A quick reality check: there’s a simple proportional effect we can’t change — a year is a much larger slice of a 10-year-old’s life than it is of someone in their 50s — but the research also points to several psychological and physiological causes that influence perceived time. Here’s a summary of what we found, and some small, practical steps that might help!
Why time feels faster (and what to try)
1) Memory encoding & novelty
What happens: The brain gauges time partly by how many distinct memories it forms. Childhood is full of “firsts", which create many vivid memory chunks and stretch perceived time. Routine adult life produces fewer such chunks, so time feels compressed.
What to try: Introduce novelty — try new hobbies, visit new places, vary routines,
or meet different people. Small changes (a new walking route, a weekend class) help create those extra memory markers.
2) Neural processing changes (dedifferentiation)
What happens: Aging brains can process sensory information less intensely and with less specialised neural patterns. Experiences become more automatic, and we subconsciously absorb less detail — which speeds subjective time.
What to try: Slow down and practise mindful attention: notice sights, sounds, textures and smells. Mindful walks, focused listening, or short sensory checks during the day help the brain register more detail.
3) Neurotransmitter shifts (dopamine)
What happens: Dopamine plays a role in timing and attention; lower dopamine levels with age can alter duration perception.
What to try: Lifestyle steps that support mood and alertness tend to help: morning sunlight, regular movement (walking, yoga), uplifting music, brief cold exposure for alertness, meditation, and breaking tasks into small, achievable steps. Dietary sources of precursors such as tyrosine (e.g., almonds, bananas, eggs) can also support production. Our reading drew on reputable health sources and practitioners for these suggestions - NIH, MayoClinic, Harvard Health, and the renowned Dr Libby Weaver in NZ).
What this means for Winsborough’s work
The value of new experiences in slowing down time makes me even more excited about the opportunities our platform refresh is delivering; there’s a double win there! In particular, we’ve done some game-changing work in developing Custom Leadership Development reports with our clients. We’ve co-designed customised 360-surveys and reports, succession assessments and reporting, and personality powered Leadership Development Reports. Once the co-design process is complete, all of these can be managed in-house by our clients through our Self-Service offering.
Our blog this month dives deeper into leadership development and how to choose psychometric tools that do the best possible job for your people and context.
Coming up
Next month, we’re in the unique position of being able to bring further life to a very popular case study, presented by Helen and Sonya at the 2025 L&D Leadership Conference. At that stage we were privileged to present NZDF’s Leadership Framework journey and Leadership Personality Report on their behalf. In our March webinar - we will be hearing and learning directly from Lt Col Samuel Williams, Director of Joint Professional Military Learning Research and Development, New Zealand Defence College. If you haven’t already – sign up to attend!
Mā te wā
Gus
