Psychology Facts

▼ Attention Span ▼

》Attention span refers to an individual's ability to attend to a stimulus or object over a period of time. This ability is also known as sustained attention or vigilance.

》The average human attention span is 8.25 seconds. However, attention spans can range from 2 seconds to over 20 minutes.

》Humans have shorter attention spans than goldfish, which is 9 seconds.

》An individual's attention span varies depending on their age, with younger people usually having longer attention spans.

》Women usually have longer attention spans than men.

》Childhood development experts typically say that a child's attention span is two to three minutes per year of their age, on average. For example 2 year olds = 4-6 minutes, 3 year olds = 6-8 minutes, and so on.

》The average 14 year old teenager has a 28 to 42 minute attention span, and the average 16 year old teenager has a 32 to 48 minute attention span. This trend might indicate that our attention spans increase as we get older.

》Paying attention is a key skill for learning, but children with autism or those with attention deficit disorders struggle to stay focused.

》The average audience attention span is only 8 to 10 minutes, which means you should keep your speeches short and engaging to hold your audience's attention.

》Research has shown that between 2000 and 2015, our attention spans shrank by an astounding 25%.

》25% of teens forget major details of close friends and relatives. 7% of people forget their own birthday from time to time, and studies suggest that each week, 39% of Americans will forget one basic piece of information or lose one every day item.

》An average office worker will check their email inbox 30 times every hour (yup...every two minutes...wow) and will pick up their phones more than 1,500 times per week amounting to 3 hours and 16 minutes a day.

》The average person picks up their phone more than 1,500 times every week – that's once every 5.5 minutes!

》The phone takes up, on average, 3 hours and 16 minutes of someone's day.

》According to a 2010 study, we spend nearly 47 percent of our waking hours thinking about something other than what we are doing.

》The following are some things you can do to help improve your focus:

Chew gum
Various studies have found that chewing gum improves attention and performance at work. Chewing gum also appears to increase alertness and lower stress.
While chewing gum may not have a long-lasting effect on your ability to concentrate, it's an easy way to improve your attention span in a pinch.

Drink water
Staying hydrated is important for your body and mind. Dehydration can worsen your ability to think.
This even includes mild dehydration you may not even notice. Being dehydrated for just two hours can impair your focus.

Exercise
The benefits of exercise are endless and include improving your ability to focus. Numerous studies have shown that exercise improves attention and focus in people with ADHD.
To help improve your attention span, consider taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes a day four or five times a week.

Meditation
Meditation involves training your mind to focus and redirecting your thoughts. This habitual practice is used to help develop several beneficial habits, such as a positive outlook and self-discipline.
There's evidence that meditation can improve focus, and that continued meditation leads to improvements in sustained attention.

Keep yourself engaged
If you struggle to pay attention during meetings or lectures, try asking questions or taking notes. Evidence shows that taking notes by hand is more effective in improving attention and listening than using a laptop or other device, which can be distracting.

Behavioral therapy
Behavior therapy refers to several types of therapy that treat mental health conditions. It helps identify and change unhealthy or self-destructive behaviors.
There's growing evidence  that cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective way to treat inattention in people with ADHD.

Play concentration games
Studies suggests that practicing crossword puzzles 15 minutes daily, five days a week, can improve your cognitive abilities.

Take notes on a podcast
Put on a lecture, Ted Talk, or podcast and listen to it from start to finish. To help stay engaged, actively take notes.

Noting
In this mindfulness technique, you internally note whatever you notice in your awareness.
So simply put on a timer for ten minutes. Sit or lie down with your eyes closed, and whatever you notice in your experience, just internally voice it.

Take a cold bath
Part of increasing your attention span is improving your ability to be with unpleasant feelings. What is more unpleasant than the cold!