Ask HN: Why does time seem to speed up with age?

[syntaxbush]

I've been struggling with the observation that as I age it feels like my life is compressed into a few brief moments instead of feeling like some long chronology. I thought doing more unique activities throughout the year would help as it would create "markers" in my memories, but it hasn't.

Have others struggled with similar thoughts - and as a rather odd question - how can one make their life feel...longer?

[allears]

This, my friend, is the human condition. When we're children, a summer can seem like forever. At my age (80) the years fly by.

Think of it this way: When you're ten years old, and somebody tells you that you can't have a certain thing you want for another year, well, that's 10% of your life. But at the age of 80, that would be only a bit over 1% -- not nearly as long.

So, how to make life seem longer? Pay more attention in the moment. Don't take routine experiences for granted. Learn to see everyday miracles as miracles, not just the same old same old. Some people would call it mindfulness, but since that's become a controversial term, don't mess with it, and for heaven's sake don't take a workshop or follow some self-help book. Just experiment with how you, in the life you currently live, can be more open and aware of the world around you. It's fascinating, and time will slow down.

[syntaxbush]

I really appreciate you taking the time to share your wisdom. This hits home because I often catch my mind thinking about a background problem (or anxiety) instead of being present. I would like to try being more present and see how it helps.

[jschveibinz]

I heard a short conversation today that addressed this topic. The speaker inferred that "novelty" is why time seems to go slower when we are children. Perhaps finding novel things to experience every day can help? Here is an article on this: https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/what-is-novelty-effect...

[sinenomine]

There is no good answer just yet, but it is either an information theory phenomenon (brain as a prediction machine theory), or this could be linked to activity of dopaminergic, cholinergic systems, or even changes to base neuron firing rates. There is a myriad of possible root causes.

Personally I think the dopaminergic hypothesis is not entirely incorrect [1], and there are treatments for this aspect of ageing.

1. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3...

[syntaxbush]

Thank you for sharing this. It’s an angle I didn’t explore, and want to now.

[bediger4000]

My answer is just what you've implicitly said: "my life is compressed". Your brain "compresses" information better as you get older. It builds up a dictionary of experiences, thoughts, sights, sounds. Encounter the same or similar sensation again, you just get an index of the previous experience.

I suppose if you forgot a lot, you'd have to rebuild your "dictionary".

[syntaxbush]

I wonder if changing your language every 5-10 years and/or location would help in sort of forcing a dictionary change.

[BillyTheMage]

I always assumed it was a similar thing to pain. When you're a little kid, small amounts of pain are still the worst thing you've ever felt. Same with time. Even the small moments seem big when you haven't had many moments.

[theGeatZhopa]

Ever experienced the situation where you're being asked by an elderly person to help with computer and then use the mouse and keyboard to tackle the problem and the elderly person just says "you're too fast for me" and, then, when the situation is opposite and you have to watch almost die'ing how the elderly person slowly operates his computer?

It's not the perception the time is going faster but you're becoming slow - just take Joe Biden as an example.

To overcome this you have to keep your brain busy and live healthy may be... Like this 90yo Oma in the Forrest, sleeping outside no matter the weather

https://youtu.be/STpF11u5ULw

(It's German; but the big picture how and what it means to be active with the years can be seen without understanding German)