Are astrids and Hayden lesser elixirs just not good?

I may not understand how to use potions properly on PS5, but it looks like i have to go into the inventory and use it from there. For the 4 second duration one, by the time I exit out and remember where I was in the fight, I feel like I would only have 2 seconds left. Fells kind of useless to me or am I missing something?