The finding
The instruction in the report below is short, and it ends. Seek refuge, turn away, get on with the prayer. It is not a procedure to be perfected and there is nothing in it to be repeated until it feels right.
Qur’an and Sunnah
وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِ نَزۡغࣱ فَٱسۡتَعِذۡ بِٱللَّهِۚ إِنَّهُۥ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
If Satan should prompt you to do something, seek refuge with God- He is all hearing, all knowing
Qur’an 7:200
Uthman b. Abu al-'As reported that he came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said:Allah's Messenger, the Satan intervenes between me and my prayer and my reciting of the Qur'an and he confounds me. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:, That is (the doing of a) Satan (devil) who is known as Khinzab, and when you perceive its effect, seek refuge with Allah from it and spit three times to your left. I did that and Allah dispelled that from me
Sahih Muslim 2203graded sound, sahihaynfull report
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.
What the research says
Radomsky AS, Gilchrist PT, Dussault D (2006). Repeated checking really does cause memory distrust. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(2), 305 to 316 doi
After repeated checking of the same object, memory confidence, vividness and detail were all lower than after a single check, while accuracy did not improve. Checking manufactures the doubt it is meant to settle.
Parrish CL, Radomsky AS (2010). Why do people seek reassurance and check repeatedly? An investigation of factors involved in compulsive behavior in OCD and depression. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24(2), 211 to 222
Reassurance seeking behaves like overt checking. It lowers distress in the moment and sustains the doubt over time.