Is it bad to read books on your phone with ADHD?

Not if the phone is set up for it. A reading Focus, a Home Screen with only reading apps, downloaded books and airplane mode make reading the easiest thing on the phone. Without that setup, other apps tend to win.

What is the best way to stop notifications while reading?

Use a reading Focus on iPhone or Focus mode on Android that silences everything except the people you choose, and turn it on at the start of every session. Airplane mode works too if the book is downloaded.

Is an e-reader better than a phone for ADHD?

For long sessions at home, often yes, because an e-reader has almost nothing else to do. A phone wins for small gaps in the day because it is always with you. Many readers use both.

Should I scroll or turn pages in a reading app?

Page turns usually work better: they give natural stopping points and a sense of progress, and they are less like the endless feeds that pull attention elsewhere.

No. 31 · Methods · 3 min · Checked 3 November 2026 · Published 3 November 2026 · The Reading With ADHD desk

Can you read books on your phone with ADHD without getting distracted?

Yes, if the phone is set up so that reading is the easiest thing on it. Turn on a reading Focus that silences everything else, put your reading apps alone on one screen, download the book so you can go offline, and make the rest of the phone slower to reach. Without that setup, the phone wins most sessions.

Reading aids: · ·

The case for and against phone reading

For ADHD readers, the best reading device is often the one already in your hand. A phone fills the small gaps of a day: queues, waiting rooms, a train. Those minutes add up to books. The problem is that every other app on the phone is designed to pull you in, and a notification mid-paragraph ends the session. The aim is not to stop reading on your phone. It is to make the phone a worse place to do anything else while you read.

Set up the phone once

1. A reading Focus

On iPhone, create a Focus called Reading that allows notifications only from people you choose, and link a Home Screen page to it. (Apple Support) On Android, Focus mode in Digital Wellbeing pauses the apps you pick. (Android Help) Turning it on becomes the start of every session.

2. One reading screen

Make a Home Screen page with only your reading apps: an ebook app, your library app, your audiobook app, and nothing else. Link it to the Reading Focus on iPhone so it is the only page you see.

3. Time limits on the usual escapes

Screen Time on iPhone lets you set app limits and Downtime schedules. (Apple Support) A limit on the two or three apps you escape to most adds a pause between the urge and the app, and a pause is often enough.

4. Download, then go offline

Download the book before you start and switch on airplane mode for the session. A phone with no connection has very little to offer except the book.

5. Grayscale, if color pulls you

Both iPhone and Android have accessibility options to show the screen in grayscale. Some readers find a gray phone much less tempting. It is a cheap experiment.

Inside the reading app

Reading app settings that help ADHD readers on a small screen.
Setting	Why
Larger font, wider line spacing	Fewer lines per screen means fewer places to lose your line; see fonts and settings
Page turns, not continuous scroll	Pages give you natural stopping points and a sense of progress
Turn off popular highlights and social features	Fewer things on the page that are not the book
A dark or warm theme in the evening	Easier on the eyes; still a lit screen, so see reading at night
Text-to-speech or immersion reading	When your eyes are done, let audio carry on; see immersion reading

When the phone is a reading companion, not the reader

Some apps use the phone alongside a print book: a tracker for logging pages, or a recap tool for when you come back after a break. These are worth keeping, with one rule: open them before or after the session, not during it. Magic Bookmark, for example, is designed for the moment you sit back down with your book: photograph the page, read the recap up to it, put the phone in the other room, and read. If the phone is what ends your sessions, a paper session card does a similar job with no screen at all.

A phone session, start to finish

Turn on the Reading Focus. The reading screen appears.
Open the book. Switch on airplane mode if it is downloaded.
Set a timer for ten or fifteen minutes.
Read until the timer. If you find yourself in another app, close it, and go back to the book without judging yourself; that is the method working, not failing.
When the timer goes, decide whether to do another round.

Sources

Apple Support: Set up a Focus on iPhone checked 2026-11-03
Apple Support: Set Screen Time schedules and time allowances on iPhone checked 2026-11-03
Android Help: Digital Wellbeing and Focus mode

Questions

Is it bad to read books on your phone with ADHD?: Not if the phone is set up for it. A reading Focus, a Home Screen with only reading apps, downloaded books and airplane mode make reading the easiest thing on the phone. Without that setup, other apps tend to win.
What is the best way to stop notifications while reading?: Use a reading Focus on iPhone or Focus mode on Android that silences everything except the people you choose, and turn it on at the start of every session. Airplane mode works too if the book is downloaded.
Is an e-reader better than a phone for ADHD?: For long sessions at home, often yes, because an e-reader has almost nothing else to do. A phone wins for small gaps in the day because it is always with you. Many readers use both.
Should I scroll or turn pages in a reading app?: Page turns usually work better: they give natural stopping points and a sense of progress, and they are less like the endless feeds that pull attention elsewhere.

Changelog

2026-11-03 · Initial publication.

Scores on this page come from the rubric: how we test.