Time Slowing Down...

I fell off a 10 foot drop when I was a child, I can remember it clearly, it was like it took forever to fall, and then all of a sudden things sped back up again just before I impacted and broke 4 of my ribs on a rock I was fortunate to land upon... funtimes indeed!

But yes, it's adrenaline that causes the effect.

originally posted by: Bedlam
The more memories you are storing, the longer things seem to take. When you are startled/stressed and the adrenaline kicks in, your brain turns on the internal gopro and starts laying down a lot of data. That causes your time sense to drag out.

Most people notice this a lot driving. If you're looking for a place you've never seen, your brain will kick into expectational mode and start laying down data in memory in more detail. When you find it, and backtrack, the return trip always seems much shorter, because you've already seen this and don't store it again in any detail.

Great answer!

There are a few other factors I can think of that have been demonstrated to affect the perception of the passage of time:

1. emotional state
2. body temperature
3. psychoactive drugs
4. age

In every case it seems to be tied to the volume of data being committed to memory which is proportional to arousal.

You need to watch a BBC series called "The Brain with David Eagleman", basically it's your memory of the event that is slowing it all down.
Episode one covers it, but the other stuff is well worth the watch.
I experienced the effect, the day after watching the show
A car pulled across my lane, after slamming on, I beeped. It felt like it took me ages to hit horn,
but the dashcam proved different!

originally posted by: autopat51
i think its the brain speeding up that makes it feel like time is slowing down.

I agree. I think it's your brain taking in and processing so much more information in a shorter period of time than you are accustomed to. From everyday experience, you have an idea how long it takes for the brain to process normal amounts of information, so when your brain is processing more than usual, you falsely perceive it has taking longer than it really is.

Of course you are also perceiving all of this after the event occurred, so you are looking back (even just a few seconds back, immediately after the event) at how your brain processed the information

Thanks for replies.

I don't think it is the same as being in the zone when you are performing well as an athlete. There were times I was in the zone and while there is extreme focus, time did not seem to slow down in the same manner. At least not for me.

I recall a BMX race in Orlando, Florida. The track back then (circa 1990) was known for it's massive first jump. You literally could not see over the top of it and approach speeds probably were around 30 mph. It took some serious skill to speed jump it (you'd literally lift your front wheel and lean your body back over your rear tire to the point that your butt probably touched the tire). Long story short. It was a really hairy jump and if you were a split second too late, your front wheel might catch the top lip and it would literally buck you over the handle bars. This happened to me (not me in the video, but ironically same track and same kind of wreck).

Kind of like in this video below:



Anyway, I recall hitting the lip of the jump and I immediately knew it was going to be a messed up day. As soon as I was ejected, it seemed like time completely stopped. It felt like I was in the air for like five seconds or more just floating. I recall thinking to myself "God dammit..." Then thinking "try to roll when your shoulder hits the ground, so you don't break your collar bone.".. Then I vividly remember thinking "Dad is going to kill me if I break my collarbone" . It was literally like I had all the time in the world to assess what was happening and having these crystal clear thoughts in my mind over the course of less than one second.

I know some say adrenaline, but I guess what is weird is that things happen so fast that I'm amazed that adrenaline kicks in that quick. I mean it is like the brain knows things are going wrong BEFORE the go wrong.

a reply to: Edumakated

When a person is scared, a brain area called the amygdala becomes more active, laying down an extra set of memories that go along with those normally taken care of by other parts of the brain. "In this way, frightening events are associated with richer and denser memories," Eagleman explained. "And the more memory you have of an event, the longer you believe it took."

At least that`s the official explanation...the real explanation though is that with strong emotions you are bending the matrix

originally posted by: Op3nM1nd3d
a reply to: Edumakated

When a person is scared, a brain area called the amygdala becomes more active, laying down an extra set of memories that go along with those normally taken care of by other parts of the brain. "In this way, frightening events are associated with richer and denser memories," Eagleman explained. "And the more memory you have of an event, the longer you believe it took."

At least that`s the official explanation...the real explanation though is that with strong emotions you are bending the matrix

Yeah. I really believe the mind is more capable of doing somethings than we know. Maybe these situations cause us to access that portion that portion of the brain and cause a glitch in time / matrix or whatever involuntarily.

a reply to: Edumakated

I would suggest that your mind/soul is going into the OBE mode...the Out-Of-Body mode is a place where physical time is not a life function

the slowing time experience is caused by separating from the physical body (as in Astral Projection/OBE) and being attached to the physical body only by the 'silver Thread' a sort of silver Umbilical Cord joining physical & astral bodies...
your intellect & self-preservation instincts are then in partnership with the astral self in doing procedures to reduce the stress and damage to the physical self (instantly the body temp is reduced/metabolism reduced/ blood flows to certain areas restricted...all of which would require some minutes to make adjustment, but , are almost instantly made so that muscles can become relaxed instead of stiff-&-tense so as to reduce risks of greater trauma....

that's about the whole story...in brief

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: Op3nM1nd3d
a reply to: Edumakated

When a person is scared, a brain area called the amygdala becomes more active, laying down an extra set of memories that go along with those normally taken care of by other parts of the brain. "In this way, frightening events are associated with richer and denser memories," Eagleman explained. "And the more memory you have of an event, the longer you believe it took."

At least that`s the official explanation...the real explanation though is that with strong emotions you are bending the matrix

Yeah. I really believe the mind is more capable of doing somethings than we know. Maybe these situations cause us to access that portion that portion of the brain and cause a glitch in time / matrix or whatever involuntarily.

I avoided a rattlesnake bite when i experienced this one time. i saw th esnake then it moved to strike. i moved my leg out of its way a split second before it connected and ran away. afterwards i ha da pounding head ache and a pulse that woudn tslow down for at least 5 mins.

originally posted by: MizzMurda
Time does seem to slow down. I was in a car accident a few years ago. It it seemed as if time was in slow motion. Everything was a blurr, I remember hearing it at first as we flipped several times, Then there was no sound as If it was going in slow motion and silent. When it was all over with I was blacked out, woke up couldn't remember who or where I was for a few minutes. I do think when something like this occurs your brain reacts in a way to help you deal with what is about to happen.

you are correct. Ive been in similar situation several times