing
done um and sometimes with ad that's the
only way you can get something done now
with dopamine man this one I I could
make an entire video uh on this and you
can let me know in the comments if you
if you like my presentation of this
stuff if you want more in-depth uh uh uh
videos about dopamine uh this one is
actually the most complic ated and the
most there's different angles to address
it right very first thing is sleep right
you have to sleep really really well
basically the way I think about sleep is
the the the the less you sleep and the
less quality sleep you get the more your
kind of amydala takes over and you
become more of more lyic you become kind
of more of like an instant gratification
animal the better sleep you get the more
like your thinking brain gets charged
the prefrontal cortex gets gets charged
um then the more you're more like a
rational decis more of a rational human
uh so sleep is absolutely absolutely
crucial the other thing to manage your
dopamine is diet so if you're eating
like processed foods and a lot of sugars
and things like that these things are
sugar again is just like cocaine is just
like other drugs um they act on your
dopamine receptors and is going to send
you in this kind of like um sinusoidal
spiral of like feeling amazing and then
crashing and feeling amazing and
crashing and it's going to make you like
not be kind of consistent again we're
trying to make you very very consistent
again this is not a diet recommendation
but what I do is I avoid processed foods
as much as possible I usually eat uh
very high Quality Meats I eat very high
quality raw cheese I drink things like
green tea I try to keep it very organic
like for a dessert I try to keep it to
like fruits vegetables um dark chocolate
like very good quality dark chocolate I
Tred to again try to eat food that was
eaten like a 100 years ago right that's
kind of my filter is like did this thing
exist a while ago does it have like five
100 ingredients and it and all sorts of
oils and things in that answer if if the
answer is yes then I know that that's
probably going to mess with my focus
mood gut health and and things that
nature now that's uh one thing the other
thing that you can do which is extremely
extremely underrated um and there's a
book about this it's called Spark by Dr
John Rady I would strongly recommend uh
you read it uh is you go for a five
minute run like literally just five
minutes right and what that does is it's
going to help you focus it's going to is
going to help you sit down and be able
to do your work
obviously the longer you run the the
better but what I've noticed is
sometimes even as little as like three
four five minute run is literally gonna
like you the goal is to get your heart
rate like enough such that you like your
heart your heartbeat just goes up like
enough for like a few minutes and for me
personally what that does is it gives me
magical ability to focus even though
sometimes it's short lift sometimes it's
only like 45 minutes sometimes only an
hour sometimes only 30 minutes sometimes
only 15 minutes but those 15 minute 30
minute blocks they they they really add
up and as a benefit I get to be
healthier and whatnot and if you want to
be ultra Hardcore you can do what I do
which is immediately after you go for a
run uh you take a cold shower now again
there are papers on this you can go and
look them up uh there's a study where
where cold water exposure was able to
increase dopamine Baseline Levels by up
to 250% I believe which is crazy so I
think if you like imagine this you slept
really good you did not eat processed
crap you went on a run and you took a
shower and in the last 30 seconds or 1
minute you switched the water to cold
man you're going to feel like a
superstar and that's what I try to do
every single morning obviously I I'm not
sometimes I'm not consistent with it
sometimes I don't do it every single
morning but I'm telling you on mornings
where I start my day like this and even
if it's not the morning even if it's an
afternoon where I start my day like this
where I go for a run and then I don't go
take the shower I'm just so much more
clearer I'm just like feeling so much
better about myself and yeah this is
pretty much
uh the hardware element now last but not
least I want to cover software very
briefly and software is basically uh
composed of two things right there's
your beliefs what you think is true
what's going on inside your brain this
is very very important but then there's
also systems right things that you can
Implement in your life such as designing
your environment uh like having uh
habits that you track and do things of
that nature having your uh computer set
up in a certain way your browsers in a
certain certain way in a phone in a c
way in a certain way and I go in depth
into a lot of these things in my program
I'll put a link for it below you don't
have to get it if you don't feel like it
you can watch the rest of my videos um
but I really want to dive deeper into
this systems concept and I probably will
do that in one of the next videos but
basically what I want to know about
beliefs is there's one important belief
that you should have in regards to ADHD
is that um ADHD is stands for attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder
right there's no doubt that if your
brain is is there there's like miswiring
in the brain and there's different
components in the brain that are not
functioning properly uh then there's no
doubt that um that is a disorder right
that's not going to be good that's going
to be there's going to be some
malfunctioning there's going to be
things going wrong but I would strongly
urge you to not label it a disorder
right and this is very important belief
because I see a lot of people all the
time using kind of ADHD rightfully and
most of the times as kind of like a oh I
have ADHD so I can't do this oh I have
ADHD so I can do this but again ADHD if
if you have the if you manage it
properly and if you have the right
systems in place it gives you a lot of
other advantages such as your creativity
your imagination your curiosity like
there's a lot of ways in which um people
who don't have a ADHD are are kind of at
at a disadvantage especially in the
entrepreneurial Arena right so I would
strongly encourage you to adopt the
belief that nothing is wrong with you
you you're not you're not disordered
you're not like nothing is um inherently
wrong with you you're perfectly fine as
a human being your brain just happens to
be wired a bit differently the the
structure of your brain looks different
than other fellow human beings um and
that's okay because with the right uh
systems the right environment the right
software the right selft talk there's
ways that you can optimize that and I am
proof of that myself because again uh
thanks to adz I'm able to do a lot of
really cool stuff that other people just
do not understand how I'm able to do
them right but anyway that being said I
hope you enjoyed this overview um if if
you enjoy this video again leave a
comment say hi uh I will be making more
follow-up videos regarding this topic in
depth um and yeah thanks again for
watching I'll see you next video Peace
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