The human body still holds many mysteries. Proof of this is a recent study by Royal Halloway, which shows how heartbeats can distort the perception of time. The researchers’ analysis was published in the scientific journal Current Biology.
See also: The power of coffee on heart health: It even reduces the risk of stroke
This means that the understanding that time passes too quickly or too slowly may be related to the activity of the human heart. At least, this is indicated by one of the authors of the study, Professor of the Department of Psychology Irina Arslanova, Manos Tsakiris.
Perception of time may depend on a person’s heartbeat
According to the study, it is common to feel that time flies when we are busy with something. However, people feel that the clock has stopped and that time does not pass amid boredom. In this way, perception can be distorted and not always correspond to the actual moment.
There have been many studies conducted in recent years and decades that try to understand how the brain perceives the passage of time. However, the research did not pay attention to the possible connection between the heart and the subject.
However, the heart communicates with the brain all the time and provides information about the general condition of the organism. With this in mind, the researchers attempted to analyze the topic proposed in the article.
What did the study understand?
Two experiments were conducted by the researchers. One shows rapid events during the heartbeat in the systolic phase and the other does the same in the diastolic phase. The first represents the contraction of the heart and the second is the relaxation of the organ.
Volunteers were assigned to judge whether an event was long or short during the analysis period. Interestingly, in the relaxation phase, events appeared to be longer, while in the contraction phase, perception was rapid.
Our findings illustrate the point novelist Murakami was making in his novel “Kafka by the Sea” when he wrote: “Time expands, then contracts, all in tune with the rippling of the heart.” One of the authors said in the aforementioned article:
New studies should be conducted based on the research results, which are still preliminary in nature.
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