While time cannot really speed up, it is possible to make your perception of time pick up speed. In different situations, the brain perceives time differently. Often the stimuli that modify our perception are external, like the environment around us, other times they are our reactions and the way in which we process the new information. When we get involved and anticipate the next activity, time seems to speed up. When we are really aware of how we spend our time, for example during a long flight or waiting for the doctor, time seems to slow down. The strategies that allow us to accelerate our perception of time are numerous, and include altering the environment, relaxing and keeping the brain busy.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Altering the Environment
Step 1. Heat the room
By changing your body temperature you can be able to alter your perception of time. By raising it you can make time seem to run faster, while by lowering it you can be able to slow it down. Raise the temperature so that you feel warm, you may find that time seems to go by more quickly.
Step 2. Make your room smell like talcum powder
Some fragrances can help you perceive time differently. Scents such as talcum powder change your perception so that time seems to pass faster. The scent of coffee, on the other hand, often gives us the impression that time passes more slowly.
Spread some talcum powder on your skin or clothes and take a deep breath
Step 3. Cover all the clocks in your home
Observing the passage of time will only make you more aware of the slowness with which it passes. By covering all the watches present, you will not be able to keep it under constant control.
Step 4. Experience sensory deprivation
By depriving someone of some of their senses, for example by isolating them in a room and eliminating lights and sounds, they may be able to compress their perception of the passage of time. Time will seem to pass more quickly, despite the unsightly conditions.
In many cities there are centers equipped with sensory deprivation tanks, also called isolation or flotation tanks. Search online and find the center closest to you
Method 2 of 5: Relax your body and mind
Step 1. Go to sleep
Sleep is one of the best methods when you want time to fly by. Lie on the bed and breathe deeply. Relax your body and mind, releasing tension in the muscles. Let your mind wander, in all likelihood you will fall asleep quickly.
Step 2. Take a bath or shower
Fill the tub with hot water and immerse yourself. Taking a bath helps your body relax and distracts you from the clock. Spend the time washing your body and hair.
Step 3. Try hypnosis
Being hypnotized puts you in a state of extreme calm and relaxation; hypnosis has multiple and powerful health benefits. It can also alter your perception of time, making it appear to flow faster., To hypnotize yourself:
- Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
- Relax your body by releasing tension in the muscles.
- Visualize yourself walking down the steps of a long staircase. When you get to the bottom, start giving yourself instructions. Formulate them using the present tense and in the positive. You could say "I am calm and relaxed" or "I am healthy and full of energy".
- Visualize yourself climbing the stairs. When you reach the top, order yourself to wake up.
Step 4. Take a sedative
Calmers, which temporarily reduce mental functions and physical abilities, also appear to accelerate the perception of time. Drinking alcohol or using marijuana can create a perception that time seems to move faster than it actually does.
Calmers, sedatives, tranquilizers, etc. they must always be hired in a legal and controlled manner. If you are a minor or live in a place that forbids some, use a different technique to speed up time
Method 3 of 5: Entertain Yourself
Step 1. Listen to some music
Prepare a new playlist and listen to it. You can choose to sit and listen to it, or play it in the background so that it accompanies you as you do your homework. Music is considered enjoyable and seems to be able to speed up time.
Step 2. Watch TV
Turning on the TV can help you stop thinking hard about time. Get absorbed in the texture of what you are watching.
Doing a full season television marathon of your favorite series is a great way to pass the time. You can watch it episode after episode, the more the program will be to your liking, the more you will be involved and you will feel that time is flying
Step 3. Play a video game
Video games offer engaging storylines capable of absorbing you into their own world. If you are playing an MMO (massively multiplayer online game), you will interact with other players online, distracting your attention from the hands of the clock.
Step 4. Read a book
Find a good engaging book or dive back into your favorite novel. It would be helpful if the book was not difficult to read; having to thoroughly analyze everything you read or constantly resort to vocabulary, you may in fact lose the pleasure of getting involved in the story.
Step 5. Watch a movie
Choose a comedy or action movie. A fast-paced storyline, good acting, and an easy-to-follow story will help make you feel like time goes by faster. If the film has a sequel, continue watching to extend the passage of time.
A slow, dramatic movie might give you the feeling that time is dragging on, especially when you are already aware of its slow passing
Step 6. Work on a big project
Immerse yourself in a multi-faceted project. It will engage your attention with various instructions and points. For example, try working on a model, painting or building shelves for your home.
Method 4 of 5: Perform mental exercises
Step 1. Break the time into shorter intervals
When you have to kill an hour of time, it may seem that its passage is infinite. But if you break it down into shorter intervals, for example into four 15-minute segments, it will stop seeming so long. Try dividing the time into even smaller segments of 5 or 10 minutes. Mentally tick each one as soon as it's gone.
Step 2. Mentally catalog the things in your home
Make a mental inventory of everything in your kitchen, or try to recall the title of every movie you own. Giving yourself a mental assignment directs your thoughts elsewhere, forcing you to focus on something other than time.
Step 3. Mentally, rearrange the room decor
In your mind, find different ways to organize furniture, wall pictures and other decorations in a room in your home. Think about how you can make your dining room more welcoming, for example by imagining the walls painted in different colors.
Step 4. Do some mental calculations
Ask yourself some mathematical problems, for example the calculation of your days of life. By forcing your brain to focus on a complex mental task you may be able to become less aware of the amount of time spent.
Step 5. Create mental lists
Use your mind to name things, such as things you feel grateful for, the streets you lived on, or the classmates you went through high school with.
You can also create mental to-do lists, specifying the tasks you need to complete
Step 6. Plan a vacation
Think of a place you'd like to visit while traveling and plan a vacation. Reflect on how to reach it, on what to do once you arrive, on the type of sovenir you would like to buy, on the type of dishes you would like to taste and think about who could travel with you.
Step 7. Fantasize about someone you are attracted to
Think of your partner, a celebrity or another person you find attractive and imagine that you are in their company. What would you tell yourself? What would be the topic of your conversation and where would you organize your first date?
Step 8. Imagine different scenarios related to the people you observe
Look at the people around you and imagine that their lives are incredibly fun and bizarre. Give them different careers or secret identities. Imagine where they can go after school or work, their friends and family and their passions.
Method 5 of 5: Try Other Methods
Step 1. Perform a common or routine task
When you are involved in new activities you are committed to learning and forming new memories. By doing something familiar, such as gestures in your daily routine that allow you to get ready for work, you will change your perception of time so that it appears to pass more quickly. This happens because your mind is not working hard to process and remember new details, just supervising the familiar ones.
On the other hand, when you do something new like take a different bus to work, the opposite happens, and time seems to pass more slowly because you are learning and processing new information
Step 2. Stay away from what scares you
Fear is an emotion that tends to lengthen your perception of time. This happens because when you are afraid, your brain pays attention to every detail in an attempt to keep you away from fearful situations (similar to the attack or flight response). By staying away from fear-inducing things, you can prevent time slowing down.
Even scary movies have been shown to slow down the viewer's perception of time
Step 3. Increase your dopamine levels
Dopamine is a substance found in the brain that triggers feelings of happiness, motivation and pleasure. Having low dopamine levels can help induce depression, malaise and an inability to concentrate. Reduced dopamine levels also slow down our perception of time, tricking our biological clock. In order to speed up time, increase your dopamine levels through:
- Eating tyrosine-rich foods, including bananas, almonds, avocados, and squash.
- The reduction of the quantity of sugars consumed.
- The reduction in the amount of caffeine consumed.
- Taking magnesium supplements. Low levels of magnesium can reduce dopamine levels.
