Editing Attention span (section)

== By age ==
Measuring humans’ estimated attention span depends on what the attention is being used for. The terms “transient attention” and “selective sustained attention” are used to separate short term and focused attention. Transient attention is a short-term response to a stimulus that temporarily attracts or distracts attention. Researchers disagree on the exact amount of the human transient attention span, whereas selective sustained attention, also known as focused attention, is the level of attention that produces consistent results on a task over time. Common estimates of the attention span of healthy teenagers and adults range 5 hours. This is possible because people can choose repeatedly to re-focus on the same thing.<ref name="Essential" /> This ability to renew attention permits people to 'pay attention' to things that last for more than a few minutes, such as lengthy films.

Older children are capable of longer periods of attention than younger children.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Simon |first1=Alexander J. |last2=Gallen |first2=Courtney L. |last3=Ziegler |first3=David A. |last4=Mishra |first4=Jyoti |last5=Marco |first5=Elysa J. |last6=Anguera |first6=Joaquin A. |last7=Gazzaley |first7=Adam |date=2023 |title=Quantifying attention span across the lifespan |journal=Frontiers in Cognition |volume=2 |doi=10.3389/fcogn.2023.1207428 |pmid=37920687 |pmc=10621754 |issn=2813-4532 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

For time-on-task measurements, the type of activity used in the test affects the results, as people are generally capable of a longer attention span when they are doing something that they find enjoyable or [[Motivation#Incentive theories: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation|intrinsically motivating]].<ref name="Essential">{{cite book | vauthors = Cornish D, Dukette D |title=The Essential 20: Twenty Components of an Excellent Health Care Team |location=Pittsburgh, PA |publisher=RoseDog Books |year=2009 |pages=72–73 |oclc=721335045 |isbn=978-1-4349-9555-1}}</ref> Attention is also increased if the person is able to perform the task fluently, compared to a person who has difficulty performing the task, or to the same person when they are just learning the task. [[Fatigue]], [[hunger]], [[noise]], and [[Psychological stress|emotional stress]] reduce the time focused on the task.

A research study that consisted of 10,430 males and females ages 10 to 70 observed sustained attention time across a lifespan. The study required participants to use a cognitive testing website where data was gathered for seven months. The data collected from the study concluded that attention span is not one singular linear equation; at age 15 it is recorded that attention-span-related abilities diverge. Over the course of the study, collected evidence additionally found that, in humans, attention span is at its highest level when a person is in their early 40s, then gradually declines in old age.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fortenbaugh FC, DeGutis J, Germine L, Wilmer JB, Grosso M, Russo K, Esterman M | title = Sustained Attention Across the Life Span in a Sample of 10,000: Dissociating Ability and Strategy | journal = Psychological Science | volume = 26 | issue = 9 | pages = 1497–1510 | date = September 2015 | pmid = 26253551 | pmc = 4567490 | doi = 10.1177/0956797615594896 }}</ref>