Attention: the foundation of memory

Struggling to Focus After a Brain Injury or Stroke? Evidence-Based Tips to Help Your Attention

Published by Clarity Occupational Therapy | Perth, Western Australia


If you've had a stroke or acquired brain injury, you may notice that concentrating feels harder than it used to. You might lose your train of thought mid-sentence, feel overwhelmed in busy environments, struggle to follow a TV show you used to enjoy, or find that you are no longer efficient in completing everyday cognitive tasks, like an online grocery order. You're not imagining it — and you're not alone. Attention difficulties are one of the most common consequences of stroke and acquired brain injury. It can affect every part of daily life — from having a conversation, to cooking a meal, to getting back to work.

The good news is that the brain is remarkably adaptable and there is evidence supporting rehabilitation to address changes in attention after neurological injury.

First — what do we mean by "attention"?

Attention isn't one single thing. When clinicians and researchers talk about attention after brain injury, they typically describe several different types:

Sustained attention is your ability to stay focused on one thing over a period of time — like reading, watching something, or completing a task from start to finish.

Selective attention is the ability to focus on what matters while filtering out distractions — like following a conversation in a noisy room.

Alternating attention is the ability to switch focus between tasks — like moving between checking an email and returning to a conversation with a colleague.

Brain injury or stroke can affect any or all of these. You might find some harder than others, which is useful information when working out which strategies will help most.

1. Manage your environment

This is one of the most immediately effective things you can do, and it costs nothing. The brain after injury has a reduced capacity to filter out irrelevant information — which means background noise, visual clutter, and competing demands that never bothered you before can now significantly derail your concentration.

Practical tips:
- Work in a quiet room rather than in front of the television or in a busy household area
- Turn off notifications on your phone when you need to concentrate
- Face a wall or window rather than a busy room when working on something demanding
- Use noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs if background noise is unavoidable
- Do one thing at a time — this is not a weakness, it's working with your brain, not against it
- Reduce visual clutter on your desk or workspace; a cleaner environment genuinely helps.

2. Structure your day with routine

After brain injury, the mental effort required to switch between different types of tasks, decide what to do next, or adapt to unexpected changes can be exhausting. A predictable daily routine reduces that burden significantly by making more of your day automatic.

Practical tips:
- Do cognitively demanding tasks (bills, phone calls, reading, therapy exercises) at the time of day when your attention is at its best — for most people this is morning
- Build predictable slots into your day and stick to them where possible
- Use a daily planner, diary, or whiteboard to lay out your schedule in advance
- Plan regular rest breaks before you feel exhausted — stopping before fatigue sets in preserves attention for longer.


3. Take attention fatigue seriously

After a stroke or brain injury, the brain has to work significantly harder to perform tasks that were once automatic. This extra effort leads to a type of exhaustion that is different from ordinary tiredness — it's called cognitive or mental fatigue, and it directly affects attention.

Practical tips:
- Rest does not mean sleep — sitting quietly, going outside, or doing something gentle (like light stretching) counts
- Notice your own early warning signs that fatigue is building: irritability, increased errors, losing your place, or a sense of "brain fog"
- Stop the task before you hit the wall, not after
- Avoid scheduling demanding tasks back-to-back without a break in between
- Spread demanding activities through the week rather than concentrating them on one day


4. Prioritise sleep

Sleep is when the brain consolidates learning, clears metabolic waste, and restores cognitive function. After brain injury or stroke, sleep is often disrupted — and poor sleep makes every aspect of cognitive recovery harder, including attention.

Practical tips:
- Aim for a consistent bedtime and wake time every day — even on weekends
- Use your bedroom for sleep only; avoid screens, TV, and other stimulating activities in bed
- Limit or avoid napping during the day if night-time sleep is poor (speak with your treating team about whether naps are appropriate for you)
- Talk to your doctor if you're struggling with sleep — there may be treatable causes, and addressing sleep often leads to noticeable improvements in attention and energy.

5. Move your body regularly

Exercise is one of the most powerful and underused tools for brain recovery. Aerobic physical activity increases blood flow to the brain, supports the growth of new neural connections, and has been shown to directly improve cognitive function — including attention — after brain injury and stroke.

Practical tips:
- You don't need to run marathons — even a short daily walk counts and provides real brain benefit
- Aim for something that slightly increases your heart rate, as consistently as you can manage
- Exercise in the morning if possible — many people find it sets up better concentration for the rest of the day, and morning light helps anchor our brain’s sense of timing, supporting sleep at night
- Work with your occupational therapist or physiotherapist to find exercise that suits your physical capacity and is safe given your particular injury
- Build it in as a part of your routine.


6. Use external tools and supports

External aids take the pressure off an already-taxed brain. Rather than relying on your attention and memory to keep track of things, you outsource that work to reliable tools — freeing up your cognitive resources for the task itself.


Practical tips:
- Use a calendar, diary, or phone reminders for all appointments and tasks — don't rely on memory alone
- Write lists rather than trying to keep things in your head
- Use a whiteboard or noticeboard in a central location at home for the day's plan
- Break large tasks into small, written steps — tick each one off as you go. This reduces the mental effort of tracking where you're up to
- Set phone alarms or app reminders to prompt you to take breaks, take medication, or move on to the next task.


Recovery and neuroplasticity:
It's worth knowing that the brain continues to adapt and change — a capacity called neuroplasticity. While the greatest period of recovery typically occurs in the first weeks and months after injury, meaningful improvement in attention and cognitive function is possible over years. The strategies in this blog work in part by supporting this ongoing adaptation — giving the brain the right conditions to rewire and recover.

If your attention difficulties are significantly affecting your daily life, your safety, your ability to work, or your relationships, it's worth speaking with your occupational therapist. Occupational therapists are trained to assess which aspects of attention are most affected, what functional goals matter most to you and which evidence-based interventions will help you get there.


How Clarity Occupational Therapy can help
At Clarity Occupational Therapy, our senior occupational therapists have specialist experience in acquired brain injury and neurological rehabilitation. We work with clients across Perth and surrounds to assess attention difficulties in the context of everyday life — and to develop practical, personalised strategies that make a real difference.

Whether you're in the early stages of recovery or further along your journey, we're here to help you understand your attention challenges and move forward with confidence.

To make an enquiry or book an appointment:
📧 info@clarityot.com.au
📞 0427 233 711
🌐 www.clarityot.com.au


This blog is intended as general information and does not replace advice from your treating health professionals. If you are concerned about your cognitive recovery, please speak with your doctor, occupational therapist, or rehabilitation team.