Exercise makes time pass more slowly, study shows
It's true: time passes slower when you exercise. Or at least, it definitely feels like it does, says a new study published in Brain and Behaviour. Previous research has demonstrated that working out, particularly at a maximal effort, distorts your perception of time. However, it has mainly looked at exercise at particular, pre-set intensities and not during workouts where people have control over their own speed, which this study examined more closely.
The study
In research led by Canterbury Christ Church University, 33 moderately and highly active individuals - 16 females and 17 males - who weren't professional cyclists but were physically fit participated in a simulated 4-km cycling trial on a Velotron, an indoor bike with software enabling them to project the course on a large screen.
They estimated how long 30-second and 60-second intervals were under different conditions: solo, when only their generated avatar was visible; in trials with a passive generated companion avatar; and in competitive trials with an active opponent avatar. Subjects were told to complete the course as fast as possible, and, in the instance where they raced, before their opponent. They had to say 'start' to indicate a beginning point, and say 'end' when they believed the time period had ended, but weren't told what their estimated time was, so as not to affect subsequent performances.
Estimates were taken at either 500m, 1500m or 2500m and 2 minutes after finishing the trial. Rate of perceived exertion (RPE), or how hard the subjects thought they were working, was self-reported.
The results
Research found that time was perceived to be moving slower during periods of physical exercise compared to periods of no exercise, whatever the condition - competitive or non-competitive - the activity was conducted under. It appears that it wasn't the environment that changed how they perceived time, but actually exercising itself. The findings also remained the same at all points at which the time perception was measured, whether early or late in the session.
'Our perception of time is indeed impacted by exercise,' study author Andrew Mark Edwards, a professor and Head of School for Psychology & Life Sciences at Canterbury Christ Church University, told PsyPost. 'This could be useful information in terms of accurately pacing sport and exercise activities such as devising strategies to mitigate periods where time appears to drag and can be demotivating.'
Not all of us are competitive elite athletes, but we definitely know what it's like to feel like time is going sloooowly on that last set. The solution? Grab a friend or put on a playlist to speed things up.
Read now: 5 things to consider before getting a bob
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