Maintaining deep focus really is harder these days — how to improve your attention span, from a top researcher

As people scroll on social media more and read books less, their ability to focus is weakening, says attention-span researcher Gloria Mark.

Some of her earliest research, published in April 2004, showed that the average person at the time focused their attention on a single screen — to respond to an email or read an online article — for about two and half minutes, she says. That number was 47 seconds in 2016, closer to the length of videos you might find now on social media, says Mark, a Chancellor’s professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine.

More recently, participation in the attention-based practice of reading novels has dipped: Less than half of Americans read just one book over a 12-month period ending in July 2022, according to a Survey of Public Participation in the Arts published in October 2023 by the National Endowment for the Arts. Between 2003 and 2023, the percentage of Americans reading daily for pleasure fell by more than 40 per cent, according to a study from the University of Florida and University College London published in August 2025.

A shrinking attention span can have ripple effects on multiple parts of your life. Not being able to focus correlates with a lower ability to recall information, according to a 2020 study conducted by Stanford University researchers.

Plus, constantly shifting your attention can cause stress — think about how you feel when your to-do list seems infinite, and you can’t figure out where to start — and being stressed can make it harder for you to focus, Mark notes.

“When we’re focused, we’re reflective, we can deliberate, we can think more deeply. And when we do that, we can retain information better,” says Mark, who wrote the 2023 book Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way To Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity based on her decades of research.

Anyone can improve their attention span, no matter their starting point, she adds: “We’re just out of practice, and we’re not using our mind’s muscles to focus for lengthy periods. We have to get back into practice.”

Mark suggests five actions for strengthening your attention span and improving your ability to maintain deep focus:

5 ways to improve your attention span

1. Get a good night’s rest

“It’s really important to start your day with a full tank of cognitive resources,” Mark says. Quality sleep helps your brain feel refreshed and alert from the moment you wake up the next day, she says.

Many sleep experts recommend setting and sticking to a consistent daily bedtime and wake-up time — like going to sleep at 11pm and waking up at 7am — as frequently as possible, because it helps your brain fall asleep more easily each night. They also encourage getting between seven and nine hours of sleep per night to feel fully rested, with the exact amount depending on the person.

2. Set realistic goals and stick to them

Goals are great for your attention span, Mark says, because “we pay attention to what our goals are.”

Write down specific, realistic goals each night for the following day, and repeat them to yourself — out loud or in your head — throughout the day, she recommends. If you’d like to make a dent in the book you’re reading, make a specific plan for when exactly you’ll read and how long you’ll spend doing it, for example. You can even engage in a visualisation practice where you mentally picture yourself achieving those goals, Mark adds.

Mark also recommends setting emotional goals, like feeling calm or fulfilled at the end of a day, and asking yourself what steps you need to take to make them a reality. “Our emotions are connected with our ability to focus,” Mark says: Emotional stress can weaken brain functions like attentiveness, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

3. Identify your focus ‘peaks and valleys’

Pay attention to when you typically feel the most focused and productive, and when you tend to need a break. “In our research, we found that people’s attention follows rhythms, so there’s peaks and valleys throughout the day,” Mark says.

Most people’s ability to focus is at its highest early to mid-morning, says Mark. “Then they get into a valley around lunchtime, so it’s a great time to take a long break.” A good mental break typically lasts about 20 minutes, she told Steelcase’s Work Better podcast in a November 2024 episode. You can benefit from taking that break outdoors, she tells CNBC Make It: Spending time in nature has been linked to a boost in creativity and cognitive function.

“We find people’s attention peaks again mid-afternoon,” Mark says. “Of course, everybody is different. Some peak earlier, some peak later.”

4. Read more books

This one may sound counterintuitive if your attention span feels depleted, but when it comes to bolstering your ability to focus, “reading books is one of the best things that people can do,” Mark says.

The more people read, she says, the more they strengthen their working memory — or, their brain’s capability to recall information while conducting other mental processes. If you’re reading a new section of a book and absorbing that information while still remembering details from earlier in the narrative, you’re exercising your working memory.

Before you start reading, find a quiet environment and leave your devices in another room to avoid distractions, suggests Mark. “Make it an interesting book, something you can really get immersed in,” she adds.

5. Engage in meta-awareness

Meta-awareness means “being aware of what you’re doing as it’s unfolding,” Mark says. To practice it, she suggests catching yourself when your attention shifts from your current task to something like a notification on your phone or the urge to check your email instead.

In those moments, ask yourself, “Do I have to do that right now?” If it’s important but can wait until later, Mark suggests writing the thought down on a piece of paper instead, and refocusing your attention on the original task at hand. Stick with your current action until you reach a natural break — like the end of a chapter if you’re reading a book — or until a more important task really does require your immediate attention.

“At first it might be a little bit tough, but remember we pay attention to what our goals are, so stick to that goal and finish it,” Mark says.