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‘Checking your phone 50 to 80 times a day’: Psychologist points out if your attention span is in danger
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For many of us, checking our phones has probably become an unconscious reflex, similar to breathing or blinking.
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Glancing at your phone can begin to compromise your cognitive skills once it passes a certain threshold. Studies from Nottingham Trent University in the U.K. and Keimyung University in South Korea found that checking your phone about 110 times a day may signal high risk or problematic use.
S Giriprasad, Psychologist, Aster Whitefield, Bangalore explained that when we check our phone again and again, it breaks our focus. “It’s like every time we look at the phone, our brain stops the current work and then has to start again. So this switching makes the brain tired. Over the time, the brain gets used to short attention and quick breaks instead of focusing for a long time,” he told indianexpress.com.
That’s why frequent phone checking slowly reduces our ability to concentrate on things.
Giriprasad clarified that it’s not only about how long we use the phone, but how often we interrupt ourselves. “Frequent interruptions affects our attention more than total screen time,” he said.
How many times is okay to check your phone?
There is no fixed number that suits everyone, since every individual is different, but Giriprasad said that studies give us a general idea — that most people check their phone around 50 to 100 times a day. This is considered a common behaviour. But checking your phone more than 100 times a day, especially without notifications, can be a warning sign that indicates habit-based or compulsive checking, which can harm attention and focus as well.
“As a rule of thumb, remember that checking your phone 50 to 80 times in a day is okay, but checking more than 100 times is kind of dangerous,” he said.
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How can you improve your attention span?
According to Giriprasad, here are some easy strategies to help you improve your attention span:
Turn off notifications: Reducing distractions like turning off unnecessary notifications and keep the phone away while you are walking or studying
Fix a specific time to check your phone: Dedicate fixed time to check your phone, for example once in every three, four hours or every six hours in order to replay important calls or notifications.
Do one task at a time: Focus on a single task for 20 to 50 minutes then take a short break and then again focus on the single task.
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Train your brain: Try simple exercises like breathwork, mindfulness techniques, reading books, or pick up hobbies that improve attention span
Get adequate rest: Prioritise proper sleep, as good rest always improves focus.
Avoid using phone late at night: It disturbs sleep and reduces the attention span in the next day, so proper sleep is a very important thing.
DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.