A: It’s doubtful: ADHD really begins in childhood, and while in some cases it isn’t diagnosed until adulthood, it’s very unlikely that you wouldn’t have noticed symptoms before now. There are tests your doctor can use to diagnose ADHD, but before you go for those, look at your lifestyle for other, more probable factors that can reduce concentration. A common cause of lack of focus is lack of sleep. Medications you’ve started recently can interfere with your slumber, as can hormonal changes associated with perimenopause or menopause. (Not taking medication? See Top 10 Sleep Thieves.) But here’s something else to think about: While there’s no national data on this, anecdotal reports suggest that more and more people are complaining about this sort of thing. Part of the problem may be our changing (and not always realistic) expectations. People see multitasking—doing three, four, even five things at once—as a badge of honor. But every time you toggle from one task to another, the tasks suffer, because you have to make an effort to refocus your attention from one thing to something else. Women do tend to be better than men at multitasking, but nobody is great at it. Our brains don’t behave that way. We can focus well on one thing, maybe two, but there’s a point of diminishing returns. In my experience, a major reason we multitask is that we’re bombarded with electronic messages—text messages, tweets, e-mails, posts. Every time you check an e-mail, you lose focus, and it’s a challenge to get back on course. My best piece of advice: Instead of responding constantly, set aside one or two times a day to check messages (and not at bedtime, when the blue light and stimulation can keep you up). Otherwise, turn off your e-mail alerts and keep your phone on silent (not vibrate!). (Check out how else you can break your multitasking habit.) SANJAY GUPTA, MD, is chief medical correspondent for CNN and a practicing neurosurgeon at Emory Clinic in Atlanta. Send your questions to askdrgupta@prevention.com. Sanjay Gupta, MD, is chief medical correspondent for CNN and a practicing neurosurgeon at Emory Clinic in Atlanta.
