Losing Track of Time.
19th April 2023
Written by JJ Wellock, Assistant Psychologist
Have you ever found yourself saying, “that felt like it went so slowly”? Or “How is it already Spring? It will be Christmas again before we know it” (sorry!) – you wouldn’t be the only one having these thoughts.
Time is an abstract concept which has often been referred to as an illusion of the mind (Block, 2014). Of course, there are objective ways to keep track of time; a watch, our phones, the kitchen clock, a sundial (if you live in the Mesopotamian era). We know through these measures that time is linear and constant. But our internal clock is far more complex and vulnerable to influences that result in us questioning why a holiday can feel like you don’t have enough time when you are there, but also feel like you were there for much longer in retrospect – a phenomenon referred to as the holiday paradox (Hammond, 2013).
We can experience such changes in time perception when we are also faced with sudden, unexpected events which generate fear. As a skydiver, I have experiences of such time distortions when things have gone wrong, and I can certainly remember the intricate details of the moments. This is also something often reported with people who have been involved in traumatic events such as road traffic accidents. It then leads to the following question: do we experience such distortions at the time, or is this how we remember it?
The Tower Experiment
The idea of time passing ‘in the moment’ vs. time passing ‘in retrospect’ is a question which one neuroscientist (David Eagleman) managed to investigate through a daring study involving a 150ft backwards freefall into a net off a tower (a rollercoaster was not scary enough). I, quite frankly, am still not sure how this passed ethics, but I am glad it did because his results were revolutionary.
Participants were asked to wear a large watch which flickered between random numbers set to alternate a fraction too quick for them to see. The idea being that if time slowed ‘in passing’ when they fell, they would be able to read the numbers on the watch. However, what they found was that no one was able to see the numbers, but instead they overestimated the time they were falling by 36% (Stetson et al, 2007). It was therefore concluded that time distortion happens in retrospect and not as its passing.
So how does this happen?
There is still no concrete answer due to the difficulties in measuring brain processes during certain events. But we know that it involves multiple cognitive areas, including working memory (Teki et al, 2017). To avoid complexities, our brain is constantly taking in information about the environment from birth. When we have novel experiences, our brain encodes and stores them (Eagleman & Pariyadath, 2009). For instance, the first day at a new job can feel like it goes quickly, but over time, it feels like it is moving normally or slower. This is because it is no longer a new experience and the neural circuits have already been laid. It may explain why we feel time moving more slowly as children, but quicker as adults; we don’t have as many new experiences as we get older.
When we are involved in an event which is sudden or frightening, our brains don’t get a chance to consciously tune in to the attentional processes and instead it relies on any memories or recognisable environmental cues to boost chances of survival (Hammond, 2013). This can then make it seem like time was moving more slowly. Our brains also encode a richer and more detailed account of the event which can exacerbate the distortion.
So why is this relevant?
Unless, like me, you find the whole concept of time fascinating, you may be thinking why is this important. Research suggests that learning new skills and being exposed to new environments can actually prevent brain shrinkage as we age (May, 2011). I’ve heard the phrase “life is short” many times and now we understand why it can feel so limited. I therefore suggest this:
– Seek novel experiences and make new memories.
– Change the route you take to or from work.
– Move your kitchen cupboards around so that you must think about where those pans are.
– Learn how to play a musical instrument or learn a language.
– Whatever you decide to do, make new memories, keep your brain active and keep life exciting.
– You may find that you perceptually prolong your life.
References:
- Block, R. A., & Gruber, R. P. (2014). Time perception, attention, and memory: A selective review. Acta psychologica, 149, 129-133.
- Eagleman, D. M., & Pariyadath, V. (2009). Is subjective duration a signature of coding efficiency?. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1525), 1841-1851.
- Hammond, C. (2013). Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception. Edinburgh: Canongate Books.
- May, A. (2011). Experience-dependent structural plasticity in the adult human brain. Trends in cognitive sciences, 15(10), 475-482.
- Stetson, C., Fiesta, M. P., & Eagleman, D. M. (2007). Does time really slow down during a frightening event?. PloS one, 2(12), e1295.