Why Does Time Speed Up As We Get Older?

Why Does Time Speed Up As We Get Older?

When we’re younger, time tends to feel as if it drags on forever. Think of those long, lazy summers that seemed never-ending, or how it could feel like an eternity watching the clock tick away and waiting for the school bell to finally ring. But as we grow older, many of us feel like time is moving more quickly. Some interesting experiments were conducted sixty years ago that will shed light as to why scientists think that happens.

Experiments With Time
 
In the 1960s, psychologist Robert Ornstein conducted a series of experiments leading up to the publication of his 1969 work On the Experience of Time. Two tests were particularly notable: In the first experiment, Ornstein showed subjects two diagrams—one with a complicated design and another featuring a comparatively simple pattern. Subjects were presented with each image for an identical period of time, but when asked which one had appeared for longer, test subjects chose the more complex diagram.
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Ornstein also conducted a second experiment with audio files featuring clicking sounds and basic household noises. Some of the recordings were more intricate, containing more clicks produced at a quicker frequency. When Ornstein asked his subjects to tell him which audio file was longer, they chose the more complex one with the greater number of sounds.

Life Experiences
 
Ornstein concluded that across the board, people’s perception of time appeared to slow down when they were presented with greater amounts of new and complex information. He hypothesized that our brains require extra time to process unfamiliar experiences, resulting in a feeling of time essentially moving in slow motion. 
 
When we’re young, our days are filled with first-time experiences containing complex and never-before-seen information that our brains work hard to process. There are countless new lessons to learn, new locations to explore, and new sensations to feel. In the context of Ornstein’s experiments, these are akin to seeing the more complex diagrams or hearing those more detailed audio files. 
 
​When we’re younger, it takes time for our brains to take in and process all the sights and sounds we’ve never experienced before. This overwhelming flood of knowledge may contribute to the sensation of time moving more slowly. As we grow older, however, we often find ourselves falling into familiar routines. Days, weeks, or even months can pass in which our lives remain largely unchanged. Our brains aren’t working as hard on a daily basis to process and analyze new experiences, so time can feel like it’s moving faster. 

Our Brain
 
In addition to the above reason, older folks often experience time more rapidly due to physical changes in the neural receptors—they become larger and more complex as we mature. These changes mean it takes longer for signals to traverse the nervous system and reach the brain, so our bodies are unable to process details as efficiently as in our younger days. 
 
An article in Psychology Today explains that younger people are physically capable of processing more mental images than their older counterparts, whose brains function less efficiently as they age. Let’s say there’s a 15-year-old and a 65-year-old who are both witness to the same experience over the course of one hour. When looking back, the teenager will likely recount more vivid memories than the adult, given the capabilities of their brain. The teen may feel as if they’re recounting those events in slow motion, considering all of the details they can recall.
 
The adult, on the other hand, may remember fewer details, and so it may seem that time flew by. In other words, younger people recall past memories as if they were watching slow-motion footage, which allows them to look at every minor detail. But for older folks, certain details may be missed entirely as the footage flies by.

Challenge Yourself With New Experiences
 
If you've begun to feel like the minutes are flying by, try exposing yourself to something new, such as a trip to somewhere you’ve not yet visited, learning a new language, or picking local restaurants that are new to you. These may help you “slow down” and allow you to soak up each moment like you did when you were younger and the world was a less familiar place. Dementia researchers report that doing things as simple as challenging crossword puzzles help provide the mental challenges that slow this disease risk.

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