Whether you’re a young person who has heard it or an older person who has felt it, there’s a general consensus that time seems to go faster as you age. When you’re younger, it feels as though those months at school seem to drag out, whereas as you get older, summers appear to be over in the blink of an eye. Recently, scientists have discovered why time seems to go faster as you age – and it might not be the answer you were expecting!
New Research
A new paper has recently been published in the European Review journal, which explains why it feels as though the sands of time move so much faster as we get older. Adrian Bejan from Duke University is the author behind this study and the subsequent paper, and he has a lot to say on the matter. His research looks at the difference between “clock time” and “mind time” and how this can make it feel as though time seems to fly by as you age.
Brain Processing Power
The good news is that time isn’t actually moving faster as you get older. Well, “clock time” isn’t anyway. Instead, it’s all to do with the “mind time” of an adult and the processing power of your brain. As we get older, we are unable to process as many mental images per second as we could when we were children – something which has already been proven in previous studies. This means that our days seem shorter, compared to children who will feel as though they have more time due to being able to process more mental images.
Time Lapse Photography
This study by Adrian Bejan can be challenging to comprehend, but it has been likened to time-lapse photography. The more photos that are captured per second (mental images we can process per second), the slower it seems as though time is moving. However, take fewer photographs per second (processing less mental images per second), and it’ll give the illusion that time is moving quicker. Simple, right?
So, if you’re a young person who takes time for granted, listen to your elders! Time does seem to move a lot quicker as you get older, so make the most of every second now.