How to use it
- Sit comfortably, with the screen at a distance where the dot is easy to see. Pick 1, 3 or 5 minutes and press Start.
- Rest your gaze and your attention on the dot. Keep your eyes soft and blink as you need to.
- Sooner or later you will notice you are thinking about something else. Tap, without judging it.
- Come back to the dot. Wander, notice, return: that loop is the whole practice.
Why it works
This is focused-attention meditation: keeping your attention on one thing, such as your breathing, a sound or something you look at (NCCIH (opens in a new tab)).
In a brain-scan study, 14 experienced meditators pressed a button each time they noticed their mind had wandered, then went back to their breath. The researchers describe a cycle of mind wandering, noticing, shifting attention back and staying there, with different brain activity in each part (Hasenkamp et al., 2012 (opens in a new tab)). Your tap is the noticing part of that cycle. It shows what the practice involves; it doesn't show that a few minutes here will change your focus.
Meditation isn't for everyone. A review summarised by the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health found about 8 in 100 people had a negative effect, most often anxiety or low mood (NCCIH, above). If a sit leaves you feeling worse, stop.
When to use it
- Before studying, a match or deep work, as a warm-up for your attention.
- If moving pictures are too much for you: this one stays still.
- Not while driving or doing anything that needs your attention.
This is a self-help practice, not medical advice. If attention problems affect your daily life, talk to a doctor.
More tools
Not medical advice. This is a wellbeing tool, not a treatment. If things feel heavy, talk to someone.