Time seems to pass faster as we get older because each year is a smaller part of our lives and routine makes days feel alike.
Why
- Proportional theory: a year is a smaller fraction of life as you age.
- Routine: fewer new experiences means fewer memories.
- Attention: time seems faster when you aren’t focused on it.
- Brain: dopamine levels and the internal clock slow with age.
Research
Studies show older adults underestimate the length of intervals compared with younger adults.
How to slow it
Try new activities and travel.
Perceived time and age
Studies show that people tend to feel that time moves faster as they age. One proposal is the proportional theory: a year feels shorter at 50 than at 5 because it is a smaller portion of your life.
Attention and novelty
Time perception depends on attention and memory. When days are filled with new experiences, the brain records more details, and when looking back, the period feels longer. Routine days leave fewer distinct memories and seem to pass quickly.
Brain chemistry
Dopamine plays a role in the brain’s internal clock. Dopamine drugs and conditions affecting dopamine can change time perception. Aging reduces dopamine levels, which may slow the internal clock so that external time feels faster.
Emotions
Fear and excitement can make time seem to slow (such as in accidents), while enjoyable activities make time feel as if it flies. Boredom makes time drag.
Research
A 2005 study by Marc Wittmann found that people in their 50s and older felt the past decade went by quickly, compared to younger adults. Studies of time perception show that older adults often underestimate durations of seconds to minutes.
The holiday paradox
Vacations feel quick while living them but long in memory because of the many new memories.
How to slow it down
- Try new activities, places and hobbies.
- Practice mindfulness to stay present.
- Reduce multitasking and screen scrolling.
- Take photos or keep a journal.
- Break routines.
- Take real vacations.
Time and sleep
Sleep deprivation distorts time estimates.
Proportional time and attention
One idea is that each year is a smaller fraction of life as we age, so a year is 10 percent of life at age 10 but only 2 percent at age 50. Another is that novelty slows perceived time because the brain records more detail, while routines compress memory. Attention matters, and time feels faster when you are absorbed and slower when you watch the clock. Dopamine is linked to time perception, and falling dopamine levels with age may shift internal clock speed, according to some research.
The holiday paradox and ways to slow time
Psychologist Claudia Hammond described the holiday paradox: vacations seem to fly by while they happen but feel long in memory because of many new experiences. To make time feel longer, add novelty by trying new places and activities, break routines, practice mindfulness, keep a journal and limit mindless scrolling. Sleep deprivation and stress can distort time perception. Surveys across cultures find that most adults feel time speeds up with age, though findings vary.
Based on data from the journal Time and Society and the British Psychological Society
