Has it ever happened to you that when you were a child, time seemed to go much slower and now that you are an adult, time seems to go by faster? This feeling is common. Many people experience the feeling that time passes faster as we get older. But why is it? Is this sensation real or just a subjective perception? While it is true that days have 24 hours for both a child and an adult, there is a reason that explains why when we are children we perceive that time passes much more slowly.
Time perception is influenced by many factors, including attention, memory, rest, and experience. When we are young, we experience many things for the first time and in one day, making each moment feel unique and memorable. Additionally, children have a much slower perception of time because their brains are developing and process information more slowly. On the other hand, when we are adults, we usually process much less information or mental images than when we were young. In other words, the reason lies in our brain.
According to an article titled ‘European Review’ and collected by the University of Cambridge, the speed at which changes in the mental images created in our brain are perceived reduces as we add years to our ID. “The measurable ‘clock time’ is not the same as the time perceived by the human mind,” confirms Adrián Beján, author of the article.
Furthermore, this research places special emphasis on the importance that quality rest has on our perception of time. If we have days full of activities and tasks, it is common for us to perceive the day as a longer and more intense day than others. On the contrary, if we do not do any chores, it is common for the day to pass faster. Why does this happen? Because it is common that on long days we have rested better since this is what will allow us to face a productive day. In other words, the rested mind and body have more time to analyze the tasks it must perform and perceive that time passes more slowly since it can effectively execute everything it had planned.
