Accelerated time — have you ever felt like the days are just flying by? That the year barely started and suddenly it’s Christmas again? This feeling, which seems almost mystical, is actually a direct reflection of the deep changes we’ve lived through over the past decades — and it’s impacting our health more than we think.
It’s not just an impression. It’s not nonsense. Nor some esoteric talk. We are, in fact, being crushed by the acceleration of subjective time — the way our brain perceives the passage of days, hours, and minutes. And this is directly linked to the modern lifestyle: hyperconnected and chronically overloaded.
Time Before Technology: A Human Pace
For centuries, human life was guided by natural rhythms. The sun marked the start and end of the day. The seasons dictated planting, harvesting, and rest. There was time to contemplate, to wait, to mature. People gathered around the table without hurry, shared stories at night, and lived fully in the present.
In the Middle Ages, for example, clocks were rare and time was measured by bells, prayers, and cycles of nature. Time was qualitative, not quantitative. Experience mattered — not speed.
Industrial Revolution: The Birth of Hurry
It was in the 19th century, with the Industrial Revolution, that the logic of time began to change. Factories imposed the clock as the standard. Efficiency replaced contemplation. Profit dictated life’s pace. Minutes became units of production. And the human body was forced to keep up with the machines.
From then on, time stopped being lived… and started being measured. Timed. Sold. Controlled.
Digital Age: Attention Collapse
If the Industrial Revolution accelerated the body, the Digital Revolution accelerated the mind. In the last 30 years, the rise of the internet, smartphones, and social media created a culture of permanent urgency. Everything happens in real time. Notifications never stop. The world became an infinite feed, and we live with our finger on the scroll.
According to a Microsoft study, the average attention span dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds since the early 2000s — less than that of a goldfish. This is no coincidence. It’s a symptom of a world that won’t let us pause.
Moreover, Alvin Toffler’s “information overload” theory from 1970 became everyday reality. We consume more information than we can process. This causes mental fatigue, internal disorganization, and a constant sense of urgency.
The Impact of Accelerated Time on Mental Health
This fast-paced life has a price. And it’s high. Stress became the new normal. Anxiety is epidemic. Sleeping well is a luxury. Breathing calmly became therapy. The brain, overloaded with stimuli, can no longer distinguish what is urgent from what is essential.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), anxiety disorders affect nearly 300 million people worldwide — and a big part of this relates to the speed of modern life. When everything is urgent, nothing is meaningful.
Present Bodies, Absent Minds
How many times have you been physically somewhere, but mentally elsewhere? How many conversations have you had while staring at your phone screen? How many moments have you lost trying to record a memory instead of living it?
Hyperconnectivity has pulled us away from the now. From here. From the real. We’re in a thousand places at once, but not truly in any. This comes at a high cost: superficial relationships, cognitive exhaustion, and a feeling of emptiness even amid abundance.
A Harvard study found that we spend nearly 47% of our time with wandering minds — which directly correlates to lower happiness levels.
Accelerated Time and Relationships
Living on autopilot comes with a huge relational cost. When we’re always in a rush, we don’t truly listen. We don’t look into eyes. We miss the subtle signs of those we love.
Marriages become logistical agreements. Friendships turn into story reactions. Presence becomes the exception, and connection, a luxury. We live in the era of quick messages and automatic replies — but what’s missing is real conversation.
Accelerated time has even disconnected us from ourselves. How can we care for others if we can barely breathe deeply and listen to ourselves?
Why Does Childhood Feel Slower?
Remember how holidays felt endless as a kid? How one day could yield a thousand adventures?
There’s an explanation: novelty. When we’re small, everything is new, and the brain records with more detail. The sensation is of a broader, denser, fuller time. In adulthood, routine takes over, days repeat, and the brain switches to economy mode. The result? Less memory, more sensation of acceleration.
That’s why we urgently need to reclaim the freshness of experience. To get off autopilot. To live with more presence.
Accelerated Time and the Toxic Productivity Culture
Another factor fueling the sense of accelerated time is the culture of productivity at all costs. We measure our worth by how much we produce, not by how much we live. We work longer hours than ever and still feel guilty about resting.
This culture is making people sick across all ages. Burnout syndrome was officially recognized by WHO as an occupational phenomenon, and Gallup data shows 76% of workers have experienced burnout symptoms at some point.
How to Resist Accelerated Time
It’s not about turning back time — that’s impossible. But we can slow down internally, even if the world outside keeps running.
- Practice creative idleness: Doing nothing is also doing something. Let your mind breathe.
- Breathe deeply: Inhale, hold, exhale slowly. Breath is an anchor to the present.
- Disconnect regularly: Set screen-free times. Start with 30 minutes a day.
- Create rituals: Quiet breakfasts, phone-free walks, reading before bed. Simple, yet powerful.
- Reduce information intake: You don’t need to know everything all the time. Choose the essential.
- Practice gratitude: Recording good things makes time feel fuller.
- Seek new experiences: Novelty is an antidote to hurry. A new route, hobby, or perspective.
- Embrace productive boredom: Being bored invites creativity. Let yourself not know what to do for a while.
- Reorganize your relationship with time: Use planners, journals, or time-blocking methods to value each hour.
Time as an Ally, Not an Enemy
Time isn’t the villain. It’s the stage where life happens. The problem is how we choose to use it — or waste it.
When we stop, observe, breathe, and create presence, something changes. Time regains density. Hours feel wider. Days, more meaningful.
This isn’t utopia. It’s choice. It’s practice. It’s resistance.
Conclusion: You Still Have the Power
Maybe you can’t change the world’s pace. But you can change yours. You can choose to live more intentionally. You can create pauses in the chaos. Above all, you can remember that living is not running. It’s feeling. It’s being. It’s loving.
Accelerated time may seem like an avalanche. But you still hold the reins of your perception. And in the end, that’s what matters: living a life worth remembering