Why does time seem to speed up as you get older?

Question

I mean, it's a cliche but it seems to me that it shouldn't be, it really does appear to speed up. What mental processes are behind that perception? All my xmas's seem to be piling on top of each other whereas as a child they take forever to arrive. But even the most mundane stuff, like months of work seem to have gone by in a flash.

Is it partly the realisation as one ages that internally you still feel the same, i.e. clueless and vulnerable (!) and yet your physical body is deteriorating?

Not that that's depressing at all!!

Answer 1

Emily: This is a phenomena not totally, but only partially explained here. Time seems to be controllable by the mind, as near death experiences show us that time can also be slowed down, put in a kind of slow motion, to allow the survivors time to accomplish superhuman efforts of strength and agility in order to survive the mishap. This same process seems to hold true, but in reverse, as one ages. Our minds are the same, as you state, but our bodies are aging rapidly! Therefore, it appears that our mind is trying to accumulate as much information as possible in the short time left in the human body. This is similar to seeing a speed reader rapidly browsing through a thick volume. Hope this somewhat answers your question.

Answer 2

Time is relative...it is not static, nor does it pass at the same rate for everyone or everything. Look at the fruit fly...lives only a short period of time (one to three days) but if you watch it closely you'll see it is moving incredibly fast (that's why they're so darn hard to squash).

The event that led Einstein to begin work on his theory of relativity might help you change your perspective of time. Einstein was riding in a coach (or car) away from a large clock at the center of town. As he moved away from the clock, he realized that if he moved away from the clock at the speed of light (and could somehow still see the clock) it would appear as if the hands on the clock had stopped as he would be moving away from the clock at the same speed as the light that had been reflected off the clock that he would be observing. Einstein wondered if this meant that time actually stood still for a person traveling at the speed of light. He started crunching the numbers, and figured out that the faster one travels the slower time passes for that individual as compared to those not moving nearly so fast.

If time is affected so profoundly by something as simple as moving quickly, doesn't it seem probable that time can also be affected by things such as mental perception, age, passage of time, activity, etc.? Why is it that time flies when you're having fun, but crawls when you're standing in line or waiting in traffic? Does our perception affect the passage of time?

I know most would think that this is a nutty proposition, but wasn't the idea that Einstein hatched while observing the town clock equally nutty?

Maybe....maybe not.

Answer 3

I think it's partially to do woth the proportion of your life that the period of time in question represents.

For example a year seems a very long time to a five year old as it is 20% of their total life experience. But to a 50 year old, one year only represents 2% of their total life experience.

I'm sure there are loads of other factors too. Your life has become a lot more routine when you're 50 and months can pass without anything notable happening (if you let it!). When you are 5 lots of exciting new stuff happens all the time.

Answer 4

Of course we all know time doesn't accelerate as we age. I believe that as we get older we are more aware and expecant of life's daily routine. Whereas a child is still learning life's little surprises each day... making everyday an adventure. Perhaps as we get older we lose something magical which allows us to experience each day to its full. If we look closer to the simple pleasures around us, and stop taking life for granted then maybe time will slow down to allow us to "smell the roses" and find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Answer 5

As we get older, we have more responsibilities and more demands upon our time. These demands pull us in different directions so that we never seem to have enough time to accomplish everything we'd like to do. In addition, the mutli-tasking we are so often called upon to perform prevents us from devoting any of our awareness to the passage of time, so that time seems to "fly" or go "in the blink of an eye."

Other examples of what I would describe a psycho-social time dilation occur on vacations. It may seem to take a long time to arrive at a destination that we are looking forward to, while the reverse is true when leaving. Likewise, a trip to something unpleasant may pass quickly as we are distracted by our fears and concerns over where we are headed, such as to a doctor or hospital.

Answer 6

I think it's because responsibilites and tasks pile upon each other more and more as you get older. I've heard that seniors, with no such responsibilities or tasks, tend to have time slowed down.

Children are impatient to see the next thing, and they have no big tasks to work at. Preteens start to see things speed up, as homework steps up a few notches. Teenagers, with their jobs, dates, friends, and homework, are fast-paced, and those without those tend to see everything as dull or rather boring; adults have fulltime jobs, perhaps schooling, children, spouses, housekeeping, pets, tasks to do, friends, money, and god knows what else, all to keep them occupied; seniors don't need to take care of their children, they may have a low-key pet, and if they live in homes, they only have friends, spouses, and generally are told to relax.

^_^ That's my thought.

Answer 7

Some studies link this perception to body temperature.
Children have a slightly higher body temperature than adults.
Have you noticed when you are ill and your body temperature is higher - time doesn't seem to go by so fast?
I have a degree in Psychology and remember reading a paper on this, but i am afraid i can't recall who carried out the study (it seems so long ago now :-) )

Answer 8

why is b/cos as human we have seted for our selfs a lot of goal and most at times we do not meet up with them yet the time waits no body not only that as we see our self geting older we think ah that we will soon die because every living soul that he will that so that tought and some other stresses

if this is what you experience take heart it is going to end one day

see my blog in my yahoo360 that is the oly hope for mankinds problem

Answer 9

Our lives are ruled by the clock.
When you're a child you have very little concept of time.
In adulthood most of the things we do are measured by time. What time does the shop open, the TV programme start, etc..etc. Plus as adults we do tend to cram more into the day.

Answer 10

Time doesn't "speed up"; as you experience MORE time your experience OF time changes. A child that is only 3 years old will not experience a year in the same way a 45-year-old adult will.