The Subjective Nature of Time
Have you ever wondered why weekends seem to go by so fast while Mondays appear to last forever? Or why time crawls during a meeting but races when you binge-watch your favorite show?
That’s not just in your head—it’s how your brain warps time based on what you’re doing and feeling.
As Einstein famously remarked:
“Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it feels like a minute; sit on a hot stove for a minute and it feels like many hours.”
In this article, we’ll examine the psychological and biological factors influencing our perception of time, including age, attention, and emotion. Along the way, we’ll address questions such as: Why does time seem to accelerate as we age? Does time’s passage really vary? Can we alter our perception of it?
By the end, I hope you’ll gain insights into your own experience of time, understanding what factors speed up or slow down its passage, and how you might influence them.
Let’s start with what science teaches us about time. Let’s dive into one such principle: entropy, which provides a framework for understanding time’s direction.
Entropy and The Science Behind Subjective Time Perception
At the heart of our perception of time’s passage lies a fundamental principle of physics: entropy. This concept, central to the second law of thermodynamics, describes the tendency of systems to evolve from order toward a state of increasing disorder over time.
In essence, entropy provides a direction to time’s flow (the only concept in physics that does so), creating what physicists call the “arrow of time.”
In our daily lives, we observe entropy’s effects constantly. We all know that over time, tidy rooms get messier, cars break down, and a hot home gets cold in winter. These processes occur naturally in one direction but not the other, giving us a sense of time’s irreversibility.
This underlying principle of increasing disorder contributes to our subjective experience of time’s passage, as we instinctively recognize the world around us moving from order to chaos, from past to future.
The Continuum of Temporal Perception
Imagine our subjective perception of time’s passage as sitting on a spectrum. Tie time seems to pass sometimes faster, other times slower.
To better understand this concept, let’s start with two extreme examples sitting at the very ends of this spectrum that demonstrate how our sense of time can dramatically speed up or slow down.
Life-threatening situations: Time Slows Down
When facing danger, or a life-or-death situation, our brains go into overdrive, capturing a vast amount of information to help us survive. This flood of data creates a phenomenon known as time dilation, where a brief moment expands subjectively, filled with vivid, detailed memories.
Have you had such an experience when a brief moment seems to extend like an eternity, allowing you to register incredible amounts of details? The brain works in overdrive driven by adrenaline and stress, processing information at lightning speed, and creating an illusion of slow motion.
Sleep: Time Flies By
On the other end of the spectrum, during sleep, the time seems to disappear. We go to bed in the evening and wake up in the morning without much of a recollection of what happened in between.
The Spectrum of Subjective Time Perception
Between these two extremes, lies a wide range of temporal experiences. This continuum might be visualized as follows:
Why this wide range of perception and what are the underlying factors that shift our time perception like this? After all, the clocks seem to move at a constant speed.
Factors Influencing Subjective Time Perception
The general rule is that time perception is directly correlated to how much information our brains need to process:
- Lots of information: time slows down
- Little information: time speeds up
These are some activities where we observe this rule:
Let’s delve deeper into the most important factors that influence how we perceive time:
Age
I remember when I was a child and the summers seemed to stretch forever. They were filled with new experiences, intense emotions, and full of new adventures. But as I entered adulthood, months and years felt like they were flying by. And their speed accelerates as I age further.
As we grow older, time seems to speed up due to several factors:
- Novelty – as we age, we encounter fewer new experiences; the less information our brain needs to process, the faster the time goes.
- Routines & Predictability: as we grow older, we understand the world better. Our subconscious mind allows for more efficient data processing of familiar information, allowing us to navigate daily life with less mental effort.
- Proportional Time Theory: basically, each year feels shorter relative to our entire life because it constitutes a smaller fraction of it. A year to a 5-year-old is 20% of their entire life, while to a 50-year-old, it’s only 2%. This phenomenon makes each year feel shorter as we age.
Emotional States
Intense emotions, positive or negative, tend to slow our perception of time. This is closely linked to the increased/ decreased information processing occurring during high/ low emotional states.
- Time drags when you’re bored or anxious
- Time stands in a moment of awe
- Time flies when you’re in love
Attention
When we focus exclusively on a task we slow down time passage by increasing our cognitive load, devoting more resources to the task at hand.
- Time flies when you are fully engaged
- Time drags when you are distracted
- Time stands when you are in a state of hyper-focused
Temporal vs. Non-temporal Information Processing
There is an unexpected relationship between information related to the time itself and subjective time perception. When we focus on time-related information (e.g., watching a clock or waiting in line), time slows down. We all remember the exasperation of waiting in a long line or for somebody late to a meeting.
Conversely, when we’re absorbed in activities unrelated to time (like being in a state of “flow”), time flies by.
You can do a quick experiment right now to see how this works; start counting the seconds: one, two, three… if you have the patience to go all the way to 60, compare the minute that just passed with any random minute during your day and see the difference for yourself.
Novelty vs. Routine
New experiences require more conscious processing, which, as we established, tends to slow our perception of time. This effect is particularly noticeable in new environments or when learning new skills.
Think about the last time you started a new job or moved into a new home. The days and weeks were slow at first, but as you settled into the new routines, time began to fly by. Similarly, when traveling to a new destination time (pleasantly) slows down as you absorb the new experiences, but it speeds back up when you become relaxed and tranquil.
Conscious vs. Subconscious processes
Conscious thinking requires active focus and more brain resources, which slows time perception. Subconscious processes, on the other hand, handle automated tasks and are much more efficient, leading to a faster passage of time.
- Conscious Processing – Slows Time Down: focused attention, learning to play an instrument, driving in difficult conditions.
- Subconscious Processing – Speeds Time Up: riding a bike, recognizing familiar faces, driving on a well-known route.
Learning
When we learn new things time slows down due to a couple of factors:
- Unfamiliarity Effect – new information and experiences require more effort to process, creating a sense of time dilation.
- Mental Effort – the act of learning is a demanding process. The more we challenge our brains, the more time slows down
Influencing Your Perception of Time
How can you (can you?!) influence your perception of time?
Mix things up! Learn new skills, try new activities, and vary your daily routine. Break the monotony of repetitive habits and weekend rituals. Take short vacations, explore new places, and expose yourself to fresh experiences. This will help slow down your subjective experience of time.
Here are some additional strategies to influence your perception of time:
- Practice Mindfulness: Focus on the present moment and your surroundings through meditation and mindfulness.
- Reduce Stress: High stress levels can make time feel like it’s racing by.
- Digital Detox: Limit screen time to reduce constant stimulation and distortion of subjective time perception.
- Flow Activities: Engage in challenging yet enjoyable tasks that immerse you in the present.
- Create New Memories: Fill your life with distinct experiences that create time markers.
- Sensory Awareness: Pay attention to your senses: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures.
- Single-Tasking: Focus on one task at a time to stay present.
Remember, the goal is to have a balanced and fulfilling experience of time, not necessarily to always make it feel slower. Experiment with these strategies to find what works best for you and your unique situation.
Time Illusion Q&A
Here are some answers to common questions about situations where our subjective time feeling diverges from the constant time passing.
Why do weekends or vacations seem to pass so quickly?
- Enjoyable activities reduce focus on time itself
- Reduced stress and time pressure
- Often filled with novel experiences (especially vacations)
- The “holiday paradox”: time flies during, but seems longer in retrospect due to more memories formed
Why does time seem to slow down in dangerous situations?
- Increased information processing
- Heightened awareness and focus
- Adrenaline rush affecting cognitive processes
- Evolutionary advantage for quick decision-making
Why does time drag when we’re bored or waiting?
- Increased focus on the passage of time itself
- Lack of engaging stimuli or activities
- Low cognitive load
- Contrast with desired future events
Why do flow states alter our perception of time?
- Reduced self-awareness
- High engagement reduces attention to time
- The balance between challenge and skill reducing cognitive stress
Why do children experience time differently than adults?
- More novel experiences
- Different proportional perceptions of time periods
- Less routine and more variability in daily life
- Developing cognitive processes
Why does time seem to fly as we get older?
- Fewer novel experiences
- Proportionally smaller chunks of our total life experience
- More routine and predictable daily life
- Changes in cognitive processing speed
Why does time seem to pass differently when we’re asleep?
- Lack of conscious time tracking
- Altered state of consciousness
- Dream time operating on different “rules”
Why do deadlines make time seem to pass more quickly?
- Increased stress and pressure
- Focus on task completion rather than time itself
- Often accompanied by increased cognitive load
Why do some moments (like pain or embarrassment) seem to last forever?
- High emotional charge
- Increased self-awareness
- Desire for the moment to end
Why does time seem to slow down when we’re learning something new?
- Increased cognitive load
- More conscious processing of information
- Formation of new neural pathways
Why does multitasking affect our perception of time?
- Division of attention
- Increased cognitive load
- Rapid switching between tasks, creating more “event boundaries”
Conclusion
Our intuitive feeling is true: time is not constant and runs in ebbs and flows. It’s a dynamic and subjective experience, influenced by a wide range of psychological, emotional, and cognitive factors.
By understanding how our brain works and interprets time, we can take control of our time and live more intentionally. So, what will you do with this newfound understanding of time?