(Press-News.org) COLUMBUS, Ohio – Studies show that the average attention span is now only eight seconds. That’s about as much time as it takes to read a few sentences before being distracted.
A new national survey of 1,000 American adults commissioned by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine finds that stress and anxiety contribute most to a short attention span (43%), followed by lack of sleep (39%) and digital devices (35%).
Other contributing factors include boredom or lack of interest (31%); multitasking (23%); lack of physical activity (21%); poor diet/hydration (20%) and medical conditions such as ADHD (18%).
Only 25% of survey respondents said they don’t have trouble with their attention span.
Evita Singh, MD, a psychiatrist with Ohio State’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health said this is something she sees often.
“The stress and the ruminating and thinking about things over and over in your mind can certainly impact attention span and the ability to focus,” said Singh. “Often when patients come to see me, they're worried about their ability to focus, and there's a good chance that it ends up being because they're so stressed out or they're anxious. So we work on treating that.”
Short attention spans can have long-term consequences, she said.
“When people are multitasking, when they have so many things in their mind that they're thinking about, they can get exhausted,” Singh said. “And then it's really hard to enjoy things, which can then lead to depression or anxiety.”
To help improve attention spans and the ability to focus longer, Singh created a tool to help.
It’s called Take Five:
T – Take frequent breaks.
A – Actively engage in the one task at hand.
K – Keep distractions to a minimum.
E – Eliminate multitasking.
Five – Take five minutes to refocus.
“For example, can we do five minutes of a small workout practice, or a little bit of mindfulness or something else that we enjoy?” Singh asked.
If techniques such as “Take Five” are not working, and a lack of focus or short attention negatively impacts day-to-day life, Singh encourages people to seek help from a mental health professional.
“There are many different things that can lead to why we're having a hard time focusing or having trouble with attention,” Singh said. “But being able to recognize that while also giving grace to ourselves that we don't need to be ‘on’ and focusing 100% of the time is also really important.”
###
Survey Methodology
This study was conducted by SSRS on its Opinion Panel Omnibus platform. The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is a national, twice-per-month, probability-based survey. Data collection was conducted from May 2 – May 5, 2025, among a sample of 1,008 respondents. The survey was conducted via web (n=978) and telephone (n=30) and administered in English. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-3.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus data are weighted to represent the target population of U.S. adults ages 18 or older. This report provides information about the sampling procedures and the methods used to collect, process, and weight data for this study.
END
In documenting and recording society’s collective data on an unprecedented scale, artificial intelligence is becoming humanity’s historian – changing the way we record information for posterity.
But AI’s inadvertent role as memory-keeper raises profound concerns for today’s historians. Unlike human historians who explicitly document their methodologies, AI systems are creating the historical archives of the future without crucial transparency around how sources are selected, weighted, and interpreted.
This undermines a fundamental principle of historical scholarship, that methodologies should be visible and contestable. In the new book ...
(Paris, France, Monday, 30 June 2025) A new international study presented today at the 41st Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) reveals that IVF cycles involving male partners over the age of 45 carry significantly increased miscarriage risks and lower live birth rates – even when young donor eggs are used.[1]
By isolating paternal age from female reproductive factors through the exclusive use of donor eggs from young women, the study provides robust evidence that male age plays a critical role in reproductive success, challenging the common assumption ...
(Monday 30 June 2025, London, United Kingdom) A pioneering study has provided unprecedented insights into the immune response following pig-to-human kidney xenotransplantation.1
The findings, presented today at the ESOT Congress 2025, mark a significant step forward in overcoming the biggest challenge in xenotransplantation: rejection by the human immune system.
Using cutting-edge spatial molecular imaging, researchers mapped how human immune cells interact with pig kidney tissue in transplanted organs, revealing critical ...
(Paris, France, Monday, 30 June 2025) A new study presented today at the 41st Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) reveals that women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have distinct gut microbiota and metabolic signatures linked to premature endometrial ageing and a higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes.[1]
The research highlights a sharp reduction in the beneficial gut bacterium Parabacteroides merdae (P. merdae), alongside elevated levels of branched-chain amino ...
(Paris, France, Monday, 30 June 2025) A simple blood test taken in the first trimester of pregnancy could accurately identify women at risk of developing preeclampsia five months before clinical diagnosis, according to new research presented today at the 41st Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).[1]
Using a cell-free RNA (cfRNA) “liquid biopsy” of maternal plasma, researchers at the Carlos Simon Foundation and iPremom enrolled 9,586 pregnant women from 14 hospitals across Spain between September 2021 and June 2024. In a nested case-control analysis of 216 participants, they successfully predicted both early-onset and late-onset ...
(Monday, 30 June 2025, London, United Kingdom) A team of international scientists has made a major leap forward in diabetes research by successfully 3D printing functional human islets using a novel bioink. Presented today at the ESOT Congress 2025, the new technology could pave the way for more effective and less invasive treatment options for people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D).1
The breakthrough involved printing human islets – the insulin-producing clusters of cells in the pancreas – using a customised bioink made from alginate and decellularised human pancreatic tissue. This approach produced durable, high-density islet structures that remained alive and functional ...
Even small drops in national income can significantly increase the risk of various forms of childhood malnutrition- not only undernutrition but also overweight and obesity, shows a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by “la Caixa” Foundation. The study, published in Lancet Global Health, identifies pregnancy and the first 1,000 days of life as especially vulnerable periods where targeted interventions can make a big difference.
One in four children worldwide lives in severe food poverty. And many low- and middle-income countries ...
A study by the Center for Redox Processes in Biomedicine (Redoxoma) led by Marilene Demasi from the Butantan Institute (São Paulo, Brazil) presents a valuable new experimental model for investigating the interaction between the proteasome and mitochondrial function. In eukaryotic cells, the proteasome is a protein complex responsible for eliminating damaged and nonfunctional proteins, thereby helping to maintain cellular balance and proper functioning.
In recent years, studies have revealed that the proteasome ...
Spinal cord injuries are currently incurable with devastating effects on people’s lives, but now a trial at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland offers hope for an effective treatment.
Spinal cord injuries shatter the signal between the brain and body, often resulting in a loss of function.“Unlike a cut on the skin, which typically heals on its own, the spinal cord does not regenerate effectively, making these injuries devastating and currently incurable,” says lead researcher Dr Bruce Harland, a senior research fellow in the School of Pharmacy at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.
Before birth, and to a lesser extent afterwards, ...
Urea is one of the most important industrial chemicals produced worldwide. It is used as a fertiliser, for the production of synthetic resins and explosives and as a fuel additive for cleaning car exhaust gases. Urea is also believed to be a potential key building block for the formation of biological molecules such as RNA and DNA in connection with the question of the origin of life (see ETH News from 28 June 2023). Until now, the origin of urea itself on Early Earth has not been conclusively clarified.
A research team led by Ruth Signorell, Professor of Physical Chemistry ...
