Exercise has long been touted for both its physical and internal health benefits, but recent exploration adds an interesting twist to the understanding of its goods, indicating it can also alter the perception of time. The study, published in the journal Brain and Behavior and led by experimenters from the U.K. and The Netherlands, indicates that time seems to decelerate when people engage in physical exertion.
The study involved 33 active grown-ups who took part in controlled trials where they cycled in virtual surroundings for 4 kilometers at a time. These surroundings were designed to be both engaging and grueling, including the presence of virtual challengers to test if social dynamics could impact time perception. The actors also completed time perception tasks at three different intervals before, during, and after their exercise sessions.
The findings revealed a significant deformation in the actors' perception of time during exercise. Specifically, time appeared to stretch, making periods of physical exertion feel longer than they actually were. This phenomenon was consistent regardless of the presence of virtual challengers, indicating that the act of exercising itself, rather than whether other individuals were present, was responsible for this time-warping effect.
"Our findings have important implications for healthy exercise choices, enjoyment situations, and also for how we use this information to optimize performance," said Professor Andrew Edwards, co-lead author of the work from Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent, U.K. in a press release.
The paper suggests that if time perception can be manipulated to make exercises feel less burdensome or lengthy, more people could be encouraged to engage in regular physical exertion, perfecting overall health and fitness scenarios. For instance, shorter, high-intensity exercises that feel longer could be integrated into fitness regimes, providing the benefits of extended exercise sessions without the associated time commitment. The experimenters also suggest that understanding how time perception changes during exercise could help in developing new strategies to make physical exertion more pleasurable, potentially increasing adherence to exercise routines.
Still, the experimenters are keen to point out the limitations of the study, including that the actors in the study were all relatively fit and exercised regularly to start with, so they cannot say whether the results would be similar for people who are less fit and do not participate in regular exercise. "It's still unclear whether the results are generalizable.
The sample size of 33 people offers an interesting first look into how our perception of time can be distorted and maybe a clue as to how to apply effects to future situations while exercising," said Edwards. The research team plans to expand their studies to include a wider range of participants, exploring how different demographics and fitness levels experience time distortion during exercise.
They are also planning to investigate how various types of physical exertion, beyond cycling, impact time perception and how their findings can be applied to specific populations, such as athletes seeking to optimize their training or individuals undergoing recovery who might benefit from more engaging exercise routines.