Introduction

In recent years, popular culture has coined the phrase “you have the attention span of a goldfish”, to describe someone with a very low attention span. While that may come forth as a rude phrase to most, we’ve now actually gotten to the point as humans where the attention span of a human is less than a goldfish. According to a Microsoft study¹, the average human attention span is now around 8.2 seconds, which is 800 milliseconds less than that of a goldfish. This is not how it has always been. Believe it or not, there was a time when humans had a longer average attention span than a goldfish. In the year 2000, the average attention span was 12 seconds.¹ In this article, I will highlight the causes of our shrinking attention span, while saying why it matters and methods at we can incorporate into our lives to rebuild our attention span.

The Causes of Our Shrinking Attention Span

The drastic decrease in human attention span in recent years isn’t a coincidence, but the result of our increasing dependence to technology. First came the internet, which was then followed by the introduction of social media where users can consume content which trigger hits of dopamine and serotonin. To read more about the rise and dangers of short-form content specifically, check out our articles on that here. Anyhow, taking a more biological view with a focus on the human brain, the prefrontal cortex works to carry out executive functions such as attention control and decision making. Now, that comes into play because the constant switching between stimuli that comes as the result of short-form content consumption leads the prefrontal cortex to rapidly reorient. This causes a decrease in attention span because the brain is always focused on separate tasks.²

Why it Matters

With that being said, the decrease in attention span is important as it causes us to constantly shift our focus to different things and makes us unable to remain focused on a single task for a while. For instance, this causes people to pay attention less in class or other learning environments as they are unable to focus on what is being told to them.

How to Rebuild Your Attention Span

While at this point it may seem that there is no hope for the human attention span, you can individually increase your attention span by practicing the following habits:

1. Prioritize Sleep

Being well rested is a major aspect of being able to pay attention during the day.³ Make sleep a priority, and you will notice a difference.

2. Limit Consumption of Social Media

Not only can social media make it harder to pay attention to other tasks, it is also a big time-waster.³ Try setting screen time limits or otherwise limiting your social media usage.

3. Exercise

Physical exercise can boost brain health, making it easier for you to focus. When possible, try to exercise at least 30 minutes a day.³

4. Practice Mindfulness

Partaking in mindfulness activities can offer effective ways to reduce stress which will allow us to focus more on the present. This will then enable us to increase our attention span because we won’t constantly be thinking about other things.³ If you are looking for some mindfulness activities to practice, check out our exercises on our exercise tab.

Conclusion

In all, the increase of technology in our lives has greatly decreased the modern attention span, but by incorporating principles like sleeping more, exercising, and doing mindfulness activities, we can increase our attention span and build back our focus, one step at a time.

Citations

You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish

Speaking of Psychology: Why our attention spans are shrinking, with Gloria Mark, PhD

13 Top Tips for Improving Focus and Attention Span