Stroke Information

• Home
• About Us
• Chest Information
• Heart Information
• Stroke Information
  • What Is A Stroke?
  • Transient Ischaemic Attacks & Minor Strokes
  • Your Stroke Journey
  • How Stroke Affects You
    • Swallowing Problems
    • Visual Problems
    • Continence Problems
    • Tiredness
    • Balance Problems
    • Communication Problems
    • Behaviour Problems
    • Coping With Anxiety
    • Coping with Depression
    • Poor Concentration
    • Memory Problems
    • Thinking Problems
    • Central Post Stroke Pain
    • Epilepsy
  • Living With A Stroke
  • Reduce Your Risk Of Stroke
  • Where To Get Help
  • Information For Carers
  • Stroke Links & Contacts
  • Suggested Book List
  • FAQs
• Advice Line
• Publications and DVDs
• Community Support
• Fundraising
• Education, Training and Funding Applications
• Voices Scotland
• Research
• Volunteering
• Health Professionals
• Stroke Chat Scotland

You are in: Home > Stroke Information > How Stroke Affects You > Poor Concentration

Poor Concentration

Difficulty concentrating is very common after a stroke. Ways that you may be affected include:

• Finding it hard to concentrate for long periods. You may feel overtired as a result.
• Finding it harder to concentrate when you are tired.
• Finding it hard to think quickly when you are trying to process a lot of information quickly.
• Having a short span of attention: making simple tasks difficult to complete.

Worrying about not being able to concentrate often causes feelings of anxiety which, in turn, makes it even harder to concentrate.

Tiredness has a significant effect on your concentration levels: the more tired you are the harder it is to concentrate.

A limited concentration span can impact on returning to work and learning new skills as well as on everyday activities. However, it does improve for most people in time and there are ways of learning to adapt.

Concentration problems can be related to memory problems and vice versa. Finding ways to cope with tiredness and pace yourself can help. Don't be hard on yourself!