I have joked for years that I have the attention span of a flea.
Having a laptop made sitting on the couch, watching TV and surfing the internet a very easy habit to fall into. I’d be clicking away on the keys, my eyes flicking from one screen to the other, not really registering very much of what I was seeing or hearing on either. Right now, I’ve been at this going gluten-free thing for a little over a week and while I’m not 100% completely free of it, I’m very close and I have noticed a curious effect: my attention span has increased to at least the span of a determined black horse fly.
If you’ve got black horse flies around your place, you’ll know what I mean. When these closing-in-on-2-inch long behemoths decide they want to take a chunk out of you, you run away squealing like a little girl! Okay, perhaps that’s just me.
Anyway, I’d been an avid reader for decades, having grown up in a house of avid readers. I’d devour thousand-page tomes in days, my concentration level knew no bounds, other than having to run to the loo, and even then… books were transportable (Hey! Don’t tell me you don’t read in the bathroom… everyone does it.). The last few years, I’ve found that a book can’t hold my attention for more than a few pages, even books that I was drawn into I couldn’t spend more than an hour reading. I found myself reading and then rereading entire passages because everything I had just read didn’t even register.
In my research on going gluten-free, I’d read that gluten can cause problems with attention spans and that people who were diagnosed with ADD/ADHD had symptoms vanish with the elimination of wheat. “Ludacris”, I thought. Utterly ridiculous that wheat would be responsible for lack of attention span.
What I can tell you is that this is day 9, and I zip through my emails in one shot. I see the Facebook updates and they actually register. I’m either on the laptop (with the TV off… and I don’t feel a compulsion that I’m “missing” something important) or I’m watching TV (and the laptop is closed and off of my lap) or I’m reading. I’m astounded. Perhaps there is something to all of this. Of course, if you know me, you’ll know that more experimentation is needed.
I’m excited.
Musings of the Amusing Muse 
That is very interesting. I’ve been trying to eliminate Gluten as well…not easy and I’m not at your level, but I have to say I can totally see that as a huge perk to being Gluten free. Thanks for the info.
I found it SO CURIOUS! Of course, in my brain, I’m wondering if my concentration has improved because I’m cutting wheat/gluten from my diet OR it’s due to the “power of suggestion”.
There has been one other noticeable change as well that I have not read about… and I find it curious as well. It’s not a bad change either, but definitely curious.
I agree with Top Down. Sounds interesting and worth more study. I like that pretty blue bead on my side table. I must get a few things done all at once. What was that? Gluten free you say? Sounds interesting. I may need to look into it.
I’m definitely “of a scientific mind” so I’m finding all the diet/nutrition stuff fascinating! If everything I’m reading in the “Wheat Belly” book is true, there is DEFINITELY something to eliminating wheat, if not most grains from ones diet.
That’s a really nice blue bead…
That’s very exciting news!
Why…
hey…
wait a minute…
what’s that over there…
🙂
I think that’s Strange Trips blue bead… 😛
I had some weird symptom relief after going gluten-free as well! I used to have nightmares CONSTANTLY and once I went gluten-free, they stopped. Strange!
I’ve always had weird dreams, like recently I’ve been having a lot of dreams involving the Fae – how weird is that?!
I’ve got to write another post about food allergies because… alas, it appears that soy is a problem, too!
Soy must be a tough one! I’m glad I’m not allergic to that or dairy. What happens when you eat soy?
When I first started GF and DF, soy didn’t appear to be a problem, but not it seems that when I eat something where soy is a main ingredient, I get excruciating joint pain, mostly on the right side of my body. It’s so strange! I’ve been able to pinpoint the soy with what I believe to be high confidence as the culprit as I have only had the reaction with 4 or 5 foods/ingredients that are high soy content, as I have been eating many more “whole” foods since the start of this whole thing.