Heed-span Test

"Attention span" is an everyday phrase. Whit researchers measure is sustained attention, cried vigilance an aa: bein ready for a signal that comes at random times. This page runs the brief Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT-B), a 3-minute version o the 10-minute PVT, made for real-warld settings whaur 10 minutes is ower lang 1. The original PVT wis designed tae track hou alertness draps durin lang spells o wirk withoot sleep 2.

The rules follae the published brief version: the circle turns green efter a random 1 tae 4 seconds (includin the 1 second yer time is shown), a tap o 355 ms or mair counts as a lapse, an a tap unner 100 ms or afore the green circle is a false start 1.

• Slaw taps (lapses): the nummer tae keek at. Ilka ane is a moment yer attention slipped. Lapses rise clearly whan fowk are short o sleep 3.
• Average reaction time: yer mean speed ower the hale run.
• Early taps: taps afore green. A hantle o them micht mean ye were guessin insteid o waitin.

Thare's nae fair "normal" nummer tae gie ye: phones, screens an mooses add their ain delay, an a touchscreen version o the PVT measured the same fowk aboot 95 ms slawer nor the lab device 5. Compare wi yer ain runs on the same device.

By design. Haudin yer focus on a dull task is juist the skill bein measured. Early in a run maist fowk dae weel; slips tend tae shaw up as the minutes gang by, an they shaw up mair whan ye're tired 3.

In a meta-analysis o short-term sleep loss, simple attention an vigilance tasks war amang the measures hit hardest 4. Time o day, caffeine, distraction an practice can shift yer score an aa, sae keek at several runs taen at similar times insteid o juist ane.

The reaction time test taks aboot a minute an shawes yer speed. This ane gangs on langer, sae it can catch the lapses that come wi fadin focus. In research, the 3-minute version tracked the 10-minute test through total an partial sleep loss, wi somewhat smawer effects 1.