Many gym goers are familiar with the feeling that a minute of running on a treadmill lasts much longer than in real life. Scientists have confirmed that during intense physical exertion, the human brain does indeed tend to overestimate the passage of time. This is reported by the Daily Mail, citing a new study.
Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology conducted an experiment with 22 volunteers. The participants were asked to perform various physical activities — standing still, walking backwards, and running on a treadmill — without looking at a watch or timer. After each activity, they were asked to estimate how much time they thought had passed.
The results showed that while running, participants overestimated the duration of time by about nine percent. This means that a minute that subjectively felt like a full minute actually lasted about 54.6 seconds.
Previously, scientists believed that time distortion during exercise was primarily associated with an increase in heart rate. However, new data suggests otherwise. Although running increased the heart rate significantly more than walking, the effect on time perception in both cases was almost the same.
The researchers concluded that cognitive effort plays a key role. During running, the brain is forced to actively control balance, coordination of movements, and body position, which requires significant resources. It is this load that affects the subjective perception of time.
In a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers note that accurate time perception is essential for many everyday activities. At the same time, people's sense of the duration of events often does not match the real time.
A similar effect is observed in everyday life - waiting for transport or cooking seems longer than it actually is, while during relaxation or enjoyable activities, time, on the contrary, flies by imperceptibly.
