WHAT ROLE DOES YOUR BEATING HEART play in time perception and judgment? Do you think of time perception as continuous and based on an average human heart rate? Does gender matter? Or do we each have a unique perception of time-based on our heart rates? Alternatively, does time perception expand and contract with each heartbeat? Today we explore your heart and time perception.
Two new studies provide insight into your perception of time. You perceive time subjectively, based on your emotional state and heartbeat.
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and his feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our desires and affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ― Albert Einstein.
Time expands and contracts with the heartbeat.
In a fascinating study, researchers measured electrical activity at millisecond resolution in young adults. They used an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) as volunteers listened to tones carrying in duration.
The participants reported the duration of certain tones — long versus short — compared with others.
Here are the results:
The momentary perception of time expanded or contracted with each heartbeat and was not continuous. When the heartbeat before a tone was shorter, participants perceived a longer tone; but when the heartbeat before a tone was longer, the participants perceived a shorter tone.
Heart dynamics influence our momentary experience of time.
More evidence — heart influence on time perception
A separate study adds data suggesting the heart influences our perception of time. Researchers asked subjects whether a brief tone (or image) was shorter or longer than a reference duration.
Also, the scientists also used an electrocardiogram (ECG) to track subjects’ cardiac cycles (contraction versus relaxation — systole versus diastole) during these events.
The results are as follows:
Subjects underestimated the durations during heart contraction (systole) and overestimated them during diastole (relaxation). These findings suggest that time speeds up (or slows down) depending on the heart phase.
Cardiac phase fluctuations and subjectively experienced arousal affect our perceptions of time.
Here are some study specifics:
The researchers gathered 45 subjects aged 18 to 21. All listened to 210 tones, ranging from 80 milliseconds (msec) to 188 msec. The investigators linearly spaced the toned at 18 msec increments.
The volunteers categorized each tone as “short” or “long.” There was a random assignment of all tones synchronized with the systolic or diastolic phase of the cardiac cycle. The participants’ heartbeats triggered the tones.
In addition, they engaged in a heartbeat-counting activity. The researchers asked the subjects to tune in to their body sensations at 25, 35, and 45-second intervals. They could not physically check their pulses.
When the subjects had a heart rate higher than the tone, they tended to be more accurate in their time perception. On the one hand, if the heartbeat before a tone was shorter, the subjects characterized the tone as longer; on the other hand, they the heartbeat was longer, they perceived the identical sound as shorter.
Could the heartbeats make noise perceived by the brain? Listen to the lead researcher Irena Arslanova, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in cognitive neuroscience at Royal Holloway University of London:
“We show that our heart shapes the perceived duration of events, so time passes quicker when the heart contracts but slower when the heart relaxes.”
My take — Your heart and time perception
“How did it get so late so soon?” ― Dr. Seuss
It is fascinating to see that subjective time is malleable. I intuitively know this at a macro level: Time is speeding up as I age. Summers fly by; as a child, they seemed to stretch forever. However, these studies show us that at a micro level, our time perception changes. The heart rate influences how we see time: Subjective time is malleable and distorted.
Does the heart influence how we process information and experience emotions? These two studies offer more evidence of the heart and brain connection.
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The information I provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider for medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. I am not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information in this blog.
Thank you for reading “Your Heart and Time Perception.”
