Where Did Your Day Go?

Depends on your age

I'm looking at the years in our lives and considering what 2023 might hold. I realize that, as an age-worthy 'elder'’ my view of a new year is very different than it has been in the past. And I've learned this change in perception is part of the human condition – I'm not alone.

Here are a couple of examples of how my daily outlook and behavior changed over recent years. Time feels as if it's speeding away. A few months ago, I noticed a pattern developing - I was preoccupied with finding ways to do more than one mindless task at a time. Like brushing my teeth before bed while simultaneously lifting an eight-pound weight to exercise my biceps. I also brush my teeth while doing 30-some reps and modified squats, thus maintaining both leg muscle strength and dental health. I have other similar double-duty rituals because they help me feel as if I'm using the time I have left on Planet Earth economically.

 So I wondered about our perception of time over the years. What happens? First, I thought it was as simple as knowing that instead of being 50 years old and looking forward to 40 or so more years of life, in our 70s, we seem to be getting older faster than ever. We also lose peers to a variety of age-related events. Death visits us more often and leaves a calling card. So why not cram in as much as possible while we can?

So, while waiting for a kettle of water to boil, I visited Dr. Google and discovered that I'm not making up my new theory on time travel. It's a 'thing' verified by smart people who research the tangles, turns, and twists of the human brain.

It's accepted that as we age, our perception of time noticeably speeds up. Psychologists have been reporting this observation through vast experience with patients. And in 2019, Duke University Professor Adrian Bejan published a scholarly article on the topic. His theory responds to many experts who've commented on this later-age warp of time – verifying from their work with patients that the experience of time does change as we age, while time itself remains immutable.

He and other researchers point out that children are warm-blooded receivers of information essential to their survival. From infant to toddler and through to adulthood, stored information builds mental resources for the years ahead. Circuits throughout the brain carry and store experiences and, at the same time, create new pathways to accommodate even more information as we mature. At some point, those networks of neurons reach a complexity and length, and our ability to process or retrieve information slows down. Electrical signals no longer travel at warp speed, and some of the information we own becomes harder to access.

Without the need to process a barrage of information demanding our attention, our perception of time changes. Yes, we were busy all day doing routine tasks – but looking back on it – where did the time go?

Youngsters, on the other hand, are constantly bombarded with new things to observe, store and recall. Here's how Bejan puts it: "When we are young, each second of actual time is packed with many more mental images. Like a slow-motion camera that captures thousands of images per second, time appears to pass more slowly." With advancing age, the onslaught of new and necessary information is significantly reduced. Lacking memorable moments or events, the ’empty’ days seem to speed by like a bullet train.

Also, looking back from the vantage point of 70 years of life is not similar to a six-year-old recalling time passed. For a youngster, the concept of a month represents an almost endless span of time in their lives. As aging adults, we have decades of learned (and forgotten) experience.

So I guess when I'm double and triple tasking, I'm experiencing a false sense of urgency about the time I have left to write books, make art, create stuff that tells me I have purpose and goals. Time has not changed – but I have. Professor Bejan gives me reassurance that my time management style isn't just a desperate attempt to stop the clock.

Lacking the constant feed of stimuli that younger life provides,  he suggests we seek new information and experiences to process as we grow older. Without it, we lack content to make that time meaningful, enjoyable, memorable.

And this came as a revelation for me. It's not common knowledge that the aging brain influences our perception of time! Some of you know that I'm a late-in-life bronze sculptor. Didn't really start sculpting until I was almost 60 years old. Prior to learning about Bejan's theory on the passage of time, I felt cheated and sad about not discovering my small talent until I was a grandmother. How accomplished might I be if I'd started the practice decades earlier? But now, Huzzah Professor! I'm thrilled that I stumbled upon an activity that will fill my later years with challenge and purpose as time flies by. Knowing that time itself is unchanged and that it's within our power to influence the experience of that time is a tool to bolster healthy and optimistic aging.  

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Hoping 2023 provides stimulating thoughts and opportunities to enjoy the time in your life. Thanks for your time and attention – and for sharing your thoughts with me at - darby@darbypatterson.com.

Check out my website and see my sculpture and current monumental project.