Factors affecting adult attention span include ADHD, fatigue, technology, and medication side effects. ADHD can affect both children and adults, while mental and physical fatigue, anxiety, and depression can cause attention problems. Watching too much TV can also shorten attention span, and some medications and stimulants can have this effect.
Some factors that affect attention span in adults are attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), fatigue, technology, and the side effect of some medications. Millions of people live with ADHD, a disorder that can severely affect attention span in adults and children. Fatigue is another common factor, and its symptoms are sometimes mistaken for ADHD or other chronic ailments and mental health problems. Additionally, many studies show that spending a lot of time watching television on a frequent basis can shorten your attention span. Shortened attention span is also a side effect of some prescription drugs and stimulants.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a common factor affecting attention span in adults. People who have ADHD have trouble paying attention and may act on impulses that most other people can dismiss. This problem is usually diagnosed in children when it is most obvious, and some evidence shows it may run in families. About half of children who develop ADHD are thought to have the same problems as an adult, but adults usually have better control over themselves and some ability to mask symptoms.
The inability to pay attention for long can also be caused by mental fatigue. Depression, anxiety, and poor sleep are some situations where mental fatigue is likely to develop. Mental fatigue could also be accompanied by physical fatigue, but having physical fatigue does not necessarily mean that a person has exercised or worked to exhaustion. Physical fatigue can be caused by many of the same things that cause mental fatigue.
Some studies show that children who watch television have a shortened attention span in their later years. Also, children continue to have problems through elementary school if they regularly watch three or more hours of television. The same study reported that college students who watch television seemed to have even more trouble paying attention than preteens and early teens. Experts recommend two hours or less of television a day, regardless of a person’s age, but the subject matter of a television show should be considered. In general though, less is more.
Prescription medications and drug abuse can also affect attention span in adults. For example, shortened attention span is a listed side effect of several medications prescribed by doctors. Medications that act as stimulants are sometimes known to cause a shortened attention span as well. However, different people can be affected by the same drug in different ways, so an adult may not experience this particular effect.
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