{"id":56608,"date":"2021-12-16T18:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T22:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=56608"},"modified":"2021-12-27T11:18:05","modified_gmt":"2021-12-27T15:18:05","slug":"time-speeding-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/time-speeding-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Time Speeding Up? No, You’re Just Getting Older"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why does time speed up as we age? Does the time really pass faster as we get older or does the mind play a trick?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason you find time speeding up as you get older has to do with how your brain processes novel information. Your brain responds more actively to novelty than it does to routine, which is why it feels like time is speeding up as you get older.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s why time seems to speed up as we get older.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Why Does the Time Speed Up as We Age? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Imagine you were watching identical images of a dolphin flash across a screen, every image appearing for exactly two seconds. Suddenly, in the middle of all these dolphins, a photo of a red backpack flashes across the screen for exactly two seconds. A psychological study<\/a> has found that, if you were to report afterward how long each image stayed on the screen, you would claim that the red backpack was on the screen for significantly more time<\/em> than the identical dolphins, even though every image was shown for two seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This happens because after seeing the same image multiple times, your brain doesn\u2019t need to process any more information about it and \u201cchecks out.\u201d When the new image suddenly appears, your brain re-engages. It processes a lot <\/em>of new information in the same amount of time it was previously processing no<\/em> new information\u2014this tricks you into thinking you were seeing the image for a longer period of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Reminiscence Bump<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The way the brain responds to novelty reveals a key idea about memory and the importance of creating defining moments<\/a>. <\/strong>If you were to reflect on your life and name the most memorable events, it\u2019s likely that most<\/em> of the named events occurred in your late adolescence and early adulthood. This is called the \u201creminiscence bump,\u201d and it happens because you experienced many \u201cfirsts\u201d between the ages of 15 and 30, such as your first kiss, your first job, or your first apartment. Because of the inherent novelty<\/em> of these firsts, they stand out in your memory. However, after about age 30, your \u201cfirsts\u201d naturally reduce and there are fewer opportunities to experience novelty\u2014the flat routine of everyday life takes over and your brain, seeing the same \u201cimage\u201d again and again, disengages. This is why you find time speeding up as you get older.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By creating experiences of novelty or unexpectedness, you create \u201cred backpacks\u201d that stand out against the monotonous \u201cdolphins\u201d of your life. They re-engage your brain and force you to process new information\u2014not only does this allow you to more fully experience and enjoy moments and create richer memories, but it also makes you feel that time is passing more slowly.<\/strong> <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Our brains are hardwired to respond to novelty because this trait had a large part in our evolution and survival. The survival of biological species depends on being able to detect novel, and possibly threatening, additions to their environment<\/a>. Following Darwin\u2019s survival of the fittest<\/a> theory, humans whose brains had a strong response to novel stimuli were able to respond more quickly to attacks or natural disasters and therefore survive, whereas those with a weak response to novelty were more likely to be caught off guard and die off.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why does time speed up as we age? Does the time really pass faster as we get older or does the mind play a trick? The reason you find time speeding up as you get older has to do with how your brain processes novel information. Your brain responds more actively to novelty than it does to routine, which is why it feels like time is speeding up as you get older. Here’s why time seems to speed up as we get older.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":21645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,160],"tags":[546],"class_list":["post-56608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-science","tag-the-power-of-moments","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Time Speeding Up? 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