Last year may have zipped by for many adults. It can feel like January happened just yesterday. But for children, last year’s holiday season might seem like it took place forever ago. That gap in how time feels isn’t just a trick of memory — science backs it up.
Researchers in psychology and neuroscience have long examined how our sense of time shifts as we age. According to University of Michigan psychology professor Cindy Lustig, this shift has a lot to do with how we experience and remember our days.
“Our perception of days, weeks, years, and that kind of time seems to be especially influenced by our perspective: Are we in the moment experiencing it, or are we looking backward on time?” Lustig explains. Being fully present makes time feel longer, but when we look back, our brains often compress the past.
How Memory Shapes Our Sense of Time
Memory plays a big part in this time warp. To a young child, a week feels like a large piece of their life. But for someone decades older, that same week barely registers. The older you get, the smaller each new week feels in the context of your full life.
Older adults often feel that whole months or years pass in a blink, even if the days themselves seem to drag. That’s because, in hindsight, routine days tend to blur together. The fewer vivid memories we form, the faster time seems to fly.
“When you’re looking back, the less rich your representation is, the more it’s going to seem like the time went by quickly,” says Lustig. A life full of repeated tasks and similar days offers little for the brain to latch onto, making time appear to vanish before our eyes.
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How Daily Habits Shape Our Perception of Time
Our brains tend to consolidate time when our days are similar. For someone in their 80s with a consistent daily routine, years can blend together, making them feel shorter. Conversely, new and exciting experiences help to create distinct memories, making the days and months feel longer in retrospect.
Adrian Bejan, a professor of mechanical engineering at Duke University, supports this view with his research on time perception. “Our brains are designed to record change,” Bejan explains. Children, with their constantly changing activities and new experiences, perceive time as plentiful because they pack a lot into each day.
Adults can experience a similar expansion of time by introducing new activities into their lives. Lustig notes that when we reflect on periods filled with diverse experiences, they seem longer because of the richness of our memories.
Bejan also highlights how our brain’s processing of visual information affects our sense of time. As infants and children, our brains are bombarded with new images, making time feel expansive. As we age, the frequency of new visual experiences decreases, leading us to perceive time as moving faster.
This decrease in new visual stimuli contributes to the feeling that time speeds up as we grow older. Physiological changes in our brain’s ability to process images also play a role, reinforcing the idea that time seems to accelerate with age.
While we can’t literally slow time, there are ways to make it feel like it’s moving more slowly. Bejan suggests breaking out of routine and seeking new experiences as a way to stretch our perception of time.
This might mean revisiting old hobbies, exploring new places, or learning something new. For example, taking a cooking class, learning a musical instrument, or traveling to a new city can enrich our lives and make our days feel fuller and longer.
Lustig emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and being fully engaged in the present moment. Research has shown that practicing mindfulness can extend our perception of time. Instead of multitasking, focusing on a single task can make that experience feel more substantial and lengthen our sense of the moment.
Ultimately, while we can’t control the ticking of the clock, we have significant influence over how we experience the passage of time. “None of us know how much time we have, but, interestingly, we do actually have a lot of control over how we experience that time,” Lustig says.
To make the most of our time, it’s essential to embrace new experiences and stay present in the moment. By doing so, we can enrich our lives and potentially slow down our perception of time’s rapid march.
Our perception of time is a complex interplay of memory, routine, and brain function. Understanding these factors can help us appreciate why time feels like it speeds up as we age and how we can make our days feel fuller and more memorable.
Note: Materials provided above by the The Brighter Side of News. Content may be edited for style and length.
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