A researcher suggests that time seems to flow differently in altered states of consciousness due to variations in how our brain processes information based on situations. These states may affect our natural sense of separation from the surrounding world, sharpening our perception of time. Seconds can sometimes feel stretched into minutes, or conversely, contracted.
We often feel that time flows differently depending on the situation. For instance, it appears to pass more slowly when we are bored, in unpleasant situations, or exploring unknown places. Conversely, it seems to move faster when we are engrossed in specific activities, such as work or leisure. Older adults also report that time accelerates as they age.
However, these impressions are generally mild, and our experience of time can vary much more radically in other situations. For example, paradoxically, experiences of time expansion can occur in emergencies, such as imminent accidents or assaults. In these situations, seconds seem to stretch out, lasting as long as minutes.
According to Steve Taylor, a psychology lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in England, 85% of people have experienced at least one instance of time expansion when their state of consciousness is altered. On the other hand, the most intense time expansion experiences occur in states of extreme calm, such as meditation and altered consciousness through psychedelic substances (like LSD and ayahuasca).
“One man told me that during an LSD experience, he looked at his phone's stopwatch, and 'the hundredths of a second flowed as slowly as seconds normally do.' It was a truly intense dilation of time,” the researcher reports in an article published in The Conversation. According to his research, 10% of time expansion experiences are linked to psychedelic substances.
One theory suggests that these time expansion experiences are related to the production of norepinephrine (a hormone and neurotransmitter) during emergencies, which is associated with the fight-or-flight mechanism. However, this theory does not align with the sense of well-being that people often report in these situations. Despite the urgency or danger, individuals generally report feeling strangely calm and relaxed. It also does not account for the fact that time expansions can occur in peaceful situations such as meditation.
Another theory posits that they stem from an adaptive evolution that our ancestors may have developed to enhance their chances of survival in danger. According to Taylor, many people believe that the sensation of time elongation allowed them to avoid serious injuries, as it would enable them to make preventive decisions. However, this hypothesis also fails to explain why time expansions sometimes occur in peaceful, non-urgent situations.
Another hypothesis suggests that these are more illusions created by memories rather than actual experiences. In emergency situations, our consciousness is heightened, allowing us to register more perceptions than usual. These perceptions are stored as memories that we recall in emergencies. This influx of additional memories could give the illusion that time has lengthened.
However, time expansion experiences could facilitate complex thought processes and actions that are difficult to conceive in a normal time perception state. In a survey conducted by Taylor among 280 people, only 3% believe it could be an illusion, while 87% think it is real experiences. The remaining 10% are undecided.
The psychologist concludes that time extension experiences stem from how our brain processes information based on the situations it encounters. Emergency situations can profoundly disrupt our cognitive processes and provoke a sudden change in our consciousness. The more information our brain processes, the more time seems to slow down. Conversely, time also seems to lengthen when we are bored because our mind is flooded with a significant flow of different thoughts.
Most psychologists agree that our perception of time is closely linked to our self-awareness. “We generally feel like we live inside our mental space, with the outside world on the other side,” explains Taylor. “One of the main features of intense altered states of consciousness is that the feeling of separation fades. We no longer feel trapped in our minds but connected to our environment.” This disruption of separation sharpens our perception of time.
In contrast, time seems to flow more quickly in other situations because our brain focuses more on specific thought streams, letting other information pass through—an state that the researcher calls “superabsorption.” “However, absorption usually makes time pass faster when we are engrossed in a task. But when absorption becomes particularly intense, over a long period of sustained focus, the opposite occurs, and time slows down dramatically,” he concludes.