Ever heard an older person say, “Where did the year go?”
Turns out, that feeling isn’t just a saying — it’s backed by science.
Researchers have found that time genuinely feels like it moves faster as we get older, and it has nothing to do with clocks or calendars.
One major reason is novelty.
When you’re young, almost everything is new — new places, new people, new experiences. Your brain records these moments in detail, which makes time feel longer when you look back on it.
As you get older, life becomes more routine. The brain doesn’t store repetitive experiences with the same level of detail, so when you look back, large chunks of time feel compressed.
Another factor is information processing speed.
As we age, the brain processes new information slightly more slowly. This means fewer “mental snapshots” are taken per day, making time feel like it’s moving faster in real time.
There’s also the proportional theory.
To a five-year-old, one year is 20% of their entire life. To a fifty-year-old, it’s just 2%. Each year becomes a smaller fraction of your lived experience — and it feels shorter because of it.
The good news? Scientists say you can slow this feeling down.
Trying new things, breaking routines, travelling, learning new skills, or even changing small daily habits can make time feel fuller again. More memories = a longer-feeling life.
So if time feels like it’s flying…
It’s not laziness.
It’s not imagination.
It’s your brain doing exactly what it was designed to do.
And the cure might be as simple as doing something new today.
