Time is what it is. The hours pass the same for everyone. However, Perception of time It depends a lot on what we do. If we find ourselves having a good time at a party, it can happen very quickly. On the other hand, if we watch a movie we don’t like or chat with someone who makes us bored, time will pass very slowly. Now, an international team of scientists has discovered another strange place where time seems to pass more slowly: Gym.
In fact, it’s not about the place, it’s about the place activity. It seems that when we exercise, even if it’s something we love, time seems to pass more slowly. They have come to this conclusion After doing several time perception tests 33 cyclists While exercising on the bike.
It is clear that the study has Several limitations. First of all, 33 few people consider the results conclusive. On the other hand, it would also be interesting to investigate time perception in people who are not familiar with exercise. However, these preliminary results are very interesting, because they could provide another reason why many people give up exercise and provide clues about designing exercise plans that are easier to maintain.
Perception of time in the brain
For a long time He studied Which Brain regions It is related to the perception of time. The most prominent ones, when there is task independence, are the inferior frontal gyrus, the left supramarginal gyrus, and the left putamen. There are also temporal structures that are related to the requirements of the task being performed. It consists mainly of the right inferior parietal lobe, the bilateral spinospinalis and some areas of the prefrontal cortex.
It is clear, then, that there are areas in our brain that change our perception of time for one reason or another. But what are those reasons? In general, they are very Personal. A lecture on a topic may be very exciting for one person, and time will fly by, while another person who hates the topic will be extremely bored and feel like the clock is not moving.
Now, are there tasks that change everyone’s perception of time? According to this recent study, there is a practice and it may be one of them.
The hours go by slower in the gym
To carry out this study, its authors involved 33 cyclists who had to perform several tests on a stationary bike. First, they were shown a screen 4 km virtual race They were asked to complete it as quickly as possible. Then, in the second test, they took the same route, but in three different conditions: either alone, with a virtual partner who was not competing against them, or with a virtual partner who was racing against them.
In all cases, they were asked to say when they thought they had died 30 seconds. They had to do it Before, during and after the test.
Interestingly, almost everyone had a slower perception of time during training, regardless of whether they were competing or not. They appreciated the 30 seconds before and after exercise much better. We might think they were too busy pedaling to count the time, but the mistake always made it seem like it was going by more slowly.
What is the benefit of knowing all this?
It is well known how much it sometimes costs us to follow an exercise routine. Knowing that one of the reasons may be a change in time perception is good news for taking measures.
In fact, in 2020, one of the scientists who studied this topic at the brain level, Dr. Masamichi Hayashiexplained L Excessive text Knowing these mechanisms could help in the future to develop some methods for controlling our subjective experience of time. For example, after seeing the results of this study, there are some tricks to make the time we spend on the stationary bike or lifting weights go by more quickly.
That day may come, but still More research is needed. Meanwhile, we have no choice but to quit and think that we are not lazy and that it is not true that exercise is not for us. It’s just a matter of relativity of time. Blame it, if anything, on Einstein.
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