Why does time move so slowly when you're at the gym? The answer to this one is a little more nuanced than simply wishing you hadn’t booked a spin class for 6:30am. Our perception of time can be faster or slower than reality in different situations.
When it’s slower, the phenomenon is called time dilation. It can sometimes happen in scenarios that are boring, anxious or mindful – and exercise could be any of those things for different people.
They say a watched pot never boils. The same is true of a stopwatch if you’re plodding away on a treadmill when you’d rather be somewhere else. The more aware you are of the passage of time, the more it can seem to drag. A small, recent study even quantified the effect.
Researchers at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK asked people to ride trials on a stationary bike and measure 30-second intervals as best they could. Participants were nine-per-cent faster, suggesting that time had passed slower for them than it had in reality.
The researchers suggest that “physical activity creates a heightened associative state of impulse awareness and causes a perceived slowing of time.” In other words, your raised heart rate and other physical changes in your body could contribute to the feeling that time is moving slower than it actually is.
Similar phenomena have been reported in dangerous situations, where a person’s heightened state of anxiety makes an ordeal feel like it’s occurring for longer.
Time perception is obviously important for professional runners or cyclists. Knowing that your perception of time could be slower than reality may help athletes pace themselves better.
The team behind the study also think that further research could help to design exercise classes that are more enjoyable… But maybe don’t mention this to your spin instructor.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Tania Matthews, via email 'Why does time move so slowly when I'm at the gym?'
To submit your questions, email us at questions@sciencefocus.com, or message our Facebook, X, or Instagram pages (don't forget to include your name and location).
Check out our ultimate fun facts page for more mind-blowing science.
Read more:
