My mum says it. My sisters say it. They say once Monday comes around, the week whizzes by so fast, its Monday again. Another week. Another month. Before you know it, six months have gone past, and we are in July, 2023.

Does time fly by? Sister number 3 returned home to England on the 4th of July after arriving in Malaysia on 31st May. Her more than 4 weeks stay comprised taking care of my mum, visiting brother number 1, trying to swim and doing day-trips, helped a little with caregiver, Kalyani’s presence. Sister number 3’s visit enabled my husband and I to have a two-week holiday with my mum-in-law in England. She has been back for six days, and we have been home for much longer. For sure, both our holiday and stay/visit are behind us now.

But, did our holiday in England go quickly? Not really. The days were long. Not just because it was summertime, and the sun rose enthusiastically about 4.30am and set leisurely around 9.30pm. It was also because we packed in a lot of activities each day. Everyday involved travelling, visiting new places, discovering/learning and enjoying various experiences. The newness. The being together. The being on holiday (an instant pick-me-up).  These factors made each day fun and unforgettable. It did not go quickly.

That said, even my day-to-day life at home, does not go quicky. Each day is quite long, and fully occupied. Usually with things-to-do. Ranging from caring for my mum’s personal needs to ensuring her medicines, food and household items are bought, delivered and well-stocked. Plus attending to my have-to-dos, being with my husband, and doing stuff in our home. Most of the activities involved, not all, are a tad repetitive and not overly exciting.  Admittedly, some days I think my mum and sisters are indeed correct. Time does go by quickly.  I’m literally chasing after my own tail. And no matter how fast I work, I’m still behind time.

So how? Does time go faster? Or is it something old or older people, me included, say and feel? No and yes. No in clock time. We all get 60 minutes an hour and 1440 minutes per day. Yes, in perception and subjective time. As we get older. Why?

One explanation is that we measure periods of our life/time in ratios. For instance, from five to ten years old, our age doubles by 5 years. From ten to twenty, it doubles by 10 years. From twenty to forty, it doubles by 20 years. Each time our age doubles, twice as many years passes by. My doubled age is more than 30 years. A whole lifetime for a first time 30-year-old!

‘We think of the last phase of our life at the same length of time. However, that phase is twice the length of time as the previous phase of our lives. The ratio keeps shrinking, causing the illusion that time is speeding up[1].  I’ve got a visual of the many, many years of my life in a shrink-wrap. OMG.

Duke University Professor Adrian Bejan theorized, ‘Based on the physics of neural signal processing, over time, the rate at which we process visual information slows down, and this is what makes time ‘speed up’ as we grow older.  As we age, the size and complexity of the networks of neurons in our brains increases – electrical signals must traverse greater distances and thus signal processing takes more time. … Ageing causes our nerves to accumulate damage that provides resistance to the flow of electric signals, further slowing processing time[2].’ I think the Professor is on to something here. Seriously, my nerve cells are not receiving the electrical signals and messages like they used to. I feel a lag in my information/image processing time.

He added, ‘When we are young, each second of actual time is packed with many more mental images. Like a slow-motion camera that captures thousands of images per second, time appears to pass more slowly[3]. Just like my 7-month-old grandniece, who is constantly absorbing and recording images and information on her mental hard disk. So many things to experience and make sense of.

Neurologist and neuroscientist Santosh Kesari said, “We gauge time by memorable events and fewer new things occur as we age to remember, making it seem like childhood lasted longer[4]. True. Yes, we remember the fun and exciting times in our life. Yes, we are more likely to have lesser new experiences as we get older.

However, sometimes, because we either choose/prefer or must take on more chores and responsibilities, there is very little or no time for new experiences. Also, repetitive/routine activities minus refreshing experiences can be a little empty, causing the illusion of shrinking time.

What to do? Make more effort to do something/anything original, fun, and different. As often as possible.