Open Monitoring Visual Training
Train panoramic vision to eliminate attentional blind spots
Huberman explains that our visual system operates in two modes: a narrow soda-straw focus and a wide panoramic mode. When we find a target or lock onto something interesting, we experience an 'attentional blink' where we momentarily become blind to other relevant information. People with ADHD may experience more of these blinks than average, contributing to their inconsistent attention.
The framework involves deliberately practicing the shift between focused and panoramic (dilated) gaze. By consciously widening your visual field into what Huberman calls 'open monitoring,' you activate a separate neural stream that processes information with a higher temporal frame rate, allowing you to catch more targets and reduce attentional blinks.
Remarkably, research shows that a single 17-minute session of practicing this panoramic-to-focused gaze shifting significantly and near-permanently reduced the number of attentional blinks participants experienced. This makes it one of the fastest-acting, most durable attention interventions available without medication.
- Your visual system has two distinct processing modes: focused (narrow) and panoramic (wide-angle), each mediated by separate neural circuits.
- Attentional blinks -- momentary perceptual blindness after locking onto a target -- are a primary mechanism behind missed information and broken focus.
- Consciously shifting between panoramic and focused gaze trains the brain to maintain open monitoring, reducing attentional blinks in a near-permanent way.
- Physical movement before visual training helps discharge restlessness and primes the body for stillness, enhancing the training effect.
- Discharge Physical RestlessnessBefore beginning the visual focus training, engage in 5-10 minutes of physical movement. This could be walking, stretching, or light calisthenics. The goal is to satisfy your body's desire to move so you can sit still during the training.Pro tipThis step is especially critical for children or anyone with hyperactive tendencies. The research Huberman cites had kids do physical movement stations before the visual exercises.
- Practice Focused Gaze at Close RangeSit down and fix your visual attention on a nearby object such as your hand or a pen held at arm's length. Maintain a narrow, concentrated gaze on that single point for 30-60 seconds. You are allowed to blink normally.Pro tipIf your eyes fatigue or water, that is normal. The effort of maintaining focus is itself the training stimulus.
- Shift to Mid-Range and Far TargetsMove your focused gaze to a target a few feet further away for another 30-60 seconds, then to a target even further out. This progressive distancing trains your visual focus circuits across different spatial depths.Pro tipUse distinct objects at each distance so your brain has a clear anchor point rather than a vague area.
- Practice Panoramic Gaze (Open Monitoring)Consciously dilate your visual field so you are seeing the entire scene around you without fixating on any single object. Hold this wide-angle, panoramic mode for several minutes. This engages the separate neural stream that processes information at a higher temporal resolution.Pro tipA good cue: try to see everything in your peripheral vision simultaneously without moving your eyes. You should feel a relaxation in your eye muscles.
- Alternate Between Modes for 17 MinutesSpend a total of 17 minutes cycling between focused gaze and panoramic gaze. The research shows this duration is the threshold at which significant, lasting reductions in attentional blinks occur. Even a single session produces durable effects.Pro tipSet a timer so you can fully immerse in the practice without clock-watching. Alternate roughly every 2-3 minutes between modes.WarningDo not force yourself to avoid blinking. Normal blinking is fine. The training is about gaze width, not blink suppression.
In the study Huberman cites ('Improvement of Attention in Elementary School Students Through Fixation Focused Training Activity'), children performed physical movements at stations, then practiced focused gaze at progressively farther targets. The visual training lasted only a few minutes per day.
A software developer who constantly missed Slack messages while coding (attentional blink from deep code focus) practiced the panoramic-to-focused gaze protocol for 17 minutes before starting work each morning for a week.
Huberman draws on research into attentional blinks -- the phenomenon where finding one visual target causes you to miss a second target presented shortly after. He likens this to Where's Waldo puzzles: the moment you find Waldo, your brain celebrates with a small dopamine hit and briefly shuts down broader perception. Researchers discovered that training panoramic vision -- a separate neural pathway from focused vision -- could dramatically reduce these blinks, opening a practical training protocol for anyone seeking better sustained attention.