Why Time Seems to Move Faster as We Grow Older

[Chuckanut]

Here's an interesting article as to why older people often think time is moving faster than when they were young:

Why Time Feels Like It’s Flying By (and How To Slow It Down)

It's all about perception.

“Time is this rubbery thing...it stretches out when you really turn your brain resources on, and when you say, ‘Oh, I got this, everything is as expected,’ it shrinks up.”

 

[GrayHare]

When I was age 5, a year seemed to be a really long time, it was 20% of my entire lifetime. Now it's not nearly as much.

 

[NW-Bound]

The older we get, and the more of the world we’ve seen, we start to develop a routine. The days start to blend together, and time seems to pass us by.

Psychologist William James concluded as much in Principles of Psychology. He explained that, compared with childhood, adulthood has fewer new and memorable experiences. We often measure time by firsts—our first day our school, first kiss, first home, first child—when we run out of firsts, James says “the days and weeks smooth themselves out…and the years grow hollow and collapse.”
...
“This explains why we think that time speeds up when we grow older,” Eagleman said-why childhood summers seem to go on forever, while old age slips by while we’re dozing. The more familiar the world becomes, the less information your brain writes down, and the more quickly time seems to pass. “Time is this rubbery thing...it stretches out when you really turn your brain resources on, and when you say, ‘Oh, I got this, everything is as expected,’ it shrinks up.”

Yes, that makes sense.

I think that means I should travel more. Two months traveling go by a lot slower than 2 months at home. I should also try making new dishes, try planting something new, etc...

 

[Car-Guy]

I haven't read the article yet (but I will). But it seems to go faster to me now that I'm retired because I'm much busier doing what I want and there's never (well seldom) enough time. I also sleep more (catching up on what I missed all those working years, I guess)

 

[Focus]

Seems like only yesterday I started a similar thread:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/5-ways-to-slow-down-time-75560.html
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[EastWest Gal]

I think it is simply a fraction issue. When you are 5, a year is 1/5 of your life experience. When you are 50, a year is a much smaller fraction of your life experience-1/50. In the moments where you are really present, time passage feels the same, but looking back, it seems faster. I never look back and think, where did the last 5 days go, but can easily look back and wonder where the last 5 years went. This is universal.

Moment by moment, time passage may depend on new experiences, but not over a lifetime. Everyone notices time speeding up, no matter what their life experience.

The longest two weeks I remember experiencing were the first two weeks after my son was born. In that case, my perception was that I did not sleep more than 90 minutes at a time. So there was no significant gap in time when I was not aware of time passing.


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[ziggy29]

When I was age 5, a year seemed to be a really long time, it was 20% of my entire lifetime. Now it's not nearly as much.

That's pretty much what I have long theorized. At age 50, a year represents only 2% of my life and only a little more than 2% of my memories and experiences (ignoring the first 2-3 years).

 

[meleana]

I haven't read the article yet (but I will). But it seems to go faster to me now that I'm retired because I'm much busier doing what I want and there's never (well seldom) enough time. I also sleep more (catching up on what I missed all those working years, I guess)

Righ., I am still working, but I always say when I am home- like at night or on the weekends- the time flies by. I almost hyperventilate because I see how fast my day is going and know I will not have time for the things I am doing. I actually get anxiety from this.

When I am at work- dreading the whole thing- the minutes seem like hours. I look at the clock and it barely moves. The weeks are so darn long! I hate it!

My retired, elderly friend always says she doesn't know where the time goes. I always say- I do! I am so conscious of every single darn minute! Not going fast enough for me! Which is a shame because I wish my life away! I am always looking into the future...

She always says- "enjoy each day". Not easy to do when work is taking up 11 hours of my day!

 

[Senator]

To make time move slower, just pick a date in the future to retire. It will take forever to get there....

Looking back though, it's not as slow.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Dad had a saying when he got older: "These days, it seems like supper comes around every 30 minutes."

 

[NW-Bound]

...My retired, elderly friend always says she doesn't know where the time goes. I always say- I do! I am so conscious of every single darn minute! Not going fast enough for me! Which is a shame because I wish my life away!...

... which is worse than what the Everly Brothers did when they sung

"Whenever I want you
All I have to do is dream
...Only trouble is
Gee whiz
I'm dreamin' my life away..."
​

 

[48Fire]

I have always been fascinated with this topic. Even when I was young, I observed older relatives describe time issues. I finally concluded mid-life that it was largely a memory issue.


Now as I observe MIL with dementia, it seems to be a short-term memory issue. She can't really remember what happened at all last year, so everything seems to speed by.


I hesitate to say the last 2 1/2 years of ER have gone by quickly! Don't want to head down that path.

 

[Mulligan]

Dad had a saying when he got older: "These days, it seems like supper comes around every 30 minutes."

My Dad has a different one...The days go by slow and the years go by fast....He is still pouting he cant work anymore. He thinks your supposed to work until you die, and is mad his body told him no more.


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[GravitySucks]

When I was age 5, a year seemed to be a really long time, it was 20% of my entire lifetime. Now it's not nearly as much.

+1

 

[Theseus]

When I was age 5, a year seemed to be a really long time, it was 20% of my entire lifetime. Now it's not nearly as much.

That has been my lifetime view of the concept of the passage of time as well, and as I've grown older I am more firmly believing it to be true.

Concerning the perception of the passage of time, I think Einstein showed a remarkable ability to explain a complex subject in an easily understood manner in one of my favorite quotes; "To simplify the concept of relativity, I always use the following example: if you sit with a girl on a garden bench and the moon is shining, then for you the hour will be a minute. However, if you sit on a hot stove, the minute will be an hour."

 

[nash031]

I often comment to DW that I want the next four-ish years to go by quickly, and she rightly reminds me that even though we're working all the time right now, we're still together and we shouldn't ever wish that time away.

 

[RetireAge50]

Time flies when you are having a good time.

 

[HadEnuff]

Living in the Northeast, I noticed a few decades ago that "you know you are getting older, and time is going by too fast when even the winters seem short"...and it only gets worse.

 

[Sarah in SC]

What, no: "Time flies like a arrow, fruit flies like a banana"?
This crowd is slipping...

 

[NW-Bound]

What do you expect from a bunch of geezers with presymptomatic Alzheimer?

 

[marko]

To make time move slower, just pick a date in the future to retire. It will take forever to get there....

Or go on a super healthy diet! You won't live longer but it will just feel that way.