Discover which Nature Made vitamins and supplements can support your wellness goals†
Get started now.Discover how you can get the benefits you want from the nutrients you need without the sugar normally found in gummies.†
New Zero Sugar Gummies‡Adding a multi to your morning routine sets you up for a great day ahead.
Find Your MultivitaminsAccess expert insights, research, and other helpful content related to your health.
Explore Health ResourcesLearn where our story began, and how we continue to evolve alongside our customers.
Discover Nature Made
May 15, 2026
Brain Health
articles
,
FAQs
articles
It’s likely that we first become aware of focus and attention in our schooling years. Whether that’s paying attention to a bird outside rather than the lecture, or struggling to focus on a long assignment, it’s common to experience occasional lapses of attention and focus in any environment. This is only exacerbated by the modern world, which often requires sustained attention to many moving factors.
It’s a reality that mental fatigue, also known as “brain fatigue,” can build with prolonged cognitive load. However, there are ways to support your brain’s attention and focus, including foundational healthy lifestyle choices and optional supplementation. First, let’s break down the difference between attention and focus.
Pay attention! Focus! While they may both be words drilled into you by a teacher, they have fairly distinct definitions, particularly when dealing with mental fatigue. Attention means selecting the information that you notice. When you are “paying attention” to something, you are picking up details and information. Attention can be drawn to things outside the primary subject of your attention.[1]
Focus, sometimes also known as "vigilant attention" refers to sustained attention to a chosen target, which is seen as unstimulating, while resisting distractions. In a way, focus is like when you zoom in further, the proverbial “locking in” on a subject. Think of attention as situational awareness and focus as targeted concentration.[1]
Why does this distinction matter? When the two terms are used interchangeably, it can be difficult to determine what practical steps to take. Certain strategies work better for maintaining sustained focus, while others are primarily based on shifting attention.
Our brain does a lot of things, and one of those is managing our attention. How does it do that? Well, when you get into neuroscience, there’s no real simple answer, but basically, multiple systems in the brain work together to determine your focus.
Information is categorized by a number of factors, like salience, which sorts the seemingly important details to the top, and goals, which sort information based on what you are trying to do.[2] Cognitive and behavioral processes like attention, memory and more are affected by sleep.[3] That’s one of the reasons that adequate, high-quality sleep is so important.
When you work out a lot or take a long hike, your body and muscles get tired. That’s physical fatigue. When you work out your brain a lot, that is, doing complex tasks, solving math problems, or even keeping up social interactions, your brain gets tired. That’s mental fatigue.
Mental fatigue is the psychobiological state of tiredness that occurs after prolonged, demanding cognitive activity and can reduce the efficiency of cognitive performance.[4] Brain fatigue is another term people often use to describe mental fatigue.
This occasional mental fatigue can feel like you are thinking more slowly, having difficulty sustaining prolonged attention, or being more easily distracted.[4] All of these can become frustrating when you’re trying to do something that uses your brain (which is most things!). So, why do we feel this way?
We’ve all experienced occasional mental fatigue, and understanding what causes it can help us support our focus in the future. One of the most common causes is prolonged, demanding cognitive load, or time-on-task.[4]
You know that feeling when something you’re working on seems to get harder and harder the more you work on it? That’s because prolonged attention is building up fatigue, making your brain feel slower and your attention wander.
A lack of sufficient sleep can also affect your brain’s ability to manage attention.[3] Sleep helps our brains work through the fatigue we build up during the day, so it’s important to practice sleep hygiene and aim for consistent sleep.
Distraction-heavy environments, including background noise, can also contribute to fatigue and lower cognitive performance.[5] So, how to increase concentration and focus in your daily life?
Improving your focus and reducing occasional mental fatigue during the day starts with healthy, practical lifestyle habits.
The first of these habits is sleep and recovery. Getting adequate sleep supports your attention and vigilance and helps reduce mental fatigue by allowing your brain and body to rest during the night.[3]
Sleep, stress and the immune system are connected as well, so the benefits of regular sleep go beyond daily focus.
That means aiming for a full night of rest, which is best supported by keeping a regular bedtime and practicing good sleep hygiene, like keeping a dark, cool room and cutting out screentime in the hours before sleep.
Mental fatigue builds up when you spend prolonged time on complex mental tasks. One way to help reduce fatigue is to introduce regular short breaks into your tasks and pace yourself. Taking short breaks to rest can help you return with more vigilant attention.[6]
Working physical activity into these breaks can help support your daily wellness through regular exercise. Always be sure to stay hydrated and support your body with regular, balanced meals.
Another way to improve focus is to reduce environmental distractions. Many phones offer a focus mode that reduces distracting notifications or locks access to apps. If working on a computer, reducing the number of tabs to just the ones needed for a single task can help keep you from diverting attention.
If you experience persistent fatigue that impacts your daily life, it’s best to consult a trusted healthcare professional.
When building a balanced wellness routine, start with the fundamentals: healthy lifestyle habits that support focus, like adequate sleep and regular breaks.
If you’re looking for additional focus support, you may be interested in Nature Made Focus Boost Capsules, which feature a synergistic blend of green tea caffeine and L-theanine, designed to support adults who juggle work, school, or everyday life and find it hard to occasionally focus.†
The clinically studied green tea caffeine and L-theanine blend helps reduce mental fatigue and supports focus and attention. The formula also includes five essential B vitamins, which support healthy brain cell function. One daily fast-acting capsule works within 1 hour.†
Explore Nature Made’s Brain Health Supplements today! Nature Made is the #1 Pharmacist Recommended Vitamins & Supplements Brand.*†
* Based on a survey of pharmacists who recommend branded vitamins and supplements
CAPSULE
† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Beauty
Bone
.svg?v=1708553623743){kind=small}
Brain
Gut Health
Energy
Eye Health
General Wellness
Healthy Aging
Heart
Immune Health
Joints
Kids
Men's Health
Mood
Prenatal & Postnatal
Sleep
Stress
Women's Health
