Exercise makes minutes seem shorter by 9%, says study

Science has finally confirmed that time does slow way down when you’re inside the gym. But it’s not the monotony or the person on the next exercise machine who won’t stop talking on the phone.

Participants in a small study completed stationary bike trials. They then tried to estimate the passage of 30 seconds. Interestingly, on average, participants thought 30 seconds had passed when only 27 seconds had actually passed. This translates to feeling 8-9% faster than real time, making the clock seem to tick slower during their workout.

This effect raises a lot of interesting research questions about what’s going on. This particular study focuses on people’s insights and psychological explanations, but the human body goes through a multitude of physical changes during exercise.

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To test time perception during exercise, researchers tested 33 participants who cycled 4,000 metres on a stationary bike. Throughout the ride, they estimated the passage of 30 seconds at various points: before starting, during different milestones, and after finishing.

The study included solo rides, paced rides against a virtual opponent, and competitive races. While participants reported their exertion levels, specific speeds were only required in the competitive scenario.

The details of the results were quite surprising, “There was no difference between exercise conditions or time points (500 m, 1500 m, and 2500 m).” That means the appearance of a competitor, and any extra effort toward beating them, didn’t change the participant’s perception of time; nor did the steady increase of perceived effort during the entire trial.

The study was small with just 33 participants being included in it, but the research team says a number of their method details and findings are novel, meaning without precedent in the existing research.

This new study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Brain and Behavior, explores the psychology of exercise and its impact on time perception.

The researchers, hailing from both the Netherlands and England, found that even competitive scenarios didn't significantly alter the perception of time during exercise. This suggests athletes might need alternative strategies beyond competition to stay engaged and combat boredom during workouts.

“More work has to be done to further unravel the role of external stimuli, exercise intensity, and duration on the perception of time during exercise,” the researchers conclude.

(With inputs from agencies)