It is said that happy people do not notice the passage of time; in joyful moments it feels as if someone turns on the rewind of events and speeds up the change of one moment to another. When people are bored, it seems as if time moves like a turtle. Do emotions always have such a strong influence on our perception of time? And is it possible, being happy, to “stop the moment” to enjoy it more? Or is a slow and leisurely life only available to bored and sad people? Research in cognitive psychology can help shed some light on this. Scientists agree that emotions have a powerful influence on the perception of time. But determining what the impact of a particular emotion is, how and why it happens, is already much more complicated.

Let's start with the simplest question: can emotions have a strong influence on time perception at all, and why should this be the case? A team of scientists from the universities of Shanghai and Nagoya conducted an experimental study published in the journal Frontiers in psychology and came to the conclusion that the stronger the emotions and emotional excitement - the slower time is perceived. By showing experimental participants different stimuli (pictures and video clips) with different durations and different emotional content, the researchers found that the higher the emotional awareness and attention paid to emotions, the stronger the emotions and the slower the time slowing effect. But why does this happen? How can emotions slow or stop time? There are various hypotheses on this topic. However, the main hypotheses are two. First, it is hypothesized that high levels of arousal increase attention to the passage of time, causing time to slow down. This is sometimes referred to as the “time dilation” effect. Strong arousal increases sensory input and cognitive processing, making time intervals seem longer. Emotions, on the other hand, especially strong emotions, are more likely to cause strong arousal, which can cause time perception to slow down. Second, it is theorized that when cognitive resources are highly engaged by emotional stimuli, fewer resources are available for time estimation, leading to distortions in time perception. Because of too much overload of emotional centers, the brain, like a computer, simply doesn't have enough resources and starts to “lag”.

But is there a difference in the influence of different emotions? Are the common opinions about time speeding up with happiness and slowing down with sadness or fear true? From the point of view of cognitive psychology, yes. But only partially, because it's not that simple. Studies have shown that fear and anxiety can cause time to feel like it's slowing down. For example, when people are put in threatening situations, they often report that time feels like it's crawling. This is thought to be an adaptive response, allowing more time to respond to potential danger. In a study in which participants were shown scary or threatening images, they rated the duration of these images as longer compared to neutral images. The same effect is seen in depressed or sad moods: depressed people often perceive the duration of time intervals as longer compared to non-depressed people .

On the other hand, positive emotions such as happiness can also influence the perception of time, but their influence is less robust. Some studies show that time flies faster when people are having fun, which is in line with the saying “time flies when you're having fun”. This may be due to the fact that people pay less attention to the flow of time.

The final and most important question remains: can this be managed at least to some extent? How can we influence the flow of time to make happy moments longer and ten-minute waits not infinite? Based on cognitive research and its results - yes, a person can become to some extent the master of his time. Here is a short list of time management tips from a cognitive psychologist and expert at Bakkoura Global Time Research Center:

1)   Try to keep emotional stress under control. Joyful and sad emotions can cause a storm of feelings, but remember: everything is temporary, all moments will eventually pass. In sadness, remember that this is just a phase of life, something you need to experience. In joy, try not to be in a hurry. Stop, savor the moment. Try to hold on to your inspiration longer, even if you feel like you're about to turn mountains or become a top Apple executive. If you're scared or unsure of yourself - assess the situation objectively, give yourself time to make a decision and rest. Taking care of yourself is incredibly important. Your emotions shouldn’t violently rush over the edge, but flow calmly.

2)   Develop a certain rhythm of life that is comfortable for you, which you will stick to. Time in human perception is first of all a rhythm (there is a separate article about it on the Center's website). Therefore, the most important aspect of time control is to develop a working and life rhythm. If such a rhythm can be established, many emotions, even if strong, will have much less influence on your perception of time.

3)  Try contemplative or reflective practices that are appropriate for you. Meditations (as physical and mental exercises, not esoteric techniques), evening walks, distracted contemplation, slow, careful and meditative activities as hobbies (weaving, knitting, kintsugi, etc.) can help develop your ability to control your attention. ) can help develop the ability to control attention, emotion and concentration, and create small loci of silence in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, where you can take your mind off the everyday and clear your head of intrusive thoughts and strong emotions.

4)   Everything has its time and place. Keep a balance between work and rest, it is an extremely important part of the daily rhythm. A proper work/rest balance will help you set your internal clock to regularly devote some time to work and other time to rest without difficulty. This should be present not only on a macro level (how much and what things to do today, tomorrow, next week), but also on a micro level: how much to do a particular task. Breaks are important in this respect: a person can stay maximally concentrated only from 25 minutes to an hour and a half. Therefore, every hour or hour and a half you should take small breaks from your current work, five or ten minutes at a time. This can greatly increase productivity and save you from overwork and burnout. In addition, location is also very important. Try to have separate areas for work, leisure and hobbies. As we know from cognitive behavioral therapy, many of our reactions, emotional or rational, depend on our behavior patterns. If you work in the same environment all the time, over time the psyche will adapt to it and incorporate that environment into the workflow, allowing you to filter out unnecessary or overly harsh emotional reactions just by stepping into a room (or even an area of a room, at home a desk can be set aside for work, and a sofa area, living room, etc. can be set aside for relaxation). This will allow you to separate the emotions that you want to feel during work and emotions from rest, hobbies, communication with family, etc.

5)   Doze the time you spend on social media. A lot of social media is built on giving you an easy endorphin rush, to supply you with strong impressions just like that, on a platter. And the flow of those impressions when flipping through social media is very fast. All of this together can unsettle your nervous system, making emotions more fluid and concentration more challenging. Therefore, don't spend too much time on social media. Moreover, when you don't want to look at social media, it's best not to pick up your phone. Cognitive studies show that even if we take out our phone to just look at the time, we end up at least looking at notifications, and in many cases, we also start scrolling through social media feeds. Therefore, to determine the time in everyday life is better to use a wristwatch. And mechanical or classic digital watches are better suited for this task than smartwatches, because smartwatches usually have the ability to view notifications, which, as mentioned above, can be distracting and disrupt the work rhythm.