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Focus & Memory

Focus Habits: Distraction, Workload and Study Methods

Being pulled off a task by phones, messages, noise and your own wandering thoughts is one of the most common focus complaints, and a few simple changes to your surroundings and routine can help. This page is about reducing what pulls your attention away; the wider habits of concentration, staying with a task for longer and brain fog have their own pages.

General information, not medical advice. Last updated October 31, 2026. Written by the AlternativeMed editorial team. Not medically reviewed.

Start here

  • Silence notifications and put your phone out of arm's reach for one focused block of 25 to 50 minutes, and see how it feels.
  • Work on one thing at a time and close the other tabs, chats and screens you do not need for it.
  • Plan short breaks in advance (for example 3 to 6 minutes after each block) rather than waiting until you feel pulled away.

Be careful with

  • Distraction that is new, severe or lasting despite enough sleep and a reasonable workload may have another cause, such as poor sleep, low mood, anxiety, a medicine effect, or ADHD. Do not assume it is only a habit problem.
  • Do not stop a prescribed medicine because of focus problems; talk to the person who prescribed it.
  • Caffeine and 'focus' supplements can disturb sleep and may interact with medicines. Ask a pharmacist first, especially in pregnancy, breastfeeding or with a long-term condition.

Get help when

  • You cannot concentrate despite adequate sleep and a reasonable workload, or the problem is getting worse (the NHS suggests seeing a doctor for memory and concentration trouble like this).
  • Memory problems are affecting daily life, or concentration trouble comes with low mood or anxiety.
  • Long-standing, lifelong patterns of inattention, restlessness or disorganisation that cause trouble at work, study or home may be worth an assessment for ADHD.
  • Sudden confusion, a rapid change in thinking, severe headache, weakness on one side or trouble speaking: seek urgent medical care.

About Focus Habits: Distraction, Workload and Study Methods

What this goal means

This goal is about the things that interrupt or compete for your attention while you are trying to do something: phone alerts, several screens at once, background talk and noise, and a cluttered routine. It is not about how long you can keep going on a task (see Stay Focused for Longer) or general concentration habits (see Improve Your Concentration).

Most focus advice online is based on common sense or small studies. This page separates what has some research behind it from what we could not verify. It is educational.

1,2

What it can feel like

Common experiences are reaching for your phone without deciding to, losing your place after an interruption, reading the same paragraph twice, being unable to ignore nearby conversations, and ending a day feeling busy but unproductive.

Mind wandering, where attention drifts away from the task, is one form of internal distraction. A study of mindfulness-based attention training describes it as linked with poorer performance and well-being.

3

What can make it harder

Research on distraction points to several things. Phone notifications alone disrupted an attention-demanding task in one experiment, even when people did not touch the phone. Irrelevant background speech impaired performance, especially on tasks that need remembering verbal material. Poor sleep impairs sustained attention. Using several media streams at once was associated with more distractibility in some studies, although later work did not consistently confirm it.

Age can matter too: older adults may find multitasking harder and may have mild decreases in attention as a normal change.

4,5,6,2,7

Conditions that can be behind it

Poor sleep, low mood, anxiety, the effects of some medicines and illness can all make it hard to concentrate. Adults with ADHD may find distraction a lifelong pattern; the NHS lists adjustments such as a personalised workspace in a quiet area, written as well as spoken instructions, and help from another person to plan and structure tasks. We do not diagnose here; a doctor can assess.

8,9

Realistic expectations

Most of the research is short laboratory work, often in students, and results are mixed. Treat the habits below as things to try and measure on yourself rather than guaranteed fixes. Expect gradual change over a few weeks, and expect to be distracted sometimes anyway.

10,11

Who this applies to

Adults, students and workers who feel pulled off task by devices, noise or interruptions. Children and teenagers were studied in only some of the research we read (for example, notification sounds hurt adolescents' maths accuracy more in one experiment); school rules and family routines are decisions for parents and schools. Persistent attention problems at any age deserve a proper assessment.

12

Related conditions and symptoms

A manageable starting plan

An educational starting point, not a personal prescription. Adjust it to your own situation and any advice from your clinician.

Your first actions

  • Pick one daily focus block, silence notifications and put your phone out of reach for it.
  • Protect your sleep: a regular wake time and enough time in bed.
  • Work on one task at a time; keep a notepad for stray thoughts.
  • Plan short breaks (about 3 to 6 minutes) and take them away from screens.

Optional additions

  • Move word-based tasks to a quieter place or time.
  • Try a few minutes of mindfulness practice daily.
  • Spend a break outdoors or beside a window with trees.
  • Write tomorrow's top three tasks the evening before and keep items in the same place.

What to track

  • How many focus blocks you completed and how many times you picked up your phone during them.
  • Hours slept and a 1 to 10 rating of how easily you were distracted.
  • Caffeine drinks and the time of the last one.
  • Other symptoms such as low mood, worry, forgetfulness or headaches.

When to reassess

Give a new routine two to four weeks. If you are still very distracted, it is getting worse, or other symptoms appear, see a doctor rather than adding more techniques.

When to seek professional support

  • See a doctor if concentration trouble persists despite adequate sleep and a reasonable workload.
  • Ask a pharmacist before adding caffeine products or supplements, especially with medicines, pregnancy or breastfeeding.
  • Talk to your employer or school about quiet space or written instructions if distraction affects your work or study.
  • Seek urgent care for sudden confusion, a rapid change in thinking or one-sided weakness.

What helps

Ordered by how well the research supports each step. Evidence strength is shown on every card; precautions sit next to the advice.

Start here

Silence notifications during focus time

Low certainty

Addresses: Fewer attention breaks from alerts you did not choose

Why it may help: In an experiment, cell phone notifications alone significantly disrupted performance on an attention-demanding task, even when people did not interact with the phone, and the size of the effect was comparable to actively using a phone for calls or texting. Another experiment found notification sounds compromised maths accuracy and reaction time most in adolescents. A large click test found people were far more likely to tap an app icon that had a notification badge, which shows how strongly alerts attract attention.

How to apply it: Choose a block of time (for example 25 to 50 minutes). Turn off alerts or use a do-not-disturb mode, and decide in advance when you will check messages. Keep urgent contacts allowed if you need to be reachable.

Who it may suit: Adults and teenagers whose attention is broken up by phone alerts.

Precautions: The studies were short laboratory experiments, mostly in students, so real-life gains are not measured. Do not silence alerts you need for safety, caring responsibilities or on-call work.

4,12,13

Do one thing at a time and cut extra screens

Mixed findings

Addresses: Less switching between streams of information

Why it may help: In experiments at Stanford, people who regularly used several media streams at once (heavy media multitaskers) were more susceptible to interference from irrelevant information and did worse on a task-switching test. This is an association: it cannot say whether multitasking caused the difference or whether easily distracted people multitask more. A later replication and meta-analysis found only a weak association that turned non-significant after correction for small-study effects, and a 2025 set of experiments in undergraduates found no relationship between media usage and working memory.

How to apply it: Close tabs and apps you do not need for the task. Finish or park the current task before opening a new one. Keep a notepad beside you to jot down stray thoughts to deal with later.

Who it may suit: Anyone who often works with several windows, chats or screens open.

Precautions: This is a low-risk experiment to try on yourself, not proof that multitasking harms the brain. Some jobs genuinely require monitoring several channels.

1,10,2,11

Plan your breaks (the Pomodoro method)

Low certainty

Addresses: Possibly less fatigue and distractedness during study sessions

Why it may help: The Pomodoro technique alternates focused work blocks with short breaks. In a study of 87 students during self-study, a 6-minute break after every 24 minutes (or 3 minutes after 12) was compared with choosing your own break times. Self-regulating students had longer study sessions and breaks, along with higher fatigue and distractedness and lower concentration and motivation. Task completion and mental effort did not differ. A 2025 scoping review of 32 studies, mostly small and observational, reported that structured Pomodoro intervals consistently improved focus and reduced mental fatigue compared with self-paced breaks, and called for more research.

How to apply it: Set a timer for a block (about 12 to 25 minutes works as a starting point), then take the planned break away from your screen. Adjust the length to the task.

Who it may suit: Students and desk workers who drift off task or tire during long sessions.

Precautions: The studies were in students, rely a lot on self-rated focus and are short. We did not find research in people with ADHD or in older adults.

14,15

Additional options

Control background noise and speech

Moderate certainty

Addresses: Less disruption on tasks that need reading, remembering or writing words

Why it may help: A systematic review of 14 laboratory studies found performance begins to decrease as irrelevant speech becomes more intelligible, and verbal short-term memory tasks were the most strongly and consistently affected. A separate experiment found that tasks based on short-term memory and rehearsal of material were more sensitive to irrelevant speech than tasks based on long-term memory retrieval.

How to apply it: Choose a quiet room or a corner away from conversation for tasks that involve words and memory. If you cannot, steady non-speech background sound or a quiet space for the hardest tasks may help; we did not read trials of headphones or music in offices, so none are recommended on evidence.

Who it may suit: People working in open-plan offices, shared homes or cafes.

Precautions: The evidence is from laboratory tasks. Do not use headphones where you need to hear traffic, alarms or colleagues for safety.

5,16

Protect your sleep

Moderate certainty

Addresses: Steadier sustained attention

Why it may help: A meta-analysis of 44 studies found that a single night of restricted sleep (2 to 6 hours of sleep opportunity) increased sleepiness and impaired sustained attention, shown by slower reaction times and more attentional lapses. Tired people are easier to distract.

How to apply it: Keep regular sleep and wake times and protect enough time in bed. See our sleep pages for practical steps.

Who it may suit: Anyone who is easily distracted and short of sleep.

Precautions: If you sleep enough but remain unrefreshed or snore loudly, ask a doctor about a sleep check.

6

A daily routine, written plans and a fixed place for things

Not enough evidence

Addresses: Fewer decisions and lost items competing for your attention

Why it may help: The National Institute on Aging suggests following a daily routine, planning tasks and making to-do lists, and keeping items in the same place. These are common-sense suggestions from a health agency; we did not read trials testing them for distraction.

How to apply it: Write tomorrow's top tasks the evening before. Keep keys, glasses and chargers in one spot. Put the first task of the day on the list so you can start without deciding.

Who it may suit: Most adults; especially helpful when work or home life feels scattered.

Precautions: A list that grows endlessly can itself overwhelm; keep it short. Persistent trouble with routines needs a doctor, not more lists.

17

Still being studied

Time in natural settings

Low certainty

Addresses: A small possible boost to some attention measures

Why it may help: A systematic review of 31 studies found that exposure to natural environments significantly improved three measures (digit span forward, digit span backward and Trail Making Test B), while ten other analyses showed no marked benefit. A later review of 42 articles found working memory, cognitive flexibility and, less reliably, attentional control improved after exposure to natural environments, with low to moderate effect sizes.

How to apply it: Take a break outdoors, beside a window with trees, or in a park, instead of scrolling.

Who it may suit: Anyone wanting a screen-free way to reset between tasks.

Precautions: Studies were small and varied. Take the usual care outdoors, and do not rely on it for persistent attention problems.

18,19

Mindfulness-based attention training

Low certainty

Addresses: Less mind wandering in small studies

Why it may help: In a randomised study, a 2-week mindfulness course improved GRE reading-comprehension scores and working memory capacity while reducing distracting thoughts during testing. A pooled analysis of five small studies (304 people) in work settings found short mindfulness-based attention training reduced self-reported mind wandering compared with no training, and called for larger randomised trials.

How to apply it: Join a class, use a reputable guided audio, or practise returning your attention to your breath for a few minutes a day.

Who it may suit: People who notice their mind wandering and want a skills-based approach.

Precautions: Can bring up difficult feelings; stop if distressing and speak to a professional. Short studies, partly by the programme's developers.

20,3

Test yourself instead of re-reading when you study

Low certainty

Addresses: Better recall after days to weeks in lab experiments

Why it may help: In two experiments, students who took recall tests after reading a passage remembered more after two days and a week than students who simply re-read, though re-reading gave them more confidence.

How to apply it: Close the book and write down or say what you remember, then check. More on this is in the study and learning pages.

Who it may suit: Students and learners.

Precautions: Laboratory experiments with prose passages.

21

Workplace and study adjustments for ADHD

Not enough evidence

Addresses: A practical support route if attention problems are persistent

Why it may help: For adults with ADHD, the NHS lists workplace or study adjustments such as a personalised workspace in a quiet area, written as well as spoken instructions, and help from another person to plan and structure tasks. We did not read trials rating these adjustments, so we give no evidence rating beyond this guidance.

How to apply it: Talk to your employer, school or university about adjustments; a diagnosis from a clinician may be needed to access some support.

Who it may suit: Adults with a diagnosis of ADHD or persistent, lifelong attention difficulties.

Precautions: Do not self-diagnose or stop any prescribed medicine; a doctor can assess.

8

Food & nutrition

Food, drink and distraction

We did not find trials showing that a particular food reduces distractibility, so none are recommended here. Our brain-health food page covers the wider evidence.

The FDA says caffeine can be part of a healthy diet for most people, but too much can have negative effects. Caffeine late in the day can also disturb sleep, which in turn impairs attention.

  • Eat regular meals and drink fluids so hunger and thirst are not adding to your distraction.
  • Keep caffeine to earlier in the day and in moderation.
  • Ask a pharmacist before relying on 'focus' drinks or supplements.
22,6

Remedies & supplements

Traditional use, laboratory findings and human trials are kept apart. "Natural" does not mean safe.

Caffeine

Not enough evidence

Studied form and route: Coffee, tea or other caffeinated drinks

Intended outcome: Unproven for distraction itself; may affect alertness but can also disturb sleep

Human evidence: The FDA says caffeine can be part of a healthy diet for most people but too much can have negative effects. We did not read trials of caffeine on everyday distractibility for this page.

Traditional use: Caffeine drinks have long been used for alertness; we did not read a source for specific traditional claims.

Laboratory findings: We read no laboratory work for this page.

Limits: No evidence on distraction specifically was read. Caffeine late in the day can disturb sleep, and poor sleep impairs attention.

Interactions and precautions: Can worsen anxiety, palpitations and reflux; limit in pregnancy; ask a pharmacist if you take medicines or have heart problems.

22,6

'Focus' and nootropic supplements (as a group)

Not enough evidence

Studied form and route: Capsules, powders and drinks marketed for focus

Intended outcome: No proven effect on everyday distraction in what we read

Human evidence: We did not find human trials showing a product reduces everyday distraction in healthy adults. Specific ingredients are rated one by one on our nootropics page.

Traditional use: Not covered here.

Laboratory findings: Not covered here.

Limits: Marketing claims often go beyond human evidence.

Interactions and precautions: Supplements can interact with medicines and may not be safe in pregnancy, breastfeeding or with medical conditions. Ask a pharmacist or doctor first. Never stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Therapies & care

Established professional care starts with a doctor, who can look at sleep, mood, medicines and health conditions, and can refer for an assessment of attention if needed. We describe options in general terms; we do not recommend medicines or doses. Never stop a prescribed medicine without talking to the person who prescribed it.

Assessment by a doctor

Not enough evidence

Professional care A doctor can ask about sleep, mood, stress, medicines, alcohol and caffeine, and decide whether other checks are needed. This is the route if concentration trouble is persistent, worsening or affects daily life.

Who it may suit: Anyone whose distraction continues despite enough sleep and a reasonable workload.

Precautions: Sudden confusion or rapid change needs urgent care.

9

ADHD assessment and workplace or study adjustments

Not enough evidence

Professional care Adults with long-standing attention difficulties can ask for an assessment. The NHS lists adjustments such as a personalised workspace in a quiet area, written as well as spoken instructions, and help to plan and structure tasks.

Who it may suit: Adults with lifelong or long-standing inattention that affects work, study or home.

Precautions: We do not diagnose. Treatment decisions belong with a qualified clinician.

8

Mindfulness-based attention training

Low certainty

Skills-based practice A short course or guided practice of returning attention to the present. Small studies found less mind wandering; larger randomised trials are still needed.

Who it may suit: People who want a skill they can practise alone.

Precautions: Can bring up difficult feelings; stop if distressing and speak to a professional.

20,3

Help with sleep

Not enough evidence

Professional care If poor sleep is behind the distraction, a doctor or sleep clinic can help; cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is one approach described on our insomnia pages.

Who it may suit: People with long-lasting sleep trouble.

Precautions: Never stop a prescribed sleep medicine abruptly without advice.

6

What to avoid

Habits, products and claims that can get in the way. Never stop a prescribed medicine without talking to the professional who prescribed it.

Risks that apply to most people

Letting every alert set your agenda

Low certainty

Why: Notifications alone disrupted an attention-demanding task in an experiment, and notification badges strongly attracted clicks in a large online test.

Who it applies to: Anyone trying to concentrate with a phone nearby.

Try instead: Decide when you will check messages, and silence the rest during focus blocks.

4,13

Cutting sleep to get more done

Moderate certainty

Why: A single night of restricted sleep impaired sustained attention in a meta-analysis of 44 studies.

Who it applies to: Students, workers and carers with a run of short nights.

Try instead: Protect a regular sleep window and treat focus problems after poor sleep as a reason to rest, not a reason to push harder.

6

Personal triggers to check

Background speech while you do word-based tasks

Moderate certainty

Why: A review of laboratory studies found irrelevant speech impairs verbal short-term memory tasks most consistently.

Who it applies to: People who read, write or revise in open-plan offices or shared rooms.

Try instead: Move the hardest word-based work to a quieter place or time.

5,16

A visible, buzzing phone within reach

Mixed findings

Why: Evidence on the mere presence of a phone is mixed: one experiment found no overall effect of a smartphone on the desk on short-term and prospective memory, while another found people with higher positive urgency did worse when a silent-mode phone was visible than when it was turned off.

Who it applies to: People who often check their phone without deciding to.

Try instead: Try it as an experiment: put your phone out of sight for one block and notice whether it helps you. Switching it off is a stronger step than silent mode for those who find it tempting.

23,24

Products that need caution

Supplements and 'focus' products promising to block distraction

Not enough evidence

Why: We did not find human trials showing that a product reduces everyday distractibility in healthy adults, and caffeine can disturb sleep. Our nootropics page rates specific ingredients.

Who it applies to: Anyone tempted by brain-booster marketing.

Try instead: Work on sleep, interruptions and routine first, and read the ingredient-by-ingredient comparison before buying.

22

Unsupported claims

'Multitasking has damaged my brain'

Mixed findings

Why: The Stanford finding is an association. A replication study with a meta-analysis found only a weak link that turned non-significant after correction for small-study effects, and a 2025 set of experiments found no relationship between media usage and working memory. A review concluded the balance of evidence suggests poorer performance in heavy media multitaskers, though many studies find no difference.

Who it applies to: Anyone worried that screen habits have permanently changed their focus.

Try instead: Treat it as a reason to experiment with fewer simultaneous streams, not as proof of damage. See a doctor if concentration problems are persistent.

1,10,2,11

'There is a proven way to stop procrastinating'

Not enough evidence

Why: We searched PubMed for intervention reviews on procrastination and on whether a phone's presence affects attention. The results we could read were about related topics (for example bedtime procrastination), not about methods that reduce procrastination.

Who it applies to: Anyone offered a single technique to beat procrastination.

Try instead: Address sleep, mood and workload first, and try small steps you can measure on yourself.

23

Common mistakes

Assuming persistent trouble concentrating is only a bad habit

Not enough evidence

Why: The NHS advises seeing a doctor about memory or concentration problems that affect daily life or come with low mood or anxiety, because other causes may need attention.

Who it applies to: Anyone whose distraction is new, worsening or long-standing.

Try instead: Keep a short log of when you lose focus, and share it with a doctor.

9

Studying by re-reading alone

Low certainty

Why: In experiments, self-testing led to better recall after two days and a week than re-reading, even though re-reading felt more confident.

Who it applies to: Students.

Try instead: Mix reading with closed-book recall.

21

Evidence & safety

What the research shows

The best-supported ideas are ordinary ones: protect sleep, cut interruptions from alerts and speech, plan short breaks, and try to do one thing at a time. Experiments show phone notifications and irrelevant background speech can disrupt performance, and a meta-analysis shows poor sleep impairs sustained attention. The claim that multitasking damages the brain is only an association, and replications were weak. Planned breaks and nature exposure show small, limited benefits, and mindfulness-based attention training is promising in small studies. We found no proper evidence for specific anti-procrastination techniques or supplements for everyday distraction.

Limits of the evidence

  • Most studies are short laboratory experiments, often in students, and may not predict everyday results.
  • The media-multitasking research is mostly correlational, and replications gave mixed results.
  • Phone-presence studies disagree with one another.
  • The Pomodoro studies rely on self-rated focus and were in students; we found none in people with ADHD or older adults.
  • Nature-exposure reviews found small, varied studies and uncertain results for some measures.
  • Mindfulness studies were small, short, and some involved the programme's developers.
  • We read abstracts and guidance pages; our summaries do not cover every detail of each paper.

Precautions and interactions

  • Caffeine can disturb sleep, raise anxiety and palpitations, and should be limited in pregnancy.
  • Ask a pharmacist before supplements if you take medicines or have a long-term condition.
  • Do not wear headphones or silence alerts where you need them for safety.
  • Never stop a prescribed medicine on your own; talk to the person who prescribed it.

Life-stage considerations

  • Pregnancy and breastfeeding: disturbed sleep can affect attention; limit caffeine and ask your midwife or doctor before any supplement. Report persistent confusion or severe headache.
  • Older adults: multitasking may be harder and mild attention decreases can be normal, but sudden or fast-progressing change is not and needs urgent attention. Check medicines for drowsiness.
  • Children and teenagers: one experiment found notification sounds hurt adolescents' maths accuracy and reaction time more than adults'; rules about devices are for parents and schools. Do not give supplements without medical advice.
  • Students: planned breaks and self-testing were studied mainly in students (see Build Better Study Habits).

Warning signs

  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, weakness on one side of the body, fainting or severe headache.
  • Memory or concentration problems that are getting worse or affecting daily life.
  • Low mood, constant worry or hopelessness alongside poor focus; if you have thoughts of harming yourself, contact a doctor or local emergency or crisis service now.
  • Heavy daytime sleepiness, loud snoring with pauses in breathing, or nearly falling asleep while driving.

Claim checks

Multitasking damages your brain's ability to focus.

Not proven

1,10,11

A phone's notification can derail your concentration even if you do not touch it.

Supported in experiments

4,12

Just having your phone on the desk drains your brainpower.

Mixed

23,24

The Pomodoro technique makes you focus better.

Promising but limited

14,15

There is a proven technique to stop procrastinating.

Proper evidence not found

Questions people ask

Does the Pomodoro technique work?

Studies in students suggest planned breaks help with mood and focus compared with choosing your own break times, but research is limited and task completion did not differ in the trial we read.

Is multitasking bad for focus?

Heavy media multitaskers were more easily distracted in some lab tests, but that finding is an association, and replications were weaker. It is reasonable to try one task at a time, but it is not proof that multitasking harms the brain.

Do phone notifications really distract me?

In experiments, notifications alone disrupted an attention-demanding task even when people did not use the phone. The studies were short and mostly in students.

Does having my phone on the desk hurt my concentration?

The research disagrees. One experiment found no overall effect on short-term and prospective memory, and another found poorer working memory only in people with higher positive urgency. Try putting it out of sight and see for yourself.

What is the best way to study?

In lab experiments, self-testing beat re-reading for later recall. See Build Better Study Habits and Learn & Retain New Information.

How do I stop procrastinating?

Proper evidence not found in the sources we could read. Address sleep, mood and workload first, and try small steps you can measure.

Does background noise matter?

Irrelevant speech impaired performance in laboratory studies, especially on verbal short-term memory tasks. Quieter places help for word-based work; we did not read trials of headphones.

Can being outdoors help me focus?

Reviews found small improvements in some attention measures after exposure to natural environments, though results were varied.

Could my distraction be ADHD?

It might be, but poor sleep, low mood, anxiety, medicines and illness can look similar. The NHS lists workplace adjustments for adults with ADHD; a doctor can assess. See ADHD in adults.

When should I see a doctor?

If you cannot concentrate despite adequate sleep and a reasonable workload, if memory problems affect daily life, or if there is low mood or anxiety. Sudden confusion needs urgent care.

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  11. Pablo JN, et al. Changed detection: no relationship between working memory and media usage in Covid-era and contemporary young adults. Atten Percept Psychophys. 2025. PMID 40169525. source
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  20. Mrazek MD, et al. Mindfulness training improves working memory capacity and GRE performance while reducing mind wandering. Psychol Sci. 2013. PMID 23538911. source
  21. Roediger HL, Karpicke JD. Test-enhanced learning: taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychol Sci. 2006. PMID 16507066. source
  22. US Food and Drug Administration. Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much? source
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