What Affects Time Perception Speed?

[chanlaw]

What causes time to pass slower or faster? On nofap time passes more slowly i noticed.

 

[MetabolicTrash]

You probably perceive time passing slower because you're otherwise avoiding something that would've involved taking time doing/focusing/not thinking about time and not being aware of time passing due to focus from the start of anything in general. Basically I think people only perceive slow-moving time because they're literally attempting to do so in a way. For example, you can see time moving slowly when you're literally attempting to observe it solely as your main focus point. The more you engage with something and interact with it, it feels as if that thing you're interacting with is taking some time since that's essentially what you're trying to do -- so you're just taking time observing time as a measurable rate. It would make sense that taking time doing something would only take as long as you do it, right? So taking time to take in the time basically will always tend to give the impression that it's slow based on this (at least from a neutral point of view). If one feels time is moving quickly, maybe they're anxious/in fear of a set point in time when something will bad will happen. In a more supposed opposite to that case you might think the idea or fear to possibly be irrational maybe -- feeling it's too fast because there's so little left for whatever reason/having missed out/not having enough time left to do what one wanted to/goals in life/etc.

The ultimate thing I associate with boredom is people waiting for time to pass just so it reaches a point, rather than making use of the time always passing and not worrying about how "slow/fast" it is in the first place. Usually people keep themselves busy so that time doesn't seem to just "go by slowly" and you're sitting and "watching it go by" in a sense (or they just ignore it altogether and develop things to do in otherwise "down time" or whatever). I never understood the boredom mentality of just sitting/observing and waiting for time like it's slowly moving to a crawl or such. Why not just do something useful for you/others/etc. and not worry about time? Be creative? Do your usual stuff? It's all like an illusion anyways you could say too. Since you can't feasibly stop or control time, why would it matter how fast or slow it appears to go? I mean maybe I don't get the appeal & there might be something I'm missing. I have no idea how to change time, so I guess I just live through it & do what I do without thinking of "speed."

I mean this is nothing personal, but just said in general/the impression I get from it. I've seen people who just sit around and are like, "Why is time moving so slowly?" Often they're not really doing/thinking/focusing much on anything during this time, so they usually focus on the slowness since there's nothing happening that would otherwise distract them from the concept in the first place. It would be interesting to hear more about not the perception of time, but actual altering of it in various ways.

 

[Dino D]

Wees slows it down...
Being aware and concious slows it down...
No multitasking and no smartphone ,,slows it down"

From food i would say fat or fat plus protein, or fat+protein+some carbs makes me slower... protein only, carb only can be to exciting for me so time gets faster...

 

[MetabolicTrash]

Wees slows it down...
Being aware and concious slows it down...
No multitasking and no smartphone ,,slows it down"

From food i would say fat or fat plus protein, or fat+protein+some carbs makes me slower... protein only, carb only can be to exciting for me so time gets faster...

Actually, I find that multitasking/being on a phone/tablet/doing things allows time to pass without me even thinking of it, rendering the whole "slows it down" as opposite as I notice so much has passed while I was doing things and not focusing on the minute-to-minute changes or such. I always consider myself aware for the most part and do not feel time is necessarily slower or faster throughout the day or etc.

If I understand what you're saying it's that you mean being focused and aware makes time appear slower, along with avoiding doing tasks, which suggests that doing a lot of things/being busy/etc. makes time appear to go by faster/possibly in a more negative light (then again maybe we are thinking of the difference between time and how fast it passes, and how "aware" we supposedly are of time on another note). But wouldn't doing tasks and keeping busy without focusing on time specifically normally make time seem shorter, as opposed to the opposite (but not necessarily in a bad way)? This doesn't sound to be a bad thing. I associate more of the "living just to live and observe consciously" mentality to be more of a bad thing since you're aware and living, but focusing on time perception rather than on what you could time in that time. You spend the time not thinking of the time there is, so it appears like it's passed you by unknowingly in a sense and you missed it while doing something -- but if you spend the time focusing on the time (meaning not focusing/doing much else), you just observe it for what appears to be for no specific reason.

I mean this is how I understand it. I suppose both could be good or bad depending on what exactly the details might hold.

 

[Dino D]

Actually, I find that multitasking/being on a phone/tablet/doing things allows time to pass without me even thinking of it, rendering the whole "slows it down" as opposite as I notice so much has passed while I was doing things and not focusing on the minute-to-minute changes or such. I always consider myself aware for the most part and do not feel time is necessarily slower or faster throughout the day or etc.

If I understand what you're saying it's that you mean being focused and aware makes time appear slower, along with avoiding doing tasks, which suggests that doing a lot of things/being busy/etc. makes time appear to go by faster/possibly in a more negative light (then again maybe we are thinking of the difference between time and how fast it passes, and how "aware" we supposedly are of time on another note). But wouldn't doing tasks and keeping busy without focusing on time specifically normally make time seem shorter, as opposed to the opposite (but not necessarily in a bad way)? This doesn't sound to be a bad thing. I associate more of the "living just to live and observe consciously" mentality to be more of a bad thing since you're aware and living, but focusing on time perception rather than on what you could time in that time. You spend the time not thinking of the time there is, so it appears like it's passed you by unknowingly in a sense and you missed it while doing something -- but if you spend the time focusing on the time (meaning not focusing/doing much else), you just observe it for what appears to be for no specific reason.

I mean this is how I understand it. I suppose both could be good or bad depending on what exactly the details might hold.

We agree, we just put down different aspects and examples...
By being aware (conscious focusing) i dont mean the passive meditative way, like taking a step back then observing everything and observing time...
You can be aware and focused on multitasking... it is puting your awareness into as you say living, and being fully engaged in the moment in the tasks, not holding back, and then you trully live the moment, all tasks, and its like there was more, more time, slower passing of time because you were ,,more there" more aware...
but what happens when I multitask, im not aware or focused on those tasks, my awareness splits, my focus splits, i think about other things or about 3 things while not being 100% focused on what i do just right now... so I get mehanical, distracted, stressed... and its often thing that you just have to do (like JOB), then the day goes by very fast, you dont live it, you spend time thinking and doing a lot of stuff, splited focus and so on...
the opposite is when you fully engage your self in the moment, when you do your task, without thinking about time, or how to do it... lets take sex... you can have sex just like that, or you can fully give your self, no holding back, 100% focus (so we get into a tantric aproach-when the awareness goes to objects while staying full aware vs. taking a step back and observing, or even more back and observing the oberver and so on...)
another example... you could be outside and play with your kid, you commit fully to it, you put your whole awareness into it, notice the moment and everything that is there=slow time VS you could be outside and play with your kid then you think about your JOB, then a friend calls you, then you notice a hot girl, then you think how fat you are, then your phone again, you go on instagram, make a selfie, search for tags, and so on, then because of splited focus, (no true awareness) time flies by just like that...

english is not my first language, its hard to express 4 me so I used examples...
Focusing on time, and thinking on time is not what I mean... its focusing on being aware, on the moment on your true self (taking a step back and observing) that can slow time down, or again focusing and being fully aware on objects and task-you slow time down
4 me in practice if I mutitask, i live in my head, stress, splitted thinking awareness whatever and the day passes super fast, it gets slower if I take the meditative observing road, or if I focus on one task, like full attention on reading, learning, or on a sport, a activity on a event and so on... the more of life (a object, your emotion, a person, a happening) you notice with full focus and awareness, your experience of time will in a subjective way appear slower...
again focusing on time it self (not in a superguru advanced way) and thinking about time, and while something is happening you start to focus on something else( on time) or think about time is not good and not what i meant...

 

[Ulysses]

Intense exercise causes time to pass more slowly for me.