Think you have ADHD? You might actually have “popcorn brain“
You’re trying to send an important work email, but in the past few minutes, you’ve checked Instagram four times, reorganised your inbox, and texted your friends about happy hour plans—all while that urgent email is still sitting in drafts. If technology is making it hard for you to focus lately, you may be dealing with 'popcorn brain', a phenomenon in which your mind can’t meaningfully focus on one thought before it jumps to another.
'"Popcorn brain" is this idea that, like popping popcorn, our thoughts are scattered', says clinical psychologist and yoga therapist Leslie Daly, PhD. 'Because of all the media we're consuming and the time we're spending on internet-driven tasks, we're having a harder time staying focused', she says. 'We're feeling like our mind is floating all over the place.'
Popcorn brain is not a clinical term, so you won’t find it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the standard classification of mental disorders in the U.S. It’s also important to note that popcorn brain is not the same as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a formal diagnosis involving a pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with daily functioning.
However, even without a formal diagnosis, it is important to address digital media overuse and dwindling attention spans that come with it, says clinical health psychologist Jennifer Wolkin, PhD. It can lead to not-so-healthy consequences, like reduced physical activity, eye strain, headaches, fatigue, and sleep disruption.
So, if you’re barely keeping up with all of your group chats, work projects, and responsibilities and suspect you might be dealing with popcorn brain, keep reading. Here’s everything you need to know about the phenomenon, how to address it, and when it may be time to talk to a professional if your lack of focus is interfering with your everyday life.
Meet the experts: Leslie Daly, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, C-IAYT certified yoga therapist, certified EMDR therapist, and staff psychologist at The Center for Motivation and Change. Jennifer Wolkin, PhD, is a clinical health psychologist and the founder of the bespoke BrainCurves® Practice. Lauren Cook, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist, author, and the founder of Heartship Psychological Services.
What is ‘popcorn brain’?
The term “popcorn brain” was incidentally coined in 2011 by David Levy, a quality-of-life researcher and professor emeritus at the University of Washington Information School. Levy used the term off-the-cuff in an interview to describe a universal lack of focus, but did not expect it to go viral. Levy stays off social media himself and was shocked when he learned the term gained so much traction, he tells WH.
Living in the age of technology has led people to get more distracted over time, Levy says. He likens the image of our racing thoughts to popcorn popping on the stove. 'We can all recognize those times when we’re unable to focus because we’re so distracted', he says. 'Those popcorn kernels start popping in the popper—that’s the image of our thoughts and feelings running wild.'
Popcorn brain looks different for everyone and its intensity may depend on a variety of factors, says Wolkin. How often you consume media, how stimulating the media is, and whether or not you are multitasking with multiple devices can all impact the “popcorn” effect, she says.
Typical signs of popcorn brain may include the following, according to Wolkin:
Scattered thoughts
Feeling disinterested in or disconnected from others
Quickly switching between topics in conversations
Frequent distraction
Inability to complete tasks
Mental exhaustion
General overwhelm
What causes ‘popcorn brain’?
The most common cause is the overuse of technology. Social media, apps, and other technologies activate the brain’s reward system and prime your brain to constantly expect a reward, Daly says. For example, the more 'likes' you get on an Instagram post, the more excited your brain gets, the better you feel, and the more you want those good feelings to continue. When your brain is unoccupied, it tends to want a 'hit' of this positive feeling over and over.
The official term for this is intermittent reinforcement, Daly says, which means the brain is being rewarded at irregular intervals. Almost all of the content you consume on your devices provides a type of intermittent reinforcement, whether it’s comments on a TikTok video you post or how many likes you got on a selfie. This repeated, but inconsistent, reinforcement can make you crave your phone and those 'quick hits' more often, which means everyday tasks that need your attention may take a backseat. Even the mere presence of a cell phone nearby can result in lower attention and cognitive performance if you’re trying to complete a task, a 2023 study in Scientific reports found.
Another potential reason for popcorn brain is that the collective attention span is decreasing. The more content is produced, the more there is to consume—and the more limited your attention span can become, per a 2019 study in Nature communications.
While a lack of long-term studies make it hard to truly know if attention spans have declined, half of adults believe their attention spans are getting shorter, according to an online survey of the U.K. public conducted by the Centre of Attention Studies at King’s College London. And 73% reported that various forms of media pose 'nonstop competition' for attention.
What is the difference between ‘popcorn brain’ and ADHD?
Popcorn brain is a result of your environment and your brain’s reaction to it, whereas ADHD is a chronic neurological developmental disorder, Daly says. An estimated 7 million (11.4 percent) U.S. children aged three to 17 years old have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to a 2022 survey of parents conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This number increased by one million compared to surveys done in 2016. ADHD is primarily diagnosed and treated during childhood, but a review of 57 studies across the globe concluded about 3.1% of adults currently struggle with ADHD.
ADHD symptoms vary depending on the person and if they have the hyperactive/impulsive, inattentive/distractible type or combined type of the disorder. A person with hyperactive/impulsive ADHD may have a hard time staying still, fidget often, interrupt others, lose or forget things often, blurt out answers and be more willing to take risks, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. They may not have as much trouble paying attention. A person with inattentive ADHD may have a short attention span, be forgetful, have difficulty studying and organising themselves, or have a hard time listening to others and paying attention to detail, per Johns Hopkins Medicine. The combined type includes a mix of these symptoms.
With popcorn brain, you’ll likely experience scattered thoughts and have trouble focusing, but it’s not tied to a formal diagnosis of ADHD.
How to prevent and manage ‘popcorn brain’
If you suspect you’re dealing with an everyday case of popcorn brain, here are some tangible ways to manage it.
1.Break your goals down into smaller tasks
To manage symptoms of popcorn brain, you might want to try a strategy called 'chunking', which means breaking down tasks into smaller pieces, says Lauren Cook, PsyD, a clinical psychologist, author, and the founder of Heartship Psychological Services. 'A lot of people get lost in these huge goals that they have for themselves, then they get way too overwhelmed. The more that you can break it [the task] off into bite-sized pieces, the better', Cook says.
For example, tackling your entire to-do list at work may feel completely overwhelming right now. But if you focus on just one task at a time, working your way through the list may feel more doable. Or, if you have ten emails to send, start with one instead of trying to tackle all of them at once.
2. Work on regulating your nervous system
Practicing meditation and other nervous system-regulating practices during the day is also helpful, Wolkin says. Mindfulness practices like meditation are associated with reliable positive changes in attention, specifically when it comes to impulse control, according to a 2021 study published in the journal Mindfulness.
Meditation trains the [brain] to give all of its attention to something at once and allows you to practice 'just being'. For example, if you’re stressed out about your never-ending to-do list, it may be helpful to take a walk outside and focus on the cool breeze for a few minutes. Book a sauna appointment, try yoga or tai chi, or even incorporate something like mindful eating into your routine to cultivate more present-moment awareness and reduce stress.
3. Practise distress tolerance skills
Distress tolerance skills, like writing down your thoughts, are used in dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), a type of talk therapy that helps people shift their behaviour to better regulate their emotions, according to Yale Medicine. So, with popcorn brain, while it may feel uncomfortable to not address your 'popcorn-like' thoughts immediately—like the impulse to check email or text your group chat while you’re trying to focus on a project—writing it down gives your brain reassurance that you will return to it later.
4. Take screen breaks and develop 'mindful media' practices
These practices include giving yourself time in the morning before checking your phone or computer, using one device at a time, putting devices away one hour before bed, and incorporating non-screen activities and digital media breaks into your schedule. 'I like to think of these tools as part of a larger mindfulness practice and as a way of mindfully living', Wolkin says.
Daly says you might take a break during certain hours of the day or set an auto-lock on certain apps you tend to use a bunch. It can also help to take a complete break from apps or devices that are distracting you and you can realistically live without, Daly says. 'If you're playing a game, give yourself an end date and delete it', she says.
When to see a doctor or psychologist
Signs that it’s time to see a doctor or psychologist for popcorn brain include physical symptoms like fatigue, headaches, eye strain, or even an increased desire for a nightly glass of wine to tame your racing thoughts, says Cook. If you notice increased stress, anxiety, sadness, or even a decline in academic or professional success, these may also be signs to seek help, Wolkin says.
Additionally, feeling lonelier than usual or more disengaged from close friends and family can be a subtle sign that popcorn brain is sucking you into electronics and away from relationships, Cook says.
The good news is, because popcorn brain is usually a result of your environment, reduction in digital media use can lead to significant relief, Wolkin says. But if your inability to focus is taking a toll on your daily life, it may be time to bring it up with a doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist. To find a provider, you can ask your primary care doc for a referral, search for in-network providers via your insurance, or find a licensed therapist on platforms like Psychology Today, Inclusive Therapists, and Open Path Collective.
It’s time to take your brain back from the devices.
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