In an era of endless scrolling, constant notifications, and infinite digital distractions, the ability to concentrate has become both more precious and more elusive. Yet for athletes, air traffic controllers, e-sports professionals, and anyone striving to perform at their peak, focused attention remains the cornerstone of success. A new feature explores how the brain achieves concentration, whether it can be trained, and what science tells us about reaching the elusive “flow state.”
The human brain was never designed to focus for hours at a time. Instead, it works in short bursts—sprinting for seconds or minutes until a distraction appears, then actively suppressing it and returning to the task. This constant filtering is what we call concentration, and it begins with basic prerequisites: being rested enough and having a clear goal. “Concentration is never pointless,” explains Henning Beck, a neuroscientist who studies how people think, learn, and understand. The prefrontal cortex acts as the brain’s concentration headquarters, helping block out irrelevant stimuli while strengthening neural connections and releasing dopamine to promote motivation.
The age-old debate of nature versus nurture plays out in the concentration arena as well. Some people are genuinely better at focusing than others, and genes do play a role in cognitive abilities. However, environmental factors matter just as much. “You can have the best genes, but if you constantly allow yourself to be distractions, you won’t be able to concentrate for long periods of time,” Beck notes. Conversely, those who are easily distracted can improve through conscious, focused effort. The key lies in routine and structured daily schedules—habits that conserve mental energy by operating on autopilot, freeing up brain capacity for new challenges.
The Flow State: When Focus Becomes Effortless
The ultimate goal for many seeking peak performance is reaching what’s called the flow state—a positive consciousness where one becomes highly focused and completely immersed in an activity. “When I’m in the water, I feel like I’m free, almost as if I’m flying,” describes Angelina Köhler, a 24-year-old competitive swimmer and 2024 World Champion in the 100-meter butterfly. “It’s a very special feeling that’s hard to describe because it just happens and you’re living in the moment.”
Research from the University of Lübeck suggests that during flow, the prefrontal cortex responsible for self-awareness actually shuts down. The brain transitions from beta waves associated with alertness to alpha and theta waves typical of deep relaxation—a focused yet receptive state. Interestingly, the reward centers of the brain are less active in flow, suggesting it feels less like euphoria and more like freedom from fear. “It is a feeling of anxiety-free productivity in which you lose yourself a little in the moment,” explains Professor Corinna Peifer, who specializes in work and organizational psychology.
However, there’s a paradox: the unconditional desire to achieve flow prevents it. “Wanting it too much simply keeps the muscles too tense and as a result, you don’t perform the same,” notes mental coach Thomas Baschab. Fine motor skills, mobility, and speed all deteriorate when the conscious mind tries too hard. The solution lies in sending positive impulses to counteract negative ones—a technique Baschab demonstrates by having people hold their arm steady while saying “confidence” versus “fear.”
High-Pressure Professions: From Pool Deck to Control Tower
The demands of concentration play out dramatically across different professions. Jan Peter Konopinski, a 23-year-old trainee air traffic controller at Leipzig Halle Airport, describes the intensity: “At peak traffic, the busiest phases of our shift, we deal with new aircraft every minute. An aircraft comes in, is cleared to land, leaves the runway, and the next one is already there.” He considers the profession “the Champions League of thinking, because it really pushes the brain to its limits.” The biggest challenge is switching gears quickly—from calm phases to complex situations requiring 100 percent alertness within seconds.
In e-sports, the pressure is equally intense. Dennis, a 21-year-old professional gamer for Borussia Dortmund, explains: “Making decisions in a matter of milliseconds is probably unique to e-sports.” Players must master hundreds of button combinations while simultaneously controlling eleven players and anticipating opponents’ moves. “We call it multitasking, but it’s actually the process of rapidly switching back and forth between tasks,” Dennis notes. This “switching cost” means the brain loses information during each transition, making sustained focus critical.
ADHD and Mental Training
For some, concentration faces additional obstacles. Angelina Köhler has been diagnosed with ADHD—attention deficit hyperactivity disorder—essentially the inability to organize vast amounts of information and concentrate. “So many stimuli come in from the outside and the brain is not very good at prioritizing which things need to be filtered out,” she explains. Through sports psychology work with Monika Liesenfeld, Köhler has learned to confront and accept her condition. “Through sports psychology, I’ve also learned to confront it better and to accept myself as I am.”
Mental training offers concrete techniques. Visualization helps athletes enter focused states—Köhler thinks of aspen leaves blowing in the wind during summer, a peaceful mental place that calms and refocuses her within minutes. Routines provide structure and stability, while positive self-talk replaces fear-based thoughts. “Instead of ‘don’t mess up,’ I’ll keep pushing myself with ‘come on now’ and ‘you can do it,’” Köhler describes.
Breaking Through: The Importance of Rest
The brain consumes nearly 20 percent of the body’s total energy despite making up only about two percent of body weight. Mental exertion releases stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, and prolonged focus can lead to muscle tension, headaches, and mental exhaustion. This makes breaks not just beneficial but essential, particularly in high-stress professions.
Air traffic controllers have longer and more frequent breaks than most workers because “the stress during our working hours is extremely high.” During breaks, Jan Peter avoids thinking about work entirely—reading, exercising, or simply doing something completely different. Similarly, athletes benefit from mental relaxation techniques and social media limits. Köhler tries to restrict Instagram and TikTok to one hour daily, noting that “digital devices are certainly the number one concentration killer.”
The biggest change in modern media is endless scrolling—a world without end. “In the past, there was a book that I read, it had a last page, and then it was finished. A movie has a final scene. So everything comes to an end at some point. Not anymore,” Beck observes. This infinite stream makes concentrating on longer tasks more difficult, though humans haven’t actually become worse at focusing over time. Instead, we’re consuming more content in shorter bursts, creating challenges for sustained attention.
The Balancing Act
The ideal approach strikes a balance between shorter and longer periods of concentration. “It is precisely this balance, focusing on something and yet still being able to use our environment to improve ourselves, that has advanced humanity,” Beck reflects. This combination of focused attention and mental wandering led to humanity’s greatest achievements—from leaving Stone Age caves to exploring the universe.
For athletes like Köhler, the goal remains clear: “My biggest wish is, of course, to win a medal at the Olympic Games, which I unfortunately didn’t get in Paris. I still have a score to settle, so to speak.” The plan for the next two to three years is to establish themselves at the top and deliver in main competitions.
Some people can concentrate better than others, but through routine and conscious action, everyone can improve their concentration—and sometimes even achieve flow. The key lies in balance: improving focus while allowing thoughts to wander sometimes. “There is probably no other living creature that can concentrate as well and for as long as humans,” Beck concludes. “What has made us so successful in evolution is precisely this ability to plan for the long term, to concentrate on it, and not to miss the moment when we need to let our minds wander. It is this balance between concentration and digression that leads us to come up with the best ideas.”