Did it ever happen to you that after listening to any hour-long lecture in a workshop or classroom you can’t remember anything? Though you were physically present at that place, your mind was not there. What’s missing here was focus.   Focus – a little word with a huge impact! It's like the superhero of thinking, connecting to decisions, problem-solving, learning, memory, and how we see the world. If the focus game isn't strong, it can put a damper on thinking skills. Mastering the art of focusing is a game-changer. Focus can be used like a spotlight to direct the flow of energy. Harnessing the power of focus is key to success in life.  What is Focus? Focus is like a superpower that helps you to fully concentrate into one specific task and ignore the noise and happenings around.  Some folks call it "flow," a term made cool by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in his book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.” It's that feeling of being in the zone, where your mind is so absorbed that you forget about everything else – time, space, and anything other than the task at hand. For instance, with focus, you can enjoy a novel amid the huge chaos of a railway station. Read more: How to Utilise the Power of Visualisation to Achieve Goals Focus lets someone immerse themselves completely in one thing, without allowing mental distractions. It's like a mental power boost, concentrating all brain energy on one awesome task. Focus is the secret sauce to becoming the superhero of concentration! You can think of focus as a muscle for your mind. Like any other muscle, you can train it. So, if you want to boost your focus game, treat it like a workout – flex that mental muscle regularly. What is Attention Muscle? The attention muscle is like the brain's personal trainer for focus. It's all about the ability to direct and keep your awareness on a task, even when distractions come knocking. If you don't intentionally work it out, this attention muscle doesn't get stronger – and that's when the mind becomes a bit of a scatterbrain. An under-exercised attention muscle leads to a twitchy, agitated mind that can't catch a break, constantly hopping from one distraction to another. It's like trying to herd cats. Read more: Students with Depression: Tips for Parents and Educators Most people don't realize how feeble their attention muscle is until they actually need to buckle down and focus. Without proper training and development, sustained focus becomes a bit like trying to juggle too many balls at once – nearly impossible! So, if you want to avoid mental acrobatics, it's time to hit the mental gym and give that attention muscle a good workout.

The brain is the control center of the body which makes humans think, and feel. It keeps the heart beating, lungs breathing and allows the body organs to move, and sense. Although there is no magic pill to prevent cognitive decline, nutritionists emphasize that the most important strategy one can follow to boost the brain, memory, and focus is to take a healthy diet plan including a lot of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Let’s find out the beneficial and harmful foods and drinks for the brain health.  What Is Brain Food? Brain foods are those that are packed with antioxidants, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals and provide the brain with energy. These foods also help in protecting brain cells, which helps ward off the development of brain diseases. A nutritious diet can create a considerable number of essential hormones and neurotransmitters which can influence cognitive abilities. Top 10 Foods for Brain, Memory, & Focus Fatty fish Fatty fish is at the top of the list of brain foods that are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids. About 60% of the brain is made of fat, and half of that fat consists of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s help to build brain and nerve cells, and these fats are essential for learning and memory. Plus omega-3 fatty acids may slow age-related mental decline and help ward off Alzheimer’s disease.  Read More: Best Foods for Hair Growth: What to Eat, Drink and Avoid Oily fish like tuna, salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel, etc contain omega-3 fatty acids. Among the local fishes, Hilsa fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids including EPA and DHA.  Coffee Coffee’s two main components namely caffeine and antioxidants can help support brain health. Caffeine has a number of positive effects on the brain. It can increase alertness by keeping the brain alert by blocking adenosine (a chemical messenger that makes One feel sleepy). Moreover, this beverage can improve mood by boosting some of the “feel-good” neurotransmitters like dopamine and sharpened concentration.  Turmeric Turmeric is a deep-yellow spice that is a main ingredient in curry powder. It has huge health benefits for the brain as it has curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) helps to cross the blood-brain barrier, which means it can directly enter the brain and benefit the cells there. Read More: Best foods for expecting mothers It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds that can benefit memory, eases depression, and helps new brain cells grow.  Broccoli Broccoli is rich in amazing plant compounds, including antioxidants, and vitamin K. It has a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for forming sphingolipids (a type of fat) that are massively packed into brain cells and vitamin K intake to improve memory and cognitive status.  Pumpkin seeds One will get powerful antioxidants from pumpkin seeds that protect the body and brain from free-radical damage. One will also get magnesium, iron, zinc, and copper from these seeds.  Zinc is an important element for nerve signaling and zinc deficiency can cause many neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and Parkinson’s disease.  Read More: Heat Stroke Prevention: Best foods, drinks to avoid heat exhaustion Magnesium is also essential for learning and memory and low magnesium levels can cause many neurological diseases such as migraine, depression, and epilepsy. Copper helps control nerve signals and iron deficiency is often characterized by brain fog and impaired brain function. 

The upcoming national budget of FY2022-23 will focus on growth of agricultural production to reducing import dependency, NBR sources said on Wednesday. The government has recently given a guideline to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to keep a 10-years tax holiday for the investment in agriculture related 6-sectors including crops production, food processing plant, dairy, fisheries, fertilizer plant and agro-machinery and tech sector. In other words, those who will invest in this sector by June 30, 2030, will get the benefit of this income tax exemption, said the officials of NBR. READ: NBR slaps additional duty on 135 luxury items to discourage import To avail the tax exemption facility, minimum investment of Tk 1.0 crore is needed with required registration with the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA). The entire raw material must be collected from the domestic sources. Bangladesh has immense potential in the domestic agro-based industry. Development and employment of agro-based industries is possible by creating import alternatives for agricultural products, a study on agriculture said. The government has taken such initiatives to make the economy dynamic as well as create new job opportunities. Analysts say the aim is to create new ventures, especially in the rural economy, and to include more young people. In the upcoming budget, Tk 15,000 crore would be given for agro sector incentives, up from Tk 9,500 crore in the current fiscal year.

As ‘black fungus’ keeps on spreading in different Indian states amid the Covid surge, Bangladesh remains alert so that this fungal disease cannot put any extra strain on the country’s medical system, says DGHS. Speaking at a virtual press briefing, Dr Nazmul Islam, a spokesman of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said, “Many patients have been diagnosed with black fungus or mucormycosis in different Indian states, including Maharashtra Gujarat, Delhi and recently in West Bengal.” He said this rare fungal disease has been declared as an epidemic in different states of India. “In Bangladesh, we’re keeping a close eye on it so that it can’t create extra pressure on our health system.” The Indian states are declaring the “black fungus” an epidemic since it has increased in patients recovering from Covid-19. Read: Vaccination in Bangladesh: DGHS says online registration is a must  According to experts, black fungus affects patients initially in the nose and then it can spread into the brain. Often it can be treated by major surgeries removing the eye or part of the skull and jaw. More than 7,000 people in India have already been reported with the fungal disease and 219 have lost their lives. Many of those being infected with the disease are coronavirus patients, or those who have recently recovered from Covid-19, whose immune systems have been weakened by the virus or who have underlying conditions, including diabetes. Dr Nazmul Islam said they have already talked about the preventive measures of the fungal disease at their different forums. He said the members of the national technical advisory committee are working on the issue and they will finalise their guidelines and suggestions in this regard through discussions. “We’ve also talked about the issue. We’ve also sent warming messages to different districts.” The DGS officials said they will formally give specific guidelines on the treatment protocol management of the rare fungal disease.   Read: Covid vaccination in Bangladesh to start in first week of Feb: DGHS About the Covid vaccine, he said, the government’s stock of AstraZeneca vaccine is about to deplete at the end of this week. Dr Nazmul said 15 lakh people who received the first dose will not get the second dose in time as the stock is going to be exhausted. He urged all to wait with patience until the new consignment of vaccine arrives. “It’s also necessary to maintain hygiene rules.” The DGHS official said the government is trying to collect vaccines from the United States and the United Kingdom and other sources.  "We’re hopeful that somehow we’ll be able to collect vaccines from these sources as per our demand.” Replying to a question, he said no decision has been taken yet on the use of mixed vaccines. As the highly transmissible Indian variant has been detected in the country, Dr Nazmul said people must wear masks and strictly maintain health safety rules and social distance to keep them safe.

President Donald Trump plans to expand the White House domestic policy office by appointing an individual to focus exclusively on combating human trafficking, The Associated Press has learned.