Time can be both excruciating and pain-healing
Time is an essential component of our daily lives, and it is the force that directs our behavior. We may see adults obsessing over time that has passed so quickly and remember the long summer days they lived as children, having a constant feeling of nostalgia for being young again, in which time seemed to pass very slowly.
Research indicates that older people have an underestimated amount of time because dopamine levels decrease as we get older. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that helps transmit signals between nerve cells in the brain.
This process makes us perceive that time speeds up as we age. However, there are several methods we can use to reduce our sense of the speed of time passing - practically and morally - to "win" more time.
To be practical in our perception of time, we must follow these five tips: to learn to be children again, to participate in new activities, to move away from technology, to pay attention to details, and to remember death.
Five tips to slow down how you feel over time
1. Learn to be a child again
When we venture out and do new things to stimulate the mind, our perception of time changes. We can learn to become curious again about new ideas. With new experiences, the brain creates new neural pathways, adapts to new experiences and information, and stores new memories.
This allows it to focus and register memories more clearly, making it feel like time passes more slowly. Because children devote significant neural resources and mental strength to constantly building new mental models to try to make sense of the world, they are constantly immersed in the moment.
However, as adults, we face similar triggers daily when we get into a routine. So, we must learn to be children again, and try to explore new things in this world, and to be eager for adventure to see and feel what we can do. If we can break out of the routine and face the world with the sense of a curious child, the reward will be the feeling that we have lived a long life.
2. Get involved in new activities
Imagine a witch handing you a deck of playing cards, then looking at the cards to make sure all the cards are different from each other, and then with a flick of her wand, she turns the cards so that they are all the same. This common misconception is exactly what happens when we stop doing new experiments.
When our days become similar, we lose the ability to differentiate between them, and when we look at the months we spent in the same place and the same problems we face daily, our ability to distinguish between those days decreases, and we feel that time passes quickly.
If you comapre between yourwork life and the vacation yu spend on which every day is different and full of new experiences, you will remember exactly what happened, who you were with, and where you went too. This is the power of new experiences in shaping our perception of time.
Dr. David Eagleman's work examining how we perceive time was highlighted recently in an article published in The New Yorker. According to Dr. David, the more precise the details in memory, the longer we can perceive a moment and Dr. David said also: “The more familiar the world becomes, the less information your brain records, and you will feel that time is passing by.” However, when we are more aware of our surroundings and notice new experiences, we can make our lives seem longer, and we will receive more time, which is one of our most valuable and rare resources.
Dr. David believes that even small changes can help us become more aware of what is happening around us. Wearing your watch on the other wrist, taking a different route to work, or anything you can do to stop your brain from working automatically can activate neural circuits.
3. Pay attention
Research shows that when we experience tragic events, such as near death, we feel that time passes very slowly. The perception of time is related to the participation and attention we give in the present moment. The more attention we give, the more information we process, and the more time we perceive. So, our brain has to speed up information processing to respond.
When our bodies sense a severe threat, the amygdala instructs our brain to focus on the current situation. This ability has been useful evolutionarily because it has enabled humans to make quick decisions necessary for survival.
This neural clock in the human brain perceives time through processes related to memory attention, in contrast to our perceptions of time through man-made clocks. So, when you encounter something new, try to pay attention to the details and enjoy the beauty of the moment, think of the sun shining on the leaves of the trees in the early morning, and listen to the chirping of the birds, as it may feel that time is slowing down.
4. Learn to detach from technology
Researchers have discovered that technological advances and the modern lifestyle have affected our experience of time, and an increased pace of life has been linked to physical and mental health issues, as our dealings with technological devices and systems make us feel as if time passes quickly.
In one study, more than 70% of participants reported being dependent on technology and spending a significant amount of time on social networking sites, and 83% of participants who used technology reported feeling that time was passing faster than when they were not using technology. Those who spent more time using technology overestimated the time that had passed, while those who used technology less were more accurate at estimating time. When we focus on the current experience, we feel we have “more” time and as if time passes more slowly.
5. Remember death
Most people don't spend the time of their lives thinking about death and how short life is. By understanding and being aware of death, we can focus on every experience.
American author Flannery O'Conner was afflicted with a fatal disease that kept her close to death for many years; however, she managed to write more than twenty short stories and two novels while she was terminally ill, but her near death showed her what was important in her life and how to appreciate every moment and relationship better.
When we find ourselves constantly outside our comfort zone, our awareness of what’s around us increases, we gain a heightened sense of smell, feel stronger emotions, and feel like prolonging the moment. We can enhance our life experiences and expand our perception of time through death meditation. Death meditation is not just a focus on death. Instead, it is an acceptance of our nature and a refocusing of our energy to meet death on our terms when it comes.
In conclusion
Time is one of the scarcest resources, and most of us feel we do not have enough of it. However, how quickly we perceive the passage of time depends on our perception. In other words, the way we live our lives determines whether time passes slowly or quickly.
Although we often feel threatened by things we have no control over, controlling our perceptions of time will make us feel that time is not our enemy. When we indulge in new thoughts and experiences, these enhanced efforts to focus on the present can slow our perceptions of time and empower us to get the most out of it.
So, practice living in the present moment, taking a new path home, taking a childish look at the beauty and splendor surrounding you in every moment, and accepting newness and change as indicators of longevity.
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