There are 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day. Time is quantitative, but our perception of time is anything but. While some days (or sleepless nights) seem to last a lifetime, others pass by in the blink of an eye. It feels as though one minute you’re watching Bumps by the river in June, and the next, you’re buying a Secret Santa present in preparation for Bridgemas dinner. Why is it that time in Cambridge moves in such an unpredictable way? If the Sci-Fi fans are to be listened to, maybe Cambridge is somehow in the proximity of an Interstellar-style black hole or the target of Dr-who-style time-altering aliens. If the scientists are to be believed, there are some interesting biological and physical mechanisms that underlie our distorted perception of time.

“Perhaps the present is simply the oldest we have ever been, and this time just happens to be spent in Cambridge.”

It is well established that time passes faster as we age. Perhaps the present is simply the oldest we have ever been, and this time just happens to be spent in Cambridge. Some have suggested that, while a year is 20% of a 5-year-old’s life, it is only 5% of a 20-year-old’s life meaning that, in context, a year seems a shorter amount of time to an adult. Similarly, some scientists have argued that the rate at which we process visual information slows down as we age. This is due to the neural networks increasing in size and complexity as we get older, alongside an accumulation of damage to the neurones. This might mean that a child packs more mental images into each second, leading to their perception of time being reduced.

But what other factors could explain why that three-year undergraduate degree passes so quickly? We all know that time flies when you’re having fun and socialising, so maybe your friends (and the not-to-everyone’s-taste-but-not-actually-that-bad nightlife) are to blame. Routine and regular timetabled activities have been shown to speed up our perception of time. This is thought to be because we form fewer new memories and, when looking back, can condense days, even weeks, into a single memory. Studies have also shown that feeling anxious, stressed, or having many conflicting goals, i.e. a busy to-do list, can lead to the feeling of time passing quickly. When we are conscious of how much we have to do, we procrastinate and the day quickly passes us by. Distractions, particularly social media, have been the focus of recent studies into our perception of time. Social media apps are designed so that we forget how long we have been scrolling for. The instant gratification of seeing a funny TikTok can give a small dopamine hit and constant connectivity can give the illusion of busyness, meaning half an hour of Instagram can easily feel like 5 minutes. So, in order for time to fly, you need a period of time when you’re surrounded by friends, are in a familiar routine, are busy, and constantly using technology- sounding familiar?

However, I know I’m not alone in thinking that some periods in Cambridge feel as though they are stretching out indefinitely. What factors might cause our perception of time to slow down?

It has been proven scientifically, and makes logical sense, that novelty causes our perception of time to slow down. I remember every detail of fresher’s week because every place, person and experience was new; the first May Ball I went to is etched into my brain in vivid detail. This is thought to be because new experiences require focus and create new synaptic connections (the point where two brain neurones meet and communicate). This requires neural resources and processing, meaning our perception of time slows down. Interestingly, this reasoning is simultaneously another possible explanation for time speeding up as we age; fewer new experiences mean as we get older less neural processing is required, and the time flies by.

“On the flip side, boredom and waiting for Sunday Lola’s or the end of term to roll around can also cause time to stretch out. ”

Other, less pleasant, factors can slow down the passage of time. When people have near-death experiences, they often describe time moving in ‘slow motion’. Danger or pain can slow time down, possibly because quick decisions have to be made. This requires a large amount of neural processing in a short window of time, meaning the experience seems extended. On the flip side, boredom and waiting for Sunday Lola’s or the end of term to roll around can also cause time to stretch out. A watched pot never boils as watching the clock makes us acutely aware of every second passing. Anticipation of a future event can create ’temporal dissonance’ where the mismatch between our internal sense of time (from thinking ahead) and the external clock can create the feeling that time is lagging behind.

So how can we alter our perception of time? Let’s assume we want to slow the Cambridge experience down. While getting younger is difficult, novelty is easier to achieve and putting your phone out of the way could also help slow time down. If, however, you’re wanting to speedrun week 5, then get into a routine, stop counting down the days and spend some time with your friends. And, next time your grandma exclaims that you’ve only just started at Cambridge and can’t possibly be about to graduate, save yourself some precious time and give her this article to read.