As time flies by: Aging and perception of time

How many times have you heard the heartfelt lament, or uttered it yourself: “Where have the years gone?”
Remember the long, lazy days of summer when you were a kid? Or how a school year could seemingly drag on forever? Or that ritual Sunday dinner at a relative’s home that felt not like mere hours, but endless mind numbing torture?

As an adult, on the other hand, many of us can only shake our heads at how quickly the days and weeks and seasons seem to fly by. An entire year, or even five or 10 years, can pass, seemingly, in a blur.

Scientists say the perception of time speeding up as we age is a global phenomenon that is common across all cultures. Why is this? No one knows for sure, but there are several theories from psychologists and neuroscientists as to why our perception of time changes as we age. Here’s a brief overview of some possible explanations for the sense that life, at times, seems to be racing out of control.

It all comes down to the math

One explanation boils down to basic proportional theory. The logic is that at age 5, one year constitutes one-fifth or 20 per cent of a person’s life, and therefore can seem like a long time.

At the age of 50, on the other hand, a year represents a mere one-fiftieth of your life — and as a result, a year seems to go by far more quickly.

Early memories are more potent

Another theory, scientists say, has to do with how information gets stored in your memory when you experience something for the first time. Basically, when an experience is a new or novel one, the brain is wired to store more details.