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The saying \u201ctime flies\u201d describes how many people feel as weeks, months, and years go by. This feeling has led researchers to ask why time seems to move faster as we get older.<\/strong><\/p>\n A 2019 study published by Cambridge University Press found that this feeling comes from a real difference between how our minds track time and how clocks measure it.<\/span><\/p>\n The researchers explained that clock time is not the same as how we experience time in our minds. Clock time is the actual 24-hour day, but mind time depends on the memories and experiences we collect over our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n ReachLink, a mental healthcare company, found five main reasons why our sense of time changes. The first is the proportional theory, which says each year feels shorter because it is a smaller part of our whole life. For example, at age 10, one year is 10 percent of your life, but at age 50, it is only two percent. The second reason is called novelty deficit.<\/span><\/p>\n Our memories do not record time evenly. Instead, we remember unique events. If our days are always the same, our brains make fewer new memories, so looking back, those times feel shorter.<\/span><\/p>\n The other reasons involve attention, emotion, and brain chemistry. When we do the same tasks over and over, our brains go on autopilot and we pay less attention to time passing.<\/span><\/p>\n Feeling less emotion can also make time feel shorter. Strong feelings like fear, excitement, or anxiety create lasting memories, but long periods of stress or boredom make memories blend together.<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, dopamine, a brain chemical that affects motivation and how we sense time, changes as we age. ReachLink says this may also make time feel like it is moving faster.<\/span><\/p>\n To slow down this feeling, people can break their routines on purpose. Adrian Bejan, a mechanical engineering professor and author of the Cambridge study, told The Independent that adding variety to life can help.<\/span><\/p>\n