The quest to slow down time has long been the pursuit of scientists, doctors and wellness experts . But earlier this year, new research emerged that proves that you can make your life seem longer than it really is. A study published on 22 April 2024 from the Department of Psychology at George Mason University in Virginia claims that “perceived time” is directly “affected by the image properties of scene size, clutter and memorability.
More specifically, we observe that scene size and memorability dilate time” – in other words, the more memorable something we see is, the slower time will seem to pass. “When we see things that are more important or relevant, like things that are more memorable, we dilate our sense of time in order to get more information,” Professor Martin Wiener, co-author of the study, tells The Guardian . Our brains are busy trying to glean as much information as possible, so our perception of time changes while we are focussing on processing.
When we travel, we are constantly experiencing new things. We see things for the first time when we explore new territories, hear new sounds when we meet people speaking different languages, and eat food made with ingredients we’ve not tasted before. “When travelling, we leave behind our daily structures.
In a routine, time is predictable as we get up at a certain time, leave the house and come home at a certain time,” Dr Mark Rackley tells us. “So we are less conscious of time, as the day is dict.
