Why does time seem to speed up as you age?

reply to post by cluckerspud


Because life is like toilet paper... the closer you get to the end of the roll, the faster it goes. So there.

Originally posted by seb2882
Here's a weird one: I came back recently from a 3 month stay in another country, in a very different latitude than mine. I CAN SWEAR that time passed noticeably slower there. I never believed or experienced this kind of phenomena and sadly I see no way to back up my words with something concrete, but I know it wasn't just my perception.

I would like to know if someone else experienced this, having been in a very different latitude than their home. I insist on "latitude" since it's the only thing I can come up with to try to explain this to myself.

W: Which country was this?

I have noticed it too, but because in a different country, you are always having new experiences and learning new things and words and currencies, etc. so life is more interesting.

BTW, has anyone noticed that time moves a lot faster when you are on the internet or phone?

Also, why is it that after 1am, the clock seems to reach 4am in only 40 minutes? I hate that.

reply to post by WWu777


Same happens when I go to another country for a enjoyable time, time feels slower, more peaceful and relaxing.

Maybe because our usual routine has stopped and instead you learn to enjoy the moment more, instead of day dreaming or watching tv etc

And yeah if your up after 1am be careful, because it can end up being morning quicker than you think haha.

[edit on 21-5-2009 by _Phoenix_]

reply to post by autowrench
You know, as I was reading your note, I just thought of this. There is no explanation for the force of gravity. But there is a new theory out called The Theory of Everything. It states that everything is expanding in size, so its pushing against our feet seems like an attraction. Recently, it was noted that the speed of light is actually decreasing, slowly, but still... In the Bible, it talks about God shortening the days, or man would destroy himself. Everyone always assumes that means less days. What if it actually means faster time, 'shorter days'. And the speed of light actually is not changing, but our perception of it is. We are going faster, so the light seems slower. Now, many of you do not believe in God, that is OK. He does not believe in you, either.
So put together the Theory of Everything, and light slowing down, and perhaps that will begin to explain an actual time shift. I noticed and considered the age/time shift myself. And I believe that the percentage explanation is most, or some of it. But there may be more to it.



[edit on 11-8-2009 by Gregarious]

Apologies up front for not reading through this thread before posting.

There was a theory that we perceive time differently as we age because when 10 years old 1/10th of our lifetime is 1 year, and when aged 70 that 1/10th is now 7 years.

I on the other hand think this is a well meaning theory, but only a theory. What I see is related to the Schumann Resonance (spelling) where our earth is vibrating at increasingly higher rates, which means all things on it, including us, are also vibrating at faster rates. The speeding up of our molecular vibrations is responsible for perceiving time to be flowing faster.

Now this works well with adults, but, for it to be thought of as a valid concept then children must also be experiencing the faster time. And I have heard many kids say how fast the day, week, months are now. So perhaps this little idea of mine is a good theory?



[edit on 11-8-2009 by Tayesin]

reply to post by Fanfaron


I need to read this thread later on.

I'm sure I remember summer holidays of 6 weeks at a time going by way too quickly when I was a kid, so I'm not sure if things seem to go by faster or not. I think it depends on what you're doing, whether you like it or not, how focused or distracted you are, etc. As in mostly a state of mind.

memory buffer.

Time might seem to speed up as you age, but you will also be experiencing aches and pains - which make time seem to flow slower.

It all balances out.

*Another underrated plus is when your memory starts to go. People complain about it, but I don't mind for this reason:

Imagine thinking about having a sandwich and then going into the kitchen and seeing you already made it - it is like this except with money, houses, grandkids...

-Wake up worrying about the dotcom crash - don't worry it is 2010, you already made it back.

-Gold increasing in value several times over, should have bought some... Oh wait, you did! Ten years ago!

-Gotta go get that chemo treatment? Oh snap son! That was 1996, you've beat it.

-Sore back? Gotta go to doctor, but first let me open the medicine cab.... omg industrial strength opiates in bottles with my name. Nevermind.

-Grandson you say? I don't have any kids.... Oh snap nevermind, you got ID? Let's booze it up.

-Looks in mirror sees old man with bad memory. But feels more like achey Time traveller.



Yeah, everything has it's ups and downs.

becha time passes slower at gitmo then it does at the old nevada chicken ranch


There is a brain chemical which is produced in smaller quantities as you age
the lass you have the faster time seems to go

I hope I didn't miss this if it was posted earlier i just skimmed through and didn't see it

Experiments with trained rats also show they can keep time, and their clock speeds up if the animals are given amphetamines or coc aine. "We assume it's the same for humans when they are taking amphetamines," says Mr Mattel. "If they are asked to time one minute, only a few seconds will pass before they say the time is up. That suggests that something in the brain is guiding our perception of time."

Dopamine, a brain chemical, is the most likely explanation. Increased dopamine levels cause the pendulum to swing faster. while low dopamine levels slow it down. The level of this chemical dwindles with age, so the pendulum swings slower.

Mr Matell explains: "If you ask an older person to mentally time an hour, they will all overestimate it. To them, an hour feels like 40 minutes because their clock is running slower. That's why they think time passes so quickly."

www.yazakpro.com...

reply to post by theresult


Off our meds are we?

Routine, basically, tasks and experiences that occur regularly are memorised and due to this, each experience that has "repeated itself" will relegate itself to memory and the experience of time will be shortened.

reply to post by drock905
quite simple really,and many know this to be true and have talked about it. First of all,the more you live,the more cumulative time you have lived,so obviously one year for a 10year old is 10% of his entire life up to that point. So 10% of ones life is a lot,and that's why a year seems long...

Its jsut perception. For a 50 year old 1 year is only 2% of his life lived up to that point,so obviously it will seem basically 5 times faster in retrospect compared to when he was only 10...because the comparison is made to 50 years of experiences,not 10 yearso f experiences.

You simpyl perceive one summer to be a short while because you have experienced many years of life already, and one summer is a small amount compared to many decades of life. For a 10year old however, 1 year is by no mean a small amount of time.

Also a note for you, there is no time,it's an illusion,there is only motion through space so to speak. So things that happened 50 years ago can easily be perceived as if they happened yesterday, it's just memory of experiences already accumulated.

No big mystery really,time is an illusion, and it's all about perception.

Time accelerate as you get old because you get more aware of the stuff of life...
Ask your self ; who is experiencing time acceleration?