Why Life Seems to Speed Up as We Age

Why does time appear to speed up as we get older? Can we slow it down?
Thanks to the National Geographic Channel for sponsoring this video!

Brain Games is an Emmy-nominated TV series that explores the inner workings of the human mind through experiments and interactive games. Did you know it's estimated that you have more than a dozen senses in addition to the standard five? One of those is a sense of time or chronoception. Tune in to the new season of Brain Games to learn about all of your senses, and more, starting Sunday, February 14 at 9/8c

References:

Ageing and duration judgement:

Nerve conduction velocity slowing with age:

Experiments with rats suggest time perception is distributed across brain:

Time perception with repeated stimuli:

Energy usage in brain with age:

Time perception in moments of fear / danger:

Attention’s relation to time perception and recollection of perceived time:

[NecroAngelDeclaresWar]

The duration of a minute depends on wich side of the bathroom´s door you´re in.

[sikhatheist]

I wanted to slow time, so I switched over to Internet Explorer.

[DomoKang]

Also wanted to mention as kids, we have less on our plate to deal with, our priority is having fun, socializing, etc, and as we age, we face bigger problems that can affect our everyday thinking, as we constantly HAVE to either be planning or worrying. Everything was also new to us (we’ve never experienced life) so it made every day feel like a new journey.

[joaogabrielneto]

I'm 25, and this very concept was giving me panic attacks recently.
The most recent episode was last week. I was thinking about my mom, she died from Covid in 2021, for me it was like yesterday. The month she spent in the ICU was very long, and for me that month solely was longer than the last two years.
When the realization occurred i've had a panic attack.
Watching this make me feel so less overwhelmed by it.

[p.kstudios]

"Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything's different."

-C.S Lewis

[shaguftaparveen]

The easiest way to slow down time:


Do a plank

[RhapsodyHC]

I personally think it’s an illusion. Like the older you get, the more you become used to living the same routine to the point where every day feels like the same day. Then when we look back, we’re shocked that a lot of time went by quickly when in reality it was moving normally.

Edit: Why is this random comment from a year ago now just getting replies?

[morpha]

I guess the most incredible thing about this video is it's comments session. The video gets people of multiple ages and in multiple points in time and in multiple places in the world to share their perception of time and life experiences, and this is so enriching. I mean, it is incredible to read a 14 year old person talking about the shift he had from when he was 9, which was 5 years ago, and then reading a 63 year old talking about how the last decade passed so fast. I mean, everything one saw in it's entire life happened in what it feels like yesterday to the other. And probably none of these people are now, while you're reading this, the age they were when they said those things.

As of now, I'm 30, but I don't feel like it is fair. I mean, how could I be 30 years old today if it feels like it was last year that I was 23, when this video came out 7 years ago?

[MohammedAdil]

Longest 5 seconds?





waiting to skip a youtube ad.

[Edhilues]

When you graduate high school, that's the point when time starts to accelerate

[ElRichiPapa]

In terms of vacation (let's say 2 weeks) I always felt that time passes much slower than 2 weeks of daily work, I think it's more connected to the new information going into the brain, a movie appears to end faster when you already watched it rather than the first time watching it. Life's the same, when you are kid, every experience is new, when you get older, you do everyday dozens of things you've already done a lot of times, so the brain erases repetitive memories. You won't remember exactly what you've done a random day back in 2016, but you'll remember with detail the day that you graduated just because it's a unique experience to your brain.

[-isotope_k]

3 years after COVID but feels like COVID was just year ago

[catkeys]

Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it spins.

[bendanonfawkes]

I always felt bad when my wife tells me that our sex doesn't last very long.
Now i can tell her it only feels quick because how much she is enjoying herself...

[Larry-pypz]

Life sucks if you really think about it. Most of us have to work hard to enjoy life and working 5 days a week always feels like a lifetime but enjoying the fruits of labor during weekends always feels like a minute. IT'S MONDAY AGAIN! 😂

[davidnewbon]

Me in an exam: 2 hours = 2 years
Me at the weekend: 2 days = 2 seconds

[Technodog]

I remember when I was a younger waiting til Friday was like waiting a year

[lazer]

I find it interesting that if you are running late for something, going to the movies for example, time seems to speed up.
but if you are early for something, and decide to kill time by going for a walk around the block, for example, time seems to slow down, and just a few minutes will have passed.
This happens at any age.

[pasalasaga]

Since 2020 everything seems happening in a very very fast way.

[shantanu]

*Meanwhile me in math class: *
Checks time : 8: 45 AM
after 5 mins
Checks time again: 8: 30 AM