Turn over a new leaf? Six ways to help us read more books - and boost attention span

This week, Sir Jonathan Bate, a professor of English literature at the University of Oxford, voiced his concern at the "attrition of attention span", as witnessed through his undergraduates' inability to keep up with reading lists. "Now, instead of three novels in a week, many students will struggle to get through one novel in three weeks,” he told the BBC's Today programme.

- Sarah Phillips

It isn't just young people who are finding it hard to concentrate on books. In July, the literacy charity The Reading Agency found that only half of UK adults now read regularly for pleasure. So how can we put our phones down and get back into the habit of reading?

1. Keep your phone as far away as possible

"If you're going to sit down with a book, leave your phone somewhere else,” says Tanya Goodin, a digital detox campaigner and author of My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open: How to Untangle Our Relationship With Tech. “This means it is not visible and not in the same room, because self-control doesn't work." Goodin points to research into what happens to our problem-solving ability and IQ when we have our phones in close proximity: “It has been shown that only when our device is in a different room do we really have the full ability to focus.”

The productivity expert Cal Newport agrees that out of sight means out of mind. "Keep your phone plugged in at a set location when you're at home, like in the kitchen,” he advises. “If you need to look things up or check your messages, go to where the phone is.”

2. Read actual, physical books-and make notes