The average attention span has shrunk to roughly 40 seconds. Here’s how to get it back.
Cognitive scientists explain what’s driving the precipitous decline in our ability to focus—and offer evidence-based strategies to restore it.
Think about the last time you paused what you were doing to check something else—an email, a message, a notification. How far into your original task were you before you switched? For most people, the answer is less than a minute.
Over the past two decades, researchers have found that the average time people stay focused on a single task has dropped from about 2.5 minutes to roughly 40 seconds.
That erosion of sustained attention is linked to higher stress, more errors, and reduced productivity. But scientists who study attention say the trend is not irreversible. With targeted strategies and training, they’ve found, the brain’s capacity to focus can be strengthened again.
How do we measure attention?
Attention, broadly defined, is the ability to direct the mind on a specific task, says Gloria Mark, author of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity.
There are two main types of attention, Mark explains. Involuntary attention is automatic—it’s what allows us to react to a loud noise or a jarringly bright light. Focalized attention, by contrast, is the ability to concentrate on a specific task. This latter type is what scientists measure when researching attention spans.
Since the early 2000s, Mark has tracked focalized attention by observing how long people remain on a task before switching to something else—such as checking email or opening a new browser tab. At first, Mark used in-person observations— researchers shadowed employees throughout the office. In recent years, she has tracked attention spans using software that monitors people’s computers.
(”Urgency culture“ might lead you to burnout. Here’s how can you combat it?)
Sale Extended - Save up to $20!
“Data from our first study, in 2003, revealed that people spent an average of 2.5 minutes on something before turning their attention to a different task,” she says, “Our most recent study done over the past five years shows that the figure has gone down to 40 seconds.”
The measure doesn’t capture how long people can focus under ideal conditions, Mark notes, meaning shorter attention spans don’t reflect a permanent loss of attention capacity, but changes in how often people break their focus in daily life.
Is a shorter attention span an issue?
Because most tasks take longer than 40 seconds to complete, rapid attention switching often means people move on before finishing what they set out to do. Think of leaving a news story mid-way through to check your email and then going back to the story. That back-and-forth may feel harmless, but it creates extra work for the brain, explains Mark.
That’s because each time we set out to do something, whether writing an email or checking train times, our minds bring up a “schema” to sort through the information needed for that task. When attention shifts to something else, our mind “puts down” that schema and quickly comes up with a new one. This requires effort and depletes our limited cognitive resources.
(Here’s what happens to your brain when you take a break from social media.)
Frequent switching can also leave behind what Mark calls “attention residues.” “Think of it like a whiteboard,” Mark says, “Sometimes we erase something on it but some of the ink remains and stays as a trace in the background.” Those mental remnants linger in the background, competing with the demands of the next task, the cognitive equivalent of having too many tabs open.
Experimental evidence supports this picture. A 2024 laboratory study found that switching between tasks reliably slows performance and increases errors—even under tightly controlled conditions designed to isolate attention mechanisms—reinforcing the idea that multitasking carries inherent cognitive costs.
The myth of multitasking
It’s easy to assume that rapidly switching between tasks enables multitasking. But from a cognitive perspective, that’s not possible. Our ability to focus can be directed to only one thing at a time, says Amishi Jha, a psychology professor at the University of Miami and author of Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day.
The ability to pay attention developed out of an evolutionary need to prioritize information, explains Jha. Because the brain cannot process everything it encounters, it operates more like a spotlight—illuminating one stream of information while leaving the rest in the background.” We only have one flashlight,” Jha says, “So we can’t point it to multiple things at once.” What people often describe as multitasking is, in fact, rapid task switching—shifting attention back and forth between activities. “And that is a terrible way to spend our attentional resources,” Jha says.
(How to cope with stress at work—and avoid burning out.)
In some studies, task switching can reduce productivity by up to 40 percent compared with doing tasks separately. Other research has found that people who report being strong multitaskers often perform worse on objective measures of attention control, including filtering out distractions and switching tasks efficiently.
How to get your attention back
Juggling multiple projects and responsibilities, and working against a backdrop of constant notifications, is a non-negotiable part of life for most people. But as experts like Jha and Mark explain, we can protect and replenish our limited attention even against the pressure of modern life.
One place to start is timing. Mark suggests planning demanding work around your chronotype—your body’s natural rhythms of alertness and fatigue. To find out about your chronotype, keep a journal and note down your daily ebbs and flows of alertness and focus. Once you have this personal attention map, you can plan your most important tasks around your “peaks of attention.” During those windows, Mark recommends minimizing interruptions by silencing notifications, blocking social media, and reducing other distractions.
Just as important as focused work, she adds, are intentional breaks. “Taking breaks is especially beneficial if it involves physical activity,” Mark says, “and ideally if it can be done out in nature.” The timing of breaks can vary. In our attention-scarce times, many people find that 25 minutes of uninterrupted work followed by a five-minute break—also known as the pomodoro technique—can help make the most of our attentional resources.
Attention can also be strengthened directly through training. Jha, who works with people who need to stay focused in high-stress conditions, such as elite athletes and military personnel, has found that 12 minutes of mindfulness practice at least four times a week can improve attention, memory, and resilience to stress.
Mindfulness works by exercising attention itself, Jha explains. By focusing on our breath, we build our ability to direct our “flashlight” onto something specific. Noticing our mind wandering and gently redirecting it back to our task helps us become more aware of our attention. It improves our ability to focus despite distractions.
(Does meditation actually work? Here’s what the science says.)
Over time, that practice can strengthen attention much like physical exercise strengthens muscles. “We all know that daily physical exercise is necessary for our physical health,” Jha says, “and now we also know that there is something we can do to exercise our mind.”
