Why Does Time Fly As We Get Older

Excerpts from “Why Does Time Fly As We Get Older” by Jordan Gaines Lewis

Stop waiting for Friday, for summer, for someone to fall in love with you. Happiness is achieved when you stop waiting for it and make the most of the moment you’re in right now.

Does it seem like Christmas comes sooner and sooner each year? As a child, it seemed like Christmas would never get here. As an adult, they seem to come around sooner and sooner. Many middle-aged folks (whatever that means) notice that time seems to be flying by; the years quickly pass. Why is it that time appears to go more quickly as we get older?

The conversation around the water cooler these days has evolved into the annual “where has the time gone?” discussion–how quickly the neighborhood kids have become high school graduates; how our hot July beach vacations seem like they were just yesterday; and how we haven’t baked cookies or sent cards or bought gifts yet because time has just been flying by. It’s become a common complaint–almost a joke–that time seems to whiz by faster and faster as we get older.

So, what’s going on here? Why does it seem like Christmas 2012 was just last week when, as a child, it seemed to take ages to arrive?

We’ll probably never know why, exactly, but here are some interesting theories:

1. We gauge time by memorable events. We may be measuring past intervals of time by the number of events that can be recalled in that period. Imagine a 40-something mom experiencing the repetitive, stressful daily grind work and family life. The abundant memories of her high school years (homecoming football games, prom, first car, first kiss, graduation, etc) may, compared to now, seem like much longer than the mere four years that they were.

2. The amount of time passed relative to one’s age varies. For a 5-year-old, one year is 20% of their entire life. For a 50-year-old, however, one year is only 2% of their life. This “ratio theory,” proposed by Janet in 1877, suggests that we are constantly comparing time intervals with the total amount of time we’ve already lived.

3. Our biological clock slows as we age. With aging may come the slowing of some sort of internal pacemaker. Relative to the unstoppable clocks and calendars, external time suddenly appears to pass more quickly.

4. As we age, we pay less attention to time. When you’re a kid on December 1, you’re faithfully counting down the days until Santa brings your favorite doll down the chimney. When you’re an adult on December 1, you’re a little more focused on work, bills, family life, scheduling, deadlines, travel plans, Christmas shopping, and all of that other boring adult stuff. The more attention one focuses on tasks such as these, the less one will notice the passage of time.

5. Stress, stress, and more stress. The feeling that there is not enough time to get things done may be reinterpreted as the feeling that time is passing too quickly. Even older individuals (who are, more often than not, retired from work) may continue to feel similarly due to physical handicaps or diminished cognitive ability.

While the feeling may be inescapable, appease yourself by knowing that time is not literally getting faster as you age. Take a moment to slow down this Christmas, enjoy time with your family and friends, and be assured that the fancy watch that Santa brings you next Christmas, is doing its job just fine.

Enjoy every day; as my Pastor says: you may be here today and gone today!