CAN YOUR ATTENTION SPAN REALLY 'BREAK'? EXPERTS WEIGH IN

Newsweek Exclusive Feature

Experts say that attention does not really “break”—it adapts. With practice, focus can be rebuilt despite digital distractions.

The idea that attention spans can "break" has been spreading like wildfire across TikTok, podcasts and think pieces—framing focus as something fragile, like glass.

But experts say the reality is more complicated. While our ability to concentrate is under pressure from fast-evolving technology and increasing distractions, attention does not simply snap—and it can even be strengthened.

The topic matters because the way people work, learn and relate to each other depends on how long they can maintain focus in a tech-driven world.

"Attention spans are demonstrably shrinking, but humans are resilient, and we can change," Marian Berryhill, a psychology professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, told Newsweek.

"In today's world, technology and media emphasize shorter content with a lot of action and now we are trained to expect it, but it does not mean that something about attention is 'broken.'

"Fortunately, we can change this expectation by practicing slower, more sustained attention."

Battling Shrinking Focus

Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California, Irvine and author of Attention Span, has been tracking our screen use for two decades.

"I found that attention spans declined from an average of 2 1/2 minutes in 2004 to an average of 47 seconds from 2016–2020," Mark told Newsweek.

She attributes some of this drop to fast-evolving technology, which both shortens the time we spend on tasks and multiplies the number of competing stimuli.

Abstract illustration of brain. Credit: UNSPLASH

Berryhill added that humans constantly juggle two competing forms of attention—endogenous, or top-down focus, and exogenous, or bottom-up distraction.

Both are adaptive, but the problem, she said, is that modern media trains people to expect rapid results.

"We need to focus sometimes, but we also need to be sensitive to our surroundings, and these are through competing forms of attention," she said.

Stephanie Lewis, executive director at Epiphany Wellness in New Jersey, said attention is better understood as a system that ebbs and flows rather than a fixed part of us that can break.

"Attention is a network of brain processes that can be trained, fatigued or disrupted," she told Newsweek. "Your attention system can't permanently 'break' like a machine part, but it can dysfunction or weaken if chronically overloaded."

She compared it to a battery as being drained by stress, fatigue or constant multitasking, yet restored once rested and deliberately trained.

Lewis advised undoing the cycle by practicing short bursts of uninterrupted concentration.

"You can start by focusing on one task with no interruptions for 10 to 15 minute sessions, then gradually increase to 25 to 45 minute sessions, then increase to 60 to 90 minute sessions once or twice a day," she said.

Mindfulness meditation, puzzles and reading dense material, she added, can also strengthen focus over time.

The Disruption of Flow

Brian Bovee, associate professor of Information Systems at California Baptist University and author of The Focused Faith, pointed to a deeper consequence of modern digital habits: the erosion of the "flow" state.

"Our brains remain fully capable of sustained focus, but constant exposure to digital stimuli—social media feeds, notifications, multitasking environments—conditions us to operate in fragmented bursts of attention," Bovee told Newsweek. "Over time, this rewires our habits and expectations for how long we can concentrate."

He said the flow state—deep, immersive engagement where creativity and productivity peak—requires extended, interruption-free stretches.

"While our attention isn't 'broken,' it is often chronically disrupted, preventing us from experiencing the kind of deep engagement that leads to satisfaction and high performance," he said.

To retrain focus, Bovee also suggested distraction-free spaces, analog activities like journaling or reading print books, and contemplative

practices like meditation.

"Attention spans don't shatter permanently—they adapt to the environments we create," he said. "With deliberate practice, we can reclaim the capacity not only for focus but also for the deeper fulfillment that flow states provide."

Fixing Attention Fatigue

Nicole Issa, founder of PVD Psychological Associates, said that what often looks like broken focus is better described as "directed attention fatigue," when the brain's filtering processes become depleted over time.

"Attention spans don't break in the traditional sense of the word, but they will feel strain," Issa told Newsweek.

Stressors such as multitasking, lack of sleep and digital overload, she said, heighten this fatigue, leading to irritability and forgetfulness.

In her clinic, she has seen patients mistake those symptoms for hormonal issues or other conditions.

She pointed to Attention Restoration Theory, which suggests that nature can restore depleted focus.

"Someone applying this approach would spend time in a natural environment or watch images of flowing water," she said. "It helps improve concentration and reduce mental fatigue.

"It could take as little as 15 minutes to see a boost in mood."

Simple techniques include taking multiple breaks throughout the day, using meditation as a reset, and limiting exposure to social media.

Even 10 minutes of meditation, she said, can bring attention back to the present.

Making Positive Changes

Dr. Ashwini Nadkarni, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, added that attention relies on many domains from motivation to orientation and executive functioning. It is supported by brain networks and shaped by physiological factors like sleep, stress levels and emotional mood.

"Technically, no, one's attention span doesn't break, per se," Nadkarni told Newsweek, in much agreement with the other experts.

"However, it has been established that excessive interruption, such as in the case of digital media multi-tasking, or even with task-switching, affects cognitive performance."

Nadkarni recommended breaks from digital media, silencing alerts, and regular exercise.

"Improving mood, sleep, stress, reducing interruption and taking digital breaks can all enhance one's attention," she said.

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