i had this weird experience yesterday. i was at a volleyball game watching the varsity team play. one of the girls started to spike it over the net, and only for a fraction of a second i could swear everything freezed. like, time froze for a fraction of a second. it was a total blink and you miss it thing. i dont know whether i was just imagining it, but i thought it was pretty freaky. has this happened to anyone else or do you know what it is?

This has definitely happened to me and I looked into it. One possible reason is a glitch in the brain causing a perceived stop in time but actually time is progressing on it's natural course but your brain just stopped for a nano second which the brain translates into a perceptual moment. Sometimes this happens when you do not have enough sleep or under stress. It is also documented that during points of adrenaline release time seems to stand still. certain chemicals in out brain can actually slow or speed up our perception of time!

LifENcircleS

Originally posted by LifENcircleS
This has definitely happened to me and I looked into it. One possible reason is a glitch in the brain causing a perceived stop in time but actually time is progressing on it's natural course but your brain just stopped for a nano second which the brain translates into a perceptual moment. Sometimes this happens when you do not have enough sleep or under stress. It is also documented that during points of adrenaline release time seems to stand still. certain chemicals in out brain can actually slow or speed up our perception of time!

LifENcircleS

I concur. If this continues, I recommend that you see your family MD.

Yeah definitely see your doctor if it continues. It also has been documented to happen to people who have seizures just before they have an episode they will have a time freeze of sorts.

LifENcircleS

I wasn’t going to mention anything about seizures, but….
Did you happen to notice any changes in how your lips and tongue felt?

I don't remember time freezing, but in college after I only had less than 1 hour of sleep one night, the next day it looked like everyone was moving in slow motion. The only problem I had was that I could not move my muscles what seemed to be more like normal speed, I was stuck moving my muscles in slow motion too.

I remember a few times after drinking a few beers, it seemed like everyone was moving in slow motion again, however in that case I could still move fast. At times other people have made comments to me about how fast I was moving. I even have played some video arcade games while at bars in that condition and easily got the top score. I once played one arcade game for over an hour on one quarter. That doesn't sound normal to me but maybe it is and I just don't know it. I heard most people slow down after drinking a little bit.

I think most people just think and move slowly. I can get like that if I don't get enough sleep or get sick. I've read that most Americans are sleep deprived so it makes sense to me. Blowing away everyone's high scores on arcade games made me realize without a doubt that it wasn't my imagination. Back when I was bicycling on a regular basis, my thinking was fast without drinking anything. The fastest I've ever gone on a bicycle was about 60 mph but I was going downhill. I estimated my speed to be about 60 because I losing the traffic behind me and they usually travelled about 55 mph on that road. I was only going about 50 to 55 when I broke off the metal pedals on one bicycle. I actually split apart the center bar one time. It was over 1 inch thick steel but I believe it had a stress fracture. The bicycle shop said he never saw that part break before. The last bicycle I broke made me have big medical bills so I stopped bicycling but I recovered quickly. I believe I'm pretty normal for a healthy adult so no need to see a doctor.

I (may still have) incredible reaction time, too- I used to be able to exceed 35 mph on occasion RUNNING. I used to chase dogs for an animal shelter. They called me the Blur- Only because the Flash was already taken.

Then, I screwed up my back royally, and now, I can only do real short spurts. I kinda feel like Yoda- I get my 'super' done, and go back to holding my back and hobbling away. I've got other 'weird' things I have had happen, too. Lucky, lucky me. And yes, I have been checked out...

I have read that it's not your brain altering your perception of time, but that it's your brain assimilating much greater quantities of information much faster than normal. This lends itself to the apparent perception that time is indeed slowed down. When those moments happen, often time people can recall the particulars of the event with extreme precision, however the events leading up to and afterward are a blur.

Originally posted by LifENcircleS
This has definitely happened to me and I looked into it. One possible reason is a glitch in the brain causing a perceived stop in time but actually time is progressing on it's natural course but your brain just stopped for a nano second which the brain translates into a perceptual moment. Sometimes this happens when you do not have enough sleep or under stress. It is also documented that during points of adrenaline release time seems to stand still. certain chemicals in out brain can actually slow or speed up our perception of time!

LifENcircleS

I'm on adderall for adhd and that stuff makes it feel like time doesn't even exist. That's the only way i can think of to describe it. its crazy.

Originally posted by ElectricNarwhal
i had this weird experience yesterday. i was at a volleyball game watching the varsity team play. one of the girls started to spike it over the net, and only for a fraction of a second i could swear everything freezed. like, time froze for a fraction of a second. it was a total blink and you miss it thing. i dont know whether i was just imagining it, but i thought it was pretty freaky. has this happened to anyone else or do you know what it is?

Actually this is quite common in people diagnosed with Epilepsy. (I was diagnosed w/Epilepsy as a child, due to brain damage suffered from an extremely high fever).

Google 'Petit Mal Seziures' and you'll see what I mean...a short description is as follows:


"Most petit mal seizures last only a few seconds. Most commonly they involve staring episodes or "absence spells."

The person may stop walking or talking in mid-sentence, and start again a few seconds later. The person usually does not fall. The person is usually wide awake and thinking clearly immediately after the seizure.

"Spells" can be uncommon or occur up to hundreds of times in one day. They may occur for weeks to months before they are noticed, and may interfere with school function and learning. The seizures may sometimes be mistaken for a lack of attention or other misbehavior. Unexplained difficulties in school and learning difficulties may be the first indication of petit mal seizures."

interesting guys. thanks for the replies. i probably didnt get enough sleep or something.

Originally posted by ElectricNarwhal
in i probably didnt get enough sleep or something.

And how does that explain - as opposed to explain away - what happened?
I mean, how exactly, and based on what, does it explain your perception?







[edit on 17-10-2009 by Vanitas]

Originally posted by LifENcircleS
Yeah definitely see your doctor if it continues. It also has been documented to happen to people who have seizures just before they have an episode they will have a time freeze of sorts.

LifENcircleS

Was going to say the same things ... this usually is something that ppl of seizueres report.

Was going to say the same things ... this usually is something that ppl of seizueres report.

What kind of seizure, specifically?

I am asking for the proper medical term.
It can also be just a speculative diagnosis, but it has to be scientifically sound, i.e. probable on the basis of the symptoms observed - keeping in mind that the "patient" has had no recorded history of observed seizures of any kind. (Perhaps not the OP, but certainly the person from the account to which I linked in my previous post in this thread).

N.B. This may sound like a rhetorical question - but it's not.

Originally posted by orionthehunter
I think most people just think and move slowly. I can get like that if I don't get enough sleep or get sick. I've read that most Americans are sleep deprived so it makes sense to me. Blowing away everyone's high scores on arcade games made me realize without a doubt that it wasn't my imagination. Back when I was bicycling on a regular basis, my thinking was fast without drinking anything. The fastest I've ever gone on a bicycle was about 60 mph but I was going downhill. I estimated my speed to be about 60 because I losing the traffic behind me and they usually travelled about 55 mph on that road. I was only going about 50 to 55 when I broke off the metal pedals on one bicycle. I actually split apart the center bar one time. It was over 1 inch thick steel but I believe it had a stress fracture. The bicycle shop said he never saw that part break before. The last bicycle I broke made me have big medical bills so I stopped bicycling but I recovered quickly. I believe I'm pretty normal for a healthy adult so no need to see a doctor.

so what ur trying to imply here is that either A; your a super hero. Or B; your sniffing that "White Girl" thats got you feeling mighty speedy.

im going with option B.

[edit on 10/13/2009 by Zeta Reticuli]