What it looks at
- Sustained attention — how long you hold one task before it slips
- Distraction and multitasking: switching, notifications, tabs, the cost of re-entry
- Starting and organising — finishing, postponing, keeping track of what is due
- The biological substrate: sleep, movement, caffeine, food, daylight
- Deep work and recovery — protected blocks and breaks that are actually breaks
A question from this assessment
How long can you stay on one task before your attention slips?
Every question is answered on the same 1–10 scale. Questions where a high answer is unfavourable are reversed before scoring.
Who it is for
Anyone who reads the same paragraph three times, anyone who starts more than they finish, and anyone wondering whether to raise attention difficulties with a clinician.
How the result is reported
Common questions
Is this an ADHD test?
No. ADHD is diagnosed by a qualified clinician through a structured interview, developmental history and often input from people who know you. No online questionnaire can do that — including this one.
Then what is it for?
To give you a clearer description of the pattern. If the difficulties are broad, long-standing and affecting work or relationships, that description is a useful thing to bring to an appointment.
Could it just be sleep?
Very often, yes. Chronic short sleep produces attention problems that closely resemble ADHD. It is worth ruling out first — our sleep assessment is a reasonable starting point.
Scientific basis
The questions in this assessment are adapted from the domains these validated instruments and guidelines cover.
- WHO Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) domains
- Sleep deprivation and cognition meta-analysis
- Media multitasking research
- Physical activity and cognition (2018 PAG review)
Sources
- Kessler RC et al. The WHO Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS). Psychol Med. 2005PMID 15841682
- Lim J, Dinges DF. Meta-analysis of short-term sleep deprivation on cognitive variables. Psychol Bull. 2010PMID 20438143
- Madore KP, Wagner AD. Multicosts of multitasking. Cerebrum. 2019PMID 32206165
- Uncapher MR, Wagner AD. Minds and brains of media multitaskers. PNAS. 2018PMID 30275312
- Erickson KI et al. Physical activity, cognition and brain outcomes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019PMID 31095081
- Nehlig A. Effects of coffee and caffeine on brain health and disease. Pract Neurol. 2016PMID 26677204
This is an educational self-assessment, not a medical test. It cannot diagnose anything. Read the medical disclaimer before you start.