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Father, Your word says, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day(2 Peter 3:8). Hallelujah!
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For many of us, when we think back to childhood summers or seemingly endless days spent in the classroom, these periods of time feel as though they stretched on forever. In comparison, our more recent years of adulthood often feel like they’ve passed us by in a flash. This is usually just chalked up as another one of the many peculiarities that come with growing older. Now, a fascinating new study is offering up a more scientific explanation: as we age, the speed in which our brains obtain and process images gradually slows, resulting in this temporal discrepancy in memories.

Simply put, this slowing of the brain’s imaging speed causes perception of time to speed up.

“People are often amazed at how much they remember from days that seemed to last forever in their youth,” says main study author Adrian Bejan, the J.A. Jones Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Duke University, in a release. “It’s not that their experiences were much deeper or more meaningful, it’s just that they were being processed in rapid fire.”

As we mature, the nerves and neurons in our brains also mature, growing in size and complexity. Consequently, new neural signals (memories), are faced with a longer path to travel than when we were young. Our nerves also deteriorate as we age, slowing down the flow of electrical signals throughout our minds.

These developments mean that it takes longer for new mental images and memories to be obtained and processed. One piece of evidence Bejan noted to back up his theory is how much more often infants’ eyes move in comparison to adults; children process images much faster than adults, leading to quicker eye movements and a rapid integration of information.

So, because older people are processing far fewer images within a given amount of time than they used to in their youth, it feels like time is passing at a faster rate.

“The human mind senses time changing when the perceived images change,” Bejan concludes. “The present is different from the past because the mental viewing has changed, not because somebody’s clock rings. Days seemed to last longer in your youth because the young mind receives more images during one day than the same mind in old age.”

(Excerpt from Study Finds. Article by John Anderer.)

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George
December 4, 2019

My theory has always been that time seems to go faster as you age (I am 77) only because it seemed to go slower when you were younger because you were always anticipating so many things: End of school, your birthday, Christmas, Easter, vacation, etc.

    iAM
    December 11, 2019

    12/11/19= 42 ~ Day 1,309 “the sign of the prophet Jonah” Matthew 12 NKJV (5/12/16= 33 ~ Day 1)

    “The Sign of the Prophet Jonah” Has Been Given!

    “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 NKJV
    “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near–at the doors!” Matthew 24:33 NKJV
    “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17 NKJV

    This is a testimony of truth, a witness of the Lord, Revelation 19:7-8 NKJV.
    iAM*~

Shell
November 30, 2019

I am more confused after reading this then before reading this, LOL.

Patricia Moulton
November 29, 2019

The article is confusing to me…we process slower but think time is moving faster. What am I missing?

Marlene
November 29, 2019

Almost 30 years ago, I had a “sense” a “knowing” of this taking place, becoming evident and I’m 78 now. I believe Matthew 24 speaks a lot about the times in which we are living and in verse 22, it is written: And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short. (NASB)

Doug Spurling
November 29, 2019

I thought it was because us old-folks were having the time of our lives. Haven’t they heard, “time flies when you’re having fun” ?

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