Ever felt like time stands still while you’re waiting for something, or that as you get older, the years slip through your fingertips with much more ease? With swaths of tech around us and virtually everything being available on demand, it’s a very real possibility that our body clocks and perception of time have changed.

可曾在等人的時(shí)候覺得時(shí)間仿佛停滯不前？或是感到年紀(jì)越大，光陰就越容易從指尖溜走？我們被各種酷炫科技包圍著，無論想要什么都能伸手即來，而我們的生物鐘和時(shí)間感很有可能也正因此發(fā)生了改變。

Time Doesn’t Fly

時(shí)間不會(huì)飛

As the adage goes, “Time flies when we’re having fun”. In reality, though, we know fully well that it does not. Nevertheless, psychologist James J. Kellaris conducted his own experiment to find out whether there’s any truth to the aphorism. Kellaris had people listen to a piece of music they liked, and when he later asked them how much time they thought had passed, the listeners’ estimates were usually longer.

一句諺語說得好：”歡樂光陰去如飛“。而現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中，我們都明白，事實(shí)并非如此。不過，心理學(xué)家詹姆斯·J·克拉李斯(James J. Kellaris)開展了一項(xiàng)實(shí)驗(yàn)，試圖探尋這句諺語是否某種程度上真有其事?？死钏棺屓藗兟犚磺约合矚g的音樂，然后問他們覺得過去了多長時(shí)間，結(jié)果，這些被試估計(jì)的時(shí)間往往偏長。

Kellaris suggested that when we’re enjoying ourselves, we pay more attention to the event and our minds perceive that as extra time. That’s how we get the saying ‘Lost in the music’. On the other hand, the adage might lend itself to a self-fulfilling prophecy: if we believe that time is meant to fly when we’re having fun, we’re more likely to think we’re enjoying ourselves when it passes faster.

克拉李斯提出觀點(diǎn)認(rèn)為，我們?cè)谧缘闷錁窌r(shí)，會(huì)對(duì)手頭的事情給予更多的關(guān)注，而我們的大腦將之處理為額外的時(shí)間。這也就是為什么會(huì)有”迷失在音樂里“的說法了。另一方面，上面提到的這句諺語可能本身就是一個(gè)自證預(yù)言：如果我們堅(jiān)信歡樂的時(shí)光一定過得飛快，那么當(dāng)我們感到時(shí)間過得飛快的時(shí)候，也更容易認(rèn)為自己過得開心。

We’re Tricked by Tech

高科技的時(shí)間騙局

As if we didn’t warp time enough on our own, a recent study has suggested that technology, too, is capable of altering our perception of time. In a world where we lead virtual and physical lives, it is hardly surprising that social media sites lend themselves to becoming veritable time sucks. A 2012 survey carried out by the clever folks at Cisco revealed that 60% of 18-30 year-olds check their smartphones compulsively for updates, with each glance taking with it bits and pieces of the day.

好像光靠我們自己扭曲時(shí)間還不夠一樣，最近一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，科技同樣能夠改變我們的時(shí)間感。當(dāng)下這個(gè)世界，人們除了在為現(xiàn)實(shí)生活奔波之外，還擁有著虛擬人生，因此，社交網(wǎng)站成為名符其實(shí)的時(shí)間陷阱，也就毫不意外了。思科電子公司的聰明員工們?cè)?012年進(jìn)行了一項(xiàng)調(diào)查，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，18歲到30歲的人群中，有60%會(huì)強(qiáng)迫性地打開智能手機(jī)查看社交網(wǎng)站更新，而時(shí)間就在這“看一眼，再看一眼”的過程中一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)消失了。

Stanford University psychologist Dr. Phillip Zimbardo thinks that this newfound obsession with the ‘right now’ moment has altered our idea of time. Having so much information readily available at out fingertips speeds up our internal clock. Likewise, each time we check Facebook or log in to Twitter, we subconsciously note the time, making us more aware of how much of it has passed in our day-to-day habits. Talking to the Huffington Post, Zimbardo said that “Technology makes us impatient for anything that takes more than seconds to achieve.”

斯坦福心理學(xué)家菲利普·津巴多(Phillp Zimbardo)博士認(rèn)為，這種新興的對(duì)“當(dāng)下”時(shí)間的癡迷改變了我們的時(shí)間觀念。觸手可及的大量信息撥快了我們體內(nèi)的時(shí)鐘。而且，我們每刷一次臉書或者微博，都會(huì)潛意識(shí)地注意一下時(shí)間，從而讓我們更強(qiáng)烈地意識(shí)到日常習(xí)慣行為會(huì)消磨多少光陰。在赫芬頓郵報(bào)(Huffington Post) 的采訪中，津巴多說道：“科技讓我們喪失了耐心，多等待幾秒鐘都受不了?！?/p>

Moving in Slow Motion

慢動(dòng)作運(yùn)動(dòng)

We’ve all seen thrillers where actors walk away from an explosion in slow motion for dramatic effect, but these slow-mo moments might also be experienced outside the of the silver screen. In life-threatening or dangerous situations, people often say that time seems to slow down, and there’s a fairly logical reason why.

我們都在電影里看到過這樣的刺激場景，演員們慢動(dòng)作逃離爆炸現(xiàn)場，鏡頭充滿戲劇性。不過在銀幕之外，我們同樣能體驗(yàn)到類似的“慢動(dòng)作”時(shí)間。人們總是說，在危及生命的險(xiǎn)要關(guān)頭會(huì)感到時(shí)間的腳步都慢下來了，這其中有一種很合邏輯的解釋。

In 2007, a group of psychologists carried out a test where people fell 50 meters into a safety net and then were asked about their experience. Aside from being obviously terrified, researchers found that the test subjects recalled the experience as longer that it actually was, largely due to the way our bodies respond to danger. The adrenaline we produce allows us to concentrate better when in a life-threatening situation so that we can stay alive. As a result, everything seems to pass in slow motion because we remember far more details over a short period of time.

2007年，一群心理學(xué)家進(jìn)行了一項(xiàng)實(shí)驗(yàn)，他們讓實(shí)驗(yàn)參加者從50米高空跳下來，落在一個(gè)安全網(wǎng)內(nèi)，然后讓他們描述自己的體驗(yàn)。被試們明顯都被嚇壞了，不過，研究者還發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們記憶中整個(gè)下落過程所花的時(shí)間要比實(shí)際時(shí)間長，其中很大一部分原因在于我們身體面對(duì)危險(xiǎn)時(shí)的反應(yīng)。危險(xiǎn)處境下，我們體內(nèi)分泌的腎上腺素讓自己注意力更集中，從而保證了我們的生命安全。于是，周圍的一切仿佛都在做慢動(dòng)作運(yùn)動(dòng)，因?yàn)槲覀冊(cè)诙潭痰臅r(shí)間內(nèi)記住了比平時(shí)多得多的細(xì)節(jié)。

Speeding Up With Age

年紀(jì)越大，時(shí)間越快

It’s commonly said that as we get older, time passes in the “blink of an eye”. Aside from the part that technology plays in speeding up our understanding of time, another factor affects our perception of time as we get older, and it’s something we can’t really change.

人們常說，年紀(jì)越大，時(shí)間越是“轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝”。隨著我們逐漸變老，一方面，不斷進(jìn)步的科技的確在加快我們的時(shí)間感，，除此之外，還有另外一個(gè)因素在影響著我們的時(shí)間知覺，而且不像科技，對(duì)于這個(gè)因素我們可以說是束手無策。

When young and fresh-faced, we’re constantly discovering new and exciting things that we’ve not experienced before, and we naturally pay a lot more attention to them. As we get older, though, those “new” experiences grow pale. By extension, time seems to pass more quickly. Interestingly, a study carried out in 1997 by Mangan and Bolinsky went some way to proving that older people really do perceive time differently. While people in their 20’s could guess when three minutes had passed fairly accurately, those in their 60’s overestimated the time elapsed by about 20%, giving some credence to the idea that time really does speed up with age.

當(dāng)我們還年輕，面帶朝氣，我們能夠不斷地發(fā)現(xiàn)之前從未體驗(yàn)過的刺激新鮮事兒，自然而然的，我們會(huì)對(duì)這些新鮮事物投以更多的注意力。而隨著年齡增長，那些新奇的體驗(yàn)變得黯淡無光，乃至連時(shí)間的流逝都似乎變快了。有趣的是，在1997年，梅根(Megan)和柏林斯基(Bolinsky)開展了一項(xiàng)研究，初步證明了老年人感受時(shí)間的方式的確不一樣。20多歲的年輕人能夠相當(dāng)精確地估計(jì)到何時(shí)剛好距離開始時(shí)間過去了3分鐘，而60多歲的老年人中有20%高估了過去的時(shí)間長短，這個(gè)結(jié)果為“年紀(jì)越大時(shí)間過得越快”的說法提供了一定的可信度。

Afternoon Naps

午睡時(shí)光

One of the smallest but most enjoyable pleasures in the world is the humble afternoon nap. A quick, 20-minute power nap can revitalize us just enough to carry on with the rest of the day, but any longer than that and our ability to tell the time goes out the window.

午睡雖不起眼，但是可以說是世界上最微不足道但卻幸福感慢慢的享受之一了。飛快地睡上20分鐘充電午覺，能恰到好處地讓我們恢復(fù)元?dú)狻⒕耧枬M地度過一天剩下的時(shí)光，不過若是比這再多睡一會(huì)兒，我們就能明顯感到窗外的時(shí)間流逝了。

When we’re tired, our perception of time goes completely off-kilter. That’s because when we’re sleep deprived, our brains just can’t keep up with discerning between short and long stretches of time. The length of time we nap is also key to how our mind keeps time. After 20 minutes of napping, we enter something called slow-wave sleep. If you break the wave mid-way through, it will take a while for you to accurately perceive time again, which is precisely why they call it a 20 minute power nap.

在疲勞的時(shí)候，我們的時(shí)間感會(huì)完全崩壞。因?yàn)橐坏┧弑粍儕Z，我們的大腦就不能夠清晰地分辨時(shí)間的長短。午睡時(shí)間的長度對(duì)于大腦計(jì)時(shí)來說非常關(guān)鍵。小睡20分鐘后，我們就進(jìn)入了所謂的慢波睡眠狀態(tài)。如果慢波睡眠被打斷了，要想重新準(zhǔn)確地知覺時(shí)間，就得花上一會(huì)兒工夫。這也正是為什么人們會(huì)把20分鐘午覺稱作“充電小睡“的原因。

Time Stands Still

時(shí)間靜止

Remember watching the clock in high school and waiting for the bell to ring? If it felt like time was standing still, that might be because your brain genuinely thought it was. The “optical” illusion of time standing still is something that happens when our eyes move quickly from one point to another. According to Kielan Yarrow and a whole host of other psychologists, when our gaze fixes suddenly on the second hand of a clock, our perception of time stretches slightly backwards to compensate for that movement. As a result, your mind tells you that you’ve been looking at the second hand for longer, and thus fills in the blank with what it thinks should be there.

記不記得在高中的時(shí)候，盯著時(shí)鐘等待下課鈴響？如果當(dāng)時(shí)你覺得時(shí)間仿佛靜止了，可能因?yàn)槟愕拇竽X真的就是這么想的。當(dāng)我們的眼睛快速地從一個(gè)點(diǎn)移動(dòng)到另外一個(gè)點(diǎn)時(shí)，就會(huì)發(fā)生“時(shí)間靜止”的視覺錯(cuò)覺。齊蘭·雅羅(Kielan Yarrow)以及其他很多心理學(xué)家認(rèn)為，當(dāng)我們的視線突然聚焦在時(shí)鐘的秒針上時(shí)，為了對(duì)這一動(dòng)作進(jìn)行補(bǔ)償，我們的時(shí)間知覺會(huì)輕微提前。于是，你的大腦會(huì)告訴你，其實(shí)你已經(jīng)盯著秒針看了一會(huì)兒了，從而填補(bǔ)上視線移動(dòng)導(dǎo)致的時(shí)間空白，當(dāng)然，這個(gè)空白并非真實(shí)存在，只不過你的大腦堅(jiān)信它存在而已。

Getting Emotional

情緒化

Many like to think that they’re not ruled by their emotions, but they do affect our bodies more than you think—at least in terms of how we perceive time. At the bottom of a long list of ways in which our brain is constantly finding new ways to trick us, negative emotions in particular can wreak havoc on our time-keeping abilities. While boredom can make time seem to stand still, just about any emotion will change how fast or slow the time goes—especially anxiety.

很多人寧愿相信他們并不受情緒左右，但是，情緒對(duì)身體的影響可能超出你的認(rèn)識(shí)——至少在時(shí)間知覺方面確有此事。我們的大腦在不斷開發(fā)新的花招騙得我們團(tuán)團(tuán)轉(zhuǎn)，而在這個(gè)長長的“騙術(shù)”表單的最末，就是負(fù)面情緒，它能肆意破壞我們計(jì)時(shí)的能力。無聊能讓時(shí)間靜止，不光如此，幾乎所有情緒都能讓時(shí)間的進(jìn)程變快或是變慢——焦慮情緒尤為明顯。

For a few years now, psychologists have carried out studies on the subject and have concluded that individuals experiencing negative emotions concentrate more on the passing of time than those who are in a good mood, which makes a particularly anxiety-filled moment seem longer. That might explain why after we argue, the room’s tension-ridden atmosphere makes time seem to drag on and on.

過去幾年，心理學(xué)家們就這個(gè)問題開展了多項(xiàng)研究，并總結(jié)發(fā)現(xiàn)，與心情好的人比，懷有負(fù)面情緒的人會(huì)更多地關(guān)注時(shí)間的流逝，從而讓焦慮的一刻顯得更漫長。這也許能夠解釋為什么我們?cè)诖蟪骋患苤螅块g里緊繃的氣氛能讓時(shí)間看起來無限拖沓。