Why Time Flies as We Grow Older

On By Indrajit Roy ChoudhuryIn Muse & Musings

As children, time moved differently. I remember the long summer holidays in Delhi and Kolkata — the afternoons stretched under the whirring ceiling fan, punctuated by mango slices, comic books, and street cricket. Waiting for Durga Puja felt like an endless countdown. The days leading up to Mahalaya seemed to crawl, and the week of Puja itself felt magical and vast, every day packed with processions, pandals, and phuchkas. Then came Diwali, with its diyas, fireworks, and family gatherings — but the weeks in between felt like a small eternity.

Fast forward to today: Durga Puja arrives in a blink, Diwali follows almost immediately, and before I’ve stored away the clay diyas, winter has slipped into spring. Why does time feel so abundant in childhood and so fleeting in adulthood?

The Pulse of Childhood vs. Adulthood

Part of the answer lies in our bodies. Children breathe faster, their hearts beat quicker, and their metabolism runs high. These countless “biological ticks” make every hour feel rich and long. As adults, our systems slow down — fewer heartbeats, fewer breaths — so the same clock time feels shorter.

Novelty: The Stretching of Time

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There’s also the sheer newness of childhood. The first time we stayed up late on Puja nights, the first taste of jalebis on Diwali morning, the first long-distance train journey to grandparents’ homes — all these moments were fresh, unfamiliar, and thrilling.

Our brains take longer to process novelty, stretching time in memory. Adults, on the other hand, move through routines. Office, meetings, traffic, the same living room walls — the monotony speeds time up, blurring one day into another.

The Dopamine Link

Novelty also triggers dopamine, the brain’s reward chemical. It helps us record experiences more vividly and slows our sense of passing time. But dopamine levels fall with age. With fewer bursts of wonder, time compresses like a fast-forwarded film.

The Logarithmic Life Scale

Yet perhaps the most compelling explanation comes from mathematics. Psychologists suggest that we perceive time not linearly but logarithmically—always in relation to how much life we’ve already lived.

For a two-year-old, a year is half their lifetime. No wonder birthdays feel light years apart. At ten, a year is just 10% of life so far. At twenty, only 5%. By forty, a year is barely 2.5%. In effect, every additional year feels proportionally shorter.

To put it another way: the stretch of time between ages five and ten can feel as long as the entire span from forty to eighty.

Slowing Down the Rush

It sounds sobering, but there’s hope in this understanding. If novelty slows our perception of time, then perhaps the key lies in seeking freshness even in familiar surroundings. A new hobby, a spontaneous trip, a long conversation with an old friend, or even simply noticing the details of your city’s Puja pandals or Diwali lamps — these moments can expand time again.

We cannot stop the seasons from rushing past. But we can choose to make them richer, more memorable, more alive.

After all, time will always fly — but it’s up to us to make the journey feel like a festival. 🙂

23 thoughts on “Why Time Flies as We Grow Older”

  4. हर्ष वर्धन जोग's avatar हर्ष वर्धन जोग

    हमेशा तो ऐसा नहीं लगता, हाँ कभी कभी लगता है की टाइम निकला जा रहा है !

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  5. But somehow Indrajit ji I feel that time flew when I was young and now it seems like trapped in a time warp despite having additional duties and responsibilities! Or maybe I do too much of travelling back in time that makes present tense slower and decelerated! A wonderful post linking Mathematical concepts to the speed of time!

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  6. I always thought time is a relative thing for me. That is when I’m looking forward to a trip, time seems to have stopped as days just roll on with the speed of a snail. But, when I’m actually enjoying the sojourn, time flies, literally… 😀

    The theories you have discussed sound interesting and logical anyway… 🙂

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  7. It is interesting to see how we try to interpret the movement of time in all possible ways to understand it better! Yet the fact remains that time moves at the same pace…only perceptions differ, whatever theories we may apply. Only yesterday my daughter was discussing that time has passed so quickly and her kids are almost ready to go to school and she has to plan their activities, whereas I was wondering how come I am already a grandma…it feels weird! 🙂

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  10. I had read about this and i think the last one explains it best. At 16 , a 4 year block is one fourth of a person’s life, which is a major portion. Whereas at 40 it is 1/ 10 of a person’s life. No wonder the relative importance and perception of time span changes as we age.

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  11. Stephanie Estelea's avatar estelea

    Very interesting post indeed! Hence the importance of being mindful, as often as we can, to really appreciate the moment. Thanks for the reminder 😉

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