“Time flies” is a phrase often used to describe how quickly time seems to pass. But is there any truth to the idea that time moves faster as people age?
A 2019 study published in the European Review by Cambridge University Press suggests the phenomenon is not about time itself, but about how the human brain processes information. The study described it as a form of psychological perception rooted in physical changes in the brain over time.
The research, conducted by Adrian Bejan, a mechanical engineering professor at Duke University, centers on the concept of “perceived time.”
Bejan said the human mind measures time not through clocks or calendars, but through the sequence of mental images it processes.
“The ‘mind time’ is a sequence of images, i.e. reflections of nature that are fed by stimuli from sensory organs. The rate at which changes in mental images are perceived decreases with age, because of several physical features that change with age: saccades frequency, body size, pathways degradation, etc.,” he said.
According to the study, younger individuals process visual information at a faster rate. Children continuously absorb and register new details, creating dense and high-resolution mental recordings of their experiences. Because more mental images are processed within a day, time tends to feel longer and more detailed in retrospect.
As people age, however, biological and physical changes slow down this visual processing. The brain’s neural networks become more complex, and fewer mental images are processed within the same period.
THE PARADOX OF MIND TIME VS. CLOCK TIME
Bejan said this reduction in processed images creates the illusion that time is accelerating.
“The human mind senses time changing when the perceived images change,” Bejan explained. “The present is different from the past because the mental viewing has changed, not because somebody’s clock rings.”
In youth, a single day may contain thousands of new visual frames. In older age, that same day produces fewer mental snapshots. When people look back, fewer recorded events can make time feel as though it passed more quickly.
The study also noted that children are more frequently exposed to new environments, requiring the brain to process large amounts of information. Adults, on the other hand, tend to rely on routines, reducing the need for intensive visual processing.
Eye movement also plays a role. Bejan said involuntary eye movements, or saccades, occur more frequently in children than in adults, affecting how much visual data the brain receives.
Researchers suggest that to make time feel more expansive in adulthood, individuals can seek new experiences, learn new skills, and break routine patterns to stimulate the brain and increase the intake of new mental images.
