What does it mean to be mentally alert while practicing?

[Bob]

What should the state of your mind be while practicing?

Sometimes I take the one section and just repeat it (beat the heck out of it) and drill it into my fingers.  But my mind dulls after awhile.  Is that good or bad or something else?

[pianistimo]

bob, you sure have a lot of problems these days.  you should get yourself a bowl of candy for on top of the piano for the bad days.  thankfully, my kids don't like the bottlecaps out of the halloween candy they were given...so i've been eating them.  it makes me feel good.  wakes me up. and, maybe it helps concentration after you've been practicing awhile.

water - is another good thing.  i mean, if you have a glass of water nearby.

[pianoperfmajor]

You should try adderall.. that helps me tremendously on days I have trouble focusing.  It makes the practicing fun and wakes up my mind.  You should try it.