Introduction

Let's reflect on our childhood. Back then, summer break seemed to last for ages, but now that we're older, it seems to end quickly. Like one minute, schools out, and the next, suddenly, it's back-to-school shopping.

People say that time speeds up as we get older. But could it be us changing instead?

While time itself is constant, our brains don't seem to experience it that way. Psychologists and neuroscientists have explored this topic for years, and the reality is that: time isn't moving faster, but our brains are.

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Why Does Time Feel Like It’s Moving Faster?

1. The "Ratio Theory"

One explanation for this is called the "Ratio theory" which suggests that when we age, each year becomes a smaller fraction of our life. For example, when you're five, 1 year is only 20% of your life. But at 50, it's only 2%.

When you consider this, it could explain why time periods feel shorter now compared to when we were younger. 3 months would seem longer to elementary schoolers rather than teenagers when the ratio theory is accounted for.

2. Routine vs. New Experiences

New experiences also make time seem longer. As children, everything is new to us- your first day of school, your first bike ride, your first snow day. Our brains process these memories in detail, making them feel stretched in our minds.

As we grow older, life becomes more routine. Wake up, go to school, repeat. Life becomes more predictable, so our brain pays less attention. That's why vacations still feel long while they're happening but are shorter in retrospect- our brain only remembers the highlights.

3. Memory Compression

Time feels shorter because of how we remember it. When we look back on a period full of new experiences, it seems longer because there are more memories to remember. But if months pass in a repetitive routine, they seem to go faster because fewer things are memorable.

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Is There a Scientific Basis for This?

Neuroscientists link our perception of time to how our brains process information. A key factor is dopamine, which influences our sense of time. When we’re young, our dopamine levels are higher, making experiences feel more detailed and more positive. However, as we grow older, our dopamine levels decrease, giving us the feeling that time is slipping away.

This connects with the fact that our brain processes more information when we're younger and captures more details. As we get older, our brains become more efficient in filtering out unnecessary details. This makes our brains think that time is moving faster because we're storing fewer memories.

How Technology Might Be Making It Worse

But what if I told you that technology is only adding to this phenomenon? We receive endless notifications, social media posts, and news headlines, making us consume massive amounts of information without fully processing it. This further blurs our sense of time as we learn to filter out even more information.

Social media floods our brains with quick, forgettable content. We scroll through hundreds, if not thousands, of posts a day. We scroll past all this information so quickly, that our mind can't store this information, making us think that the time we spent on social media never existed.

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Online school and the shift to remote work have also altered our perception of time. When we aren't spending time outside, with no social interactions or commutes to places, our days tend to blend together, making large amounts of time feel short.

But Can We "Slow Down" Time?

Well...not quite, but we can change how we experience it:

• Create new memories: New experiences force the brain to process more details, so go out and learn a new instrument, go on vacation, or do something different than what you would typically do
• Practice Meditation: Yoga and other forms of meditation allow you to be present in the moment, helping you appreciate time rather than letting it slip by.
• Reduce your screen time: By engaging in more real-life experiences, you're able to create more memorable experiences.
• Keep a journal: Whether it is bullet journaling or just keeping a diary, writing has been scientifically proven to help you remember things better.

So, Is Time Really Speeding Up?

So while time isn't really "speeding up", our brains feel like it is due to the way we make memories, create routines, and process information. The key to "slowing down" time isn’t stopping time but embracing new experiences and making more memories. By embracing this, we can make life feel fuller and make time "slow down".