Why is quarantine faster?

If you observe self-isolation for severalmonths, you probably noticed that in isolation the days fly by faster than usual. While many countries are gradually loosening quarantine measures, some are looking back and realize that isolation time has passed surprisingly quickly. Agree, when it became clear that our life will become much more limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it seemed that the weeks would go on forever, and the Internet was full of advice on how not to go crazy, respecting self-isolation. It suddenly turned out that the yard was already the end of May, but we did not have time to come to our senses. But why?

Many factors influence how we perceive the passage of time.

How do we perceive time?

According to BBC Future journalist, one of the reasonsThe feeling of accelerating time is that in our consciousness we create a subjective perception of time, but it does not always coincide with what we see on the clock or calendar. So, a 20-minute lunch with a friend flies in the blink of an eye, while a 20-minute wait for a delayed train may seem endless, although the same amount of time has passed. But why do all people perceive the course of time differently?

According to the definition presented in the International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, perception of time Is a separate area of ​​research for evaluationthe time interval perceived by a person with his own methods. There is an extensive database on the development of models of perception of time. Most models are somehow related to the work of the body’s internal clock - circadian rhythms.

Circadian rhythms are biological rhythmsan organism with a period of about 24 hours, which every living creature on Earth follows daily. Circadian rhythms or biorhythms are directly related to millions of years of evolution on our planet. It is on the work of circadian rhythms that our perception of time depends.

If it seems to you that the days in isolation have flown by, you are not alone

Learn more about why our health depends onbiological rhythms, read in our material. But what else affects our perception of time - after all, there are different conditions and circumstances, for example, self-isolation, due to which the perception of time changes?

How did I isolate myself?

To begin with, the people who spentself-isolation away from relatives, colleagues and friends turned out to be a lot of free time. It is not surprising that people easily found a lesson for themselves - they baked bread, planted seeds, played video quizzes, but whatever we do, every night spent in the same atmosphere starts to seem a bit like everyone else. Some have completely ceased to distinguish between weekdays and weekends. This blurring of similar days is crucial to our perception of time.

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One way to judge how much timepassed from the moment of this or that event - these are memories. When you go to a new place for a week or two, time goes very quickly, because everything is new, but you should return home, as you realize that there are so many new memories that it seems like you have been gone for a month, not a week. In one of the previous articles, I talked about the connection between a sense of happiness and a new experience, I recommend reading it!

But in isolation, the opposite can happen. Even if the days seem slow, then when one week ends, looking back it seems that very little time has passed. This is because there are fewer new memories than usual. Self-isolation is a less extreme version of the experience that some people encounter in prison or during illness. Time drags on painfully slowly, and they long for it to end, but when this happens and they look back, it seems to them that it flew by in an instant.

Alas, even video chats do not make quarantined days faster

Of course, some people only have jobsincreased, but their new life almost completely takes place in one place, which leads to a much smaller number of new memories than usual and the feeling that time passed quickly.

When we look back at the time of the pandemicCOVID-19, I suspect that it will be difficult for us to differentiate between different months and isolation stages. But researchers are wondering if our perception of time can change in a confined space due to the need to live more today. Uncertainty about the future course of events due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus has led to the fact that we indulge in memories or imagine the distant future when it all finally ends.

When we rarely leave home, all days merge into one. About phalf of us see the future as something that approaches us, while we remain motionless, and the other half see ourselves moving forward into the future.

Find out who is possible with a simple question: “The meeting scheduled for next Wednesday has been postponed two days in advance. What day will it take place? ” There are two possible answers to this question and none of them is more correct than the other. Those who see themselves as standing still, when the future is moving towards them, are inclined to answer “on Monday”, those who see themselves as moving in the future respond “on Friday”. How did you answer this question? We will wait for the answer here!