It’s official: Smartphone notifications slow down the brain

Research in Computers in Human Behavior show notifications can knock out our concentration for around seven seconds every time they appear

It’s official: Smartphone notifications slow down the brain. Research in Computers in Human Behavior show notifications can knock out our concentration for around seven seconds every time they appear Life Image: IDGNS 29 May 2026 Every vibration, sound or pop-up on the screen is not just a brief interruption: it is a genuine interference with the human attention system. According to new research published in Computers in Human Behavior, smartphone notifications can knock out our concentration for around seven seconds every time they appear. The phenomenon was investigated by a team led by psychologist Hippolyte Fournier at Lumière University Lyon, who found that the real problem is not simply the amount of time spent on the phone, but the constant fragmentation of attention. Users receive over 100 notifications a day – in some cases up to...