There is a reality that when you have to wait or sit in a boring meeting room, time seems to come to a standstill. However, when enjoying the joyful moments of the weekend or holidays, time can pass in the blink of an eye.
Many people are astonished when they realize that a year has gone by in the blink of an eye, and they are startled when the holiday season ends just as quickly.
Scientific Explanation
Why do holidays and festive seasons always seem to pass so quickly? Numerous researchers have explained this phenomenon and provided us with accurate answers from a scientific perspective.
Genius Albert Einstein once said that time is relative; it does not always pass at the same speed. An hour is always 60 minutes, but our perception of it can vary greatly.
According to cognitive neuroscientist Muireann Irish from the University of Sydney, the perception of time changes when we are waiting for something.
“If we are waiting for something to happen, time can feel stretched out, and we actually feel like it lasts much longer. Time can even seem to pass more slowly if you are the type of person who is impulsive, restless, or angry when you don’t get what you want immediately,” Dr. Irish stated.
In another study by German psychologist Marc Wittmann, individuals forced to sit in a room with nothing to do for 7.5 minutes experienced different perceptions of time based on their personalities. Some felt they had only experienced 2.5 minutes, while impulsive individuals felt as if 20 minutes had passed.
Therefore, not only external factors but also psychology, mood, and personality can directly influence a person’s perception of time.
When focused on something enjoyable, we pay less attention to the passage of time. (Photo: Internet).
Time can fly by when you least notice it, such as when you are having fun. If you are focused on something enjoyable, you pay less attention to the passage of time. The same occurs when you are busy.
“If we are multitasking and extremely busy, we can see a day pass by incredibly quickly, and we don’t know where all that time went,” Dr. Irish observed.
This viewpoint is also supported by Dr. Wittmann. According to him, sometimes working instinctively or out of habit can cause time to pass so quickly that we feel stressed.
Due to our instinctual perception, we all feel that the festive season comes and goes like a breeze, and in the blink of an eye, we find ourselves back at school or work after a brief holiday. We must wait approximately 360 days for the next holiday season.
