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Thumbnail of 4 ways to fix your attention span - Shannon Odell

4 ways to fix your attention span - Shannon Odell

IntermediateAmerican accentAnimated lesson5 min

Shadow this video one sentence at a time: listen, say it back, and get a score for every word.

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Hard words

The longest, least common words in this video. Say them slowly before you start.

Transcript: 45 sentences

Tap a sentence to start the drill right there.

  1. 0:07 In 2016, a group of researchers - oh, a new photo.
  2. 0:12 These researchers set out to measure - did I get that email?
  3. 0:15 They measured - what was that?
  4. 0:18 Sorry.
  5. 0:19 The researchers set out to measure the length of, well, our attention spans.
  6. 0:25 Participants downloaded a program that tracked how long they stayed focused on a single computer application before switching to another.
  7. 0:34 On average, users stuck with a single task for 40 seconds, down from 75 seconds, measured just five years earlier.
  8. 0:43 This doesn’t necessarily mean our attention spans are fundamentally getting shorter.
  9. 0:48 Rather, in today’s world, our attention is being pulled in more directions than ever before.
  10. 0:54 This can make finding focus - for work, school, and even the things we love - feel almost impossible.
  11. 1:02 Thankfully, there are ways we can improve and better protect our attention spans, both online and off.
  12. 1:09 Our brains are constantly receiving a flood of information, from sensory input to environmental cues to internal thoughts.
  13. 1:17 Filtering through it all relies on several brain regions.
  14. 1:21 The prefrontal cortex helps us decide what to pay attention to, while the parietal cortex shines a mental flashlight on that prioritized stream of information while ignoring the rest.
  15. 1:33 The challenge of sustained attention is keeping that flashlight focused in one place.
  16. 1:39 The brain is continuously monitoring all these competing signals.
  17. 1:42 And it redirects your focus if anything is flagged as particularly novel, unexpected, or emotionally charged - whether it’s a knock on the door, a notification, or even a passing thought.
  18. 1:55 This ability to constantly scan our environments and quickly refocus was key for human survival.
  19. 2:02 So, while frustrating, getting distracted is inevitable.
  20. 2:07 And our baseline ability to manage distractions can vary based on factors like genetics and brain differences.
  21. 2:14 But no matter your starting point, there are ways to improve your ability to stay focused.
  22. 2:20 First, tasks that appropriately challenge you tend to hold your attention best.
  23. 2:25 For example, you might focus better when working on a more difficult, intricately patterned puzzle than an easier one.
  24. 2:33 Of course, we don’t always have a choice in what needs to get done.
  25. 2:37 In these situations, it’s helpful to remember that if focusing feels like work, that's because it is.
  26. 2:44 In fact, some researchers theorize that attention is a limited resource.
  27. 2:49 When you start focusing on something, this resource is at its highest, but it depletes over time, leading to more mistakes and increasing the chance you’ll be distracted.
  28. 2:59 Multitasking only increases the demand for this resource, exhausting attentional stores more quickly.
  29. 3:06 That's why focusing on one task and intentionally building in breaks can be helpful.
  30. 3:11 Studies even show a momentary break, to get a snack or just zone out, can reset this attentional resource.
  31. 3:19 And this strategy may be extra beneficial when studying or practicing a new skill.
  32. 3:24 During breaks, our minds replay the neural activity patterns of what you just learned, helping to solidify the memory for the long term.
  33. 3:33 Speaking of studying, stress, sleepiness, and poor mood can all weaken our ability to block out distractions.
  34. 3:42 So activities that reduce stress, like exercising, chatting with friends, or getting a good night’s sleep, also make it easier to stay focused.
  35. 3:51 And nature may offer an extra boost.
  36. 3:54 In one study, a 15-minute walk outdoors led to greater improvements in lab-based attention tasks than the same walk indoors.
  37. 4:03 Another effective strategy is mindfulness meditation.
  38. 4:07 This practice is all about staying in the present moment through exercises like spending 12 minutes focusing on the sensations of breathing, which can help train your attention over time.
  39. 4:19 But before you go take a walk, grab a snack, or learn to meditate, there’s something much easier you can do right in this moment: get rid of distractions.
  40. 4:28 It’s impossible to remove every distraction, after all, our own wandering minds are often the biggest culprits.
  41. 4:36 But one recent survey estimated that Americans now check their phones around 200 times a day.
  42. 4:42 The distractions on our screens are designed to grab and hold attention.
  43. 4:47 So, remember to be kind to yourself.
  44. 4:50 While we can’t always control every factor that pulls at our attention, finding a quiet environment, closing extra tabs, and even blocking certain apps
  45. 4:59 can give your brain the best chance at focusing in.

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