Three days ago, it was January–or at least, that’s what it feels like. Yet somehow, it’s already December. Every year time seems to go by faster and faster, with students and teachers alike wondering where January went when they looked away. It’s well-known that time goes by faster when you’re having fun, and even faster the older you get. However, the scientific reasons for this are lesser-known. 

Astronomers have found that the Earth is actually spinning faster than ever, with each year decreasing in length by about a second. Scientists even think that soon clocks will need to include a “leap second,” or skip a second right before midnight, to accurately measure time. Although the trend toward a “negative leap second” will not cause any global disasters or noticeable effects, it’s still a big deal to science. However, this phenomenon, while interesting, doesn't explain why time is moving so quickly. Psychology, on the other hand, might. 

It’s almost comical when toddlers insist that a year has gone by within five minutes, or when six-year-olds mistake two months for one day. However, researchers have found that these tiny tots are actually being serious–from their perspective, time is much slower and means less, both due to the proportion of time to their age and a lack of stress and structure in their lives. For a four-year-old, a month is a large portion of their lives, and without deadlines and schedules to keep track of, time simply stretches into infinity. On the other hand, for a forty-year-old, a month is a much smaller amount of time in relation to their age, and is filled with work and deadlines that make time seem to pass much quicker. The brain also tends to “lump together” periods of time that are more similar, making that period of time seem to pass more quickly–for instance, a high schooler may feel that 9th and 10th grade were the same, and a retired person may feel that their time in retirement has passed by much more quickly than their time at work. 

The human brain is designed to perceive and record change, whether that be in stimuli or routine. When a day is filled with many activities, it may feel like time is more expansive and therefore slower. For instance, a young child who has school, ballet, doctors’ appointments, shopping, and sleepovers all in one week will feel like time is plentiful and slow. The same may apply to adults–even when time feels like it’s passing quickly during a busy period of life, the brain will likely later see that time period as longer than it actually was. On the other hand, when a stretch of time is left empty and regimented (for instance, only going to school for weeks on end) will seem to hold less and therefore pass more quickly. Psychologists also believe the way the brain processes images impacts the perception of time. During infancy, the brain is trained to take in many images in a short period of time, whereas the adult brain tends to take in fewer images than it was trained to earlier in life, making time seem shorter. 

Of course, this may seem confusing, since time usually feels slower when we’re bored or under-stimulated in the moment. The saying “time flies when you’re having fun” actually has some scientific basis–when the human brain is occupied, it tends to pay less attention to tracking time. On the other hand, when the human brain is bored, it will naturally pay close attention to the passage of time. This is also why children tend to notice how slowly the clock ticks on Christmas Eve–their brains are anticipating a fun event, and are unable to occupy themselves until then. 

Some ways to slow down time, according to scientists, include incorporating new experiences–even small ones, like practicing a hobby or visiting a friend you haven’t seen in a while. Living an  “all work, no play” or excessively inflexible life can make time go by faster (or slower in the moment), possibly leading to depression and anxiety. As corny as it sounds, living “in the moment” as much as possible may actually make time move less frantically. 

Information gathered from Space.com, University of Michigan, ABC News Science