Most people describe a shrinking attention span as something that happened to them, a personal failing, a sign of getting older, or simply “too much screen time.” In my view, this framing misses the more useful point. Attention is not a fixed trait. It behaves more like a skill, shaped by daily habits and by a digital environment that is, in many respects, actively engineered against it.
This article outlines five evidence-informed practices for rebuilding sustained attention, drawn from research on circadian biology, cognitive load, and the psychology of unfinished tasks.
By Keith Norris, Counsellor in New Westminster BC
1. Morning Light
Cortisol and the morning window. Within the first 30 to 60 minutes of waking, cortisol rises sharply, a pattern researchers call the cortisol awakening response, or CAR. Several studies indicate that morning light exposure can enhance this response, and an early, well-cited study found that a single hour of bright light exposure produced a 35 percent increase in cortisol compared to dim light. This pulse is associated with sharpened alertness and helps anchor the body’s 24-hour circadian rhythm.
A genuine caveat. It is worth noting that the research picture here is not fully settled. Some studies have found that the CAR occurs even without light exposure, driven instead by the sleep-wake transition itself, and at least one study found that extended bright light exposure actually reduced cortisol during certain circadian phases. What the research does agree on is that light, particularly outdoor light, plays a meaningful role in setting the circadian clock, even where its precise relationship to the morning cortisol pulse remains debated.
A practical note. Indoor light, including light through a window, is typically far dimmer than daylight, often by a factor of ten or more, and glass filters some of the wavelengths involved in circadian signalling. A short period outside, five to ten minutes, within the first half hour or so of waking, remains a reasonable and low-cost habit regardless of how the cortisol question ultimately resolves.
2. Phone Distance
The “brain drain” study. A widely cited 2017 study from the University of Texas found that participants performed worse on cognitive tasks when their phone was on the desk, better when it was in a pocket or bag, and best when it was in another room entirely. Notably, this held even when the phone was off and no notifications occurred. The researchers proposed that the mere presence of the device consumes a portion of limited attentional resources, since part of the brain is quietly working to not think about it.
Where the evidence gets more complicated. I would flag here that this finding has had a mixed run in replication attempts. At least one direct replication published a few years later found that phone location alone was not enough to reproduce the original cognitive effect. A broader meta-analysis found the picture genuinely mixed across studies, with effects that appeared strongest for working memory tasks specifically. In my view, this doesn’t mean the original finding is wrong so much as that the effect may be smaller, or more conditional, than early reporting suggested. Still, distancing yourself from your phone during focused work costs little and the underlying mechanism, that resisting a temptation draws on the same cognitive resources needed for other tasks, remains well supported in the broader self-regulation literature.
3. Intentional Consumption
How engagement design works. Recommendation feeds, autoplay, and infinite scroll share a common design goal, which is to maximize time on platform rather than to inform or serve the user in any deeper sense. Research on this design pattern points to a few consistent mechanisms: variable reward schedules that mirror slot-machine reinforcement, the removal of natural stopping cues through infinite scroll, and content personalization that increases perceived relevance.
What recent research adds. A 2026 meta-analysis of nearly 100,000 participants, published in Psychological Bulletin, found that heavier short-form video consumption was associated with measurably poorer sustained attention and inhibitory control, alongside elevated anxiety and stress. Notably, the researchers found that compulsive usage patterns predicted worse outcomes more strongly than raw time spent, which suggests the manner of consumption matters as much as the quantity.
Why intentional consumption matters. The proposed remedy is straightforward in principle, even if it is not easy in practice: shift from passive, feed-driven consumption toward content you deliberately searched for. Before opening a given app or platform, asking a single question, what am I here to find, interrupts the passive default and re-engages a more effortful, intentional mode of attention. If the honest answer is “nothing in particular,” that itself is useful information.
4. The Distraction List
The Zeigarnik effect and its limits. The Zeigarnik effect, first documented in the 1920s, describes the tendency for unfinished tasks to occupy memory more persistently than completed ones. It is worth noting, in the interest of accuracy, that later replication attempts have not always reproduced this original memory finding, and a 2025 meta-analysis concluded the classic effect lacks the universal validity often attributed to it in popular writing.
The more robust finding. What has held up more consistently is a related line of research from Masicampo and Baumeister (2011), which found that unfinished goals generate intrusive thoughts that interfere with unrelated tasks, and, critically, that simply writing a concrete plan for the unfinished task substantially reduces that interference. In other words, the mechanism is less about a mysterious pull of unfinished business and more about the brain’s difficulty tolerating an unresolved, unaddressed goal. A stray thought does not need to be acted on to lose its urgency. It largely just needs to be captured somewhere the brain trusts it won’t be lost.
A practical application. Keeping a notepad nearby during focused work, and jotting down intrusive thoughts as they arise rather than acting on them immediately, gives the brain a low-cost way to set the thought aside without abandoning it. Reviewing the list at the end of the day, most items turn out to have been minor, tends to reduce their perceived urgency over time.
5. Protected Rest
The default mode network. When the brain is not engaged in an externally directed task, a set of connected regions known as the default mode network, or DMN, becomes more active. This network is associated with introspection, autobiographical thinking, and, notably, creativity. Several studies have linked mind-wandering and DMN activity to improved performance on creative and problem-solving tasks, and some researchers estimate that people spend as much as half their waking hours in this default state under ordinary conditions.
Why constant stimulation interferes. The concern is not mind-wandering itself but a modern environment that rarely allows it to occur uninterrupted. When notifications, feeds, or background media consistently fill unstructured moments, the DMN has less opportunity to engage. Sitting without external input, no phone, no music, no reading material, for a sustained period initially tends to produce restlessness, sometimes described as a mild withdrawal response. For many people, this settles within several minutes into a calmer, more reflective state.
A reasonable practice. Setting aside 15 minutes daily for unstructured, input-free time is a low-cost way to give this system room to operate. It will likely feel uncomfortable at first. That discomfort is, in most cases, a predictable response to an environment that has trained the brain to expect near-constant stimulation, not a sign that anything is wrong.
A Closing Thought
None of these five practices is complicated in isolation. What they share is a resistance to the default settings of a digital environment that is, in many respects, built to fragment attention rather than protect it. Rebuilding attention span is less about willpower and more about deliberately restructuring small daily defaults, morning light, physical distance from the phone, intentional rather than passive consumption, a place to park stray thoughts, and protected time for genuine rest.
If sustained difficulty with focus, digital distraction, or attention is affecting your work, relationships, or overall well-being, it may be worth exploring further with a professional. I’d be happy to discuss strategies tailored to your specific circumstances.
References
- Figueiro, M. G., & Rea, M. S. (2012). Short-wavelength light enhances cortisol awakening response in sleep-restricted adolescents. International Journal of Endocrinology, 2012, 301935.
- Leproult, R., Colecchia, E. F., L’Hermite-Balériaux, M., & Van Cauter, E. (2001). Transition from dim to bright light in the morning induces an immediate elevation of cortisol levels. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 86(1), 151–157.
- Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. W. (2017). Brain drain: The mere presence of one’s own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2), 140–154.
- Ruiz Pardo AC, Minda JP. Reexamining the “brain drain” effect: A replication of Ward et al. (2017). Acta Psychol (Amst). 2022 Oct;230:103717. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103717. Epub 2022 Aug 22. PMID: 36007374.
- Feeds, Feelings, and Focus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Examining the Cognitive and Mental Health Correlates of Short-Form Video Use
- Masicampo, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2011). Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(4), 667–683.
- Zeigarnik, B. (1927). Das Behalten erledigter und unerledigter Handlungen. Psychologische Forschung, 9, 1–85.
- Mark, G. (2023). Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity. Hanover Square Press.
- Menon, V. (2003). Functional connectivity in the resting brain: A network analysis of the default mode hypothesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(1), 253–258.
For personalized support with focus, attention, or the habits that affect your day-to-day functioning, feel free to reach out. I’d be glad to work with you on building an approach suited to your specific situation.