Does Time Really Fly When You’re Having Fun? Yes It Does

Time flies when you’re having fun.  It’s true.  Think about your last vacation.

When you’re on vacation, does it feel like you just arrived at your destination and it’s already time to leave? A new study finds your brain really does perceive time as passing faster during certain activities. Just like the old saying “time flies when you’re having fun,” researchers from The Ohio State University say it only applies to positive events.

Study co-author Selin Malkoc looked at how people perceive time when they’re anticipating either a positive or negative event to arrive. For positive events, like an upcoming vacation, researchers say people judge these activities to be farther away than they really are. For instance, someone’s trip to Hawaii maybe a week away, but to them, it feels like a month away. Moreover, people also feel as if happy events like a vacation last for a much shorter time than unhappy ones.

On the other hand, researchers discovered negative events have the complete opposite effect on the human mind. People anticipating the start of an unpleasant activity, like a dreaded work meeting, feel as if the event will begin any minute. They also perceive time as passing much more slowly, dragging out the event even longer.

Source https://bit.ly/3vwgu6F

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