Why Does Time Slow Down in Altered States?

• Time perception is not fixed but shaped by brain states, emotions, and external stimuli.
• In emergencies, time expansion likely results from increased memory storage, not actual slowing of time.
• Meditation and mindfulness can create profound time distortion by altering self-awareness.
• Psychedelics disrupt normal time processing, leading to experiences where seconds feel like hours.
• The fight-or-flight response triggers noradrenaline, enhancing perception and making moments feel prolonged.

We've all had moments where time seems to slow down—whether during an accident, in deep meditation, or under the influence of psychedelics. This phenomenon, known as time expansion, occurs in altered states of consciousness, when our perception of time warps dramatically. But what causes this effect? From neurological responses to evolutionary theories, let's explore why time feels different in extreme situations.

The Science Behind Time Perception

Time perception is not an absolute function but a fluid experience influenced by various cognitive, emotional, and environmental factors. Our brain, the ultimate timekeeper, processes endless streams of sensory input, filtering and interpreting data on a moment-to-moment basis. Several key factors influence how we perceive time:

Novelty and Memory Storage

New experiences create the illusion of prolonged time because unfamiliar situations require more cognitive processing. The brain captures more details, storing richer memories, which later creates an impression of extended duration. This phenomenon is why childhood summers seemed endless—our young brains constantly encountered new stimuli, making time stretch.

Attention and Absorption

Our time perception speeds up or slows down depending on how engaged we are in a task. When fully immersed in an activity, external distractions fade, and our awareness of time diminishes. This state, often referred to as "being in the zone," explains why time flies when you're enjoying yourself or deeply focused.

Fear and High Arousal States

In threatening situations, time appears to slow as the brain enters hyper-awareness mode. Research suggests that heightened adrenaline and increased neural processing lead to more detailed memory encoding, making brief moments feel longer in hindsight (Stetson et al., 2007).

Triggers of Time Expansion Experiences

Emergency Situations and the Survival Mechanism

During extreme danger—such as near-death experiences or car crashes—many people report a slow-motion effect, where everything unfolds in vivid, stretched-out sequences. This effect likely results from the brain rapidly absorbing and analyzing vast amounts of information.

Neurological studies show that the amygdala, the brain’s fear-processing center, becomes hyperactive during stress. This increased activity may enhance memory storage, creating the illusion that time has slowed (Stetson et al., 2007). However, researchers argue that time itself does not slow; rather, our perception of events is altered due to increased recall.

Intense Focus and Flow States

Athletes, musicians, and artists often describe instances where time seems to slow, allowing them to predict future events with heightened precision. In these flow states, the prefrontal cortex—responsible for time tracking and self-awareness—diminishes in activity, causing time-bound thoughts to fade.

Meditation and Mindfulness

Practitioners of deep meditation frequently describe sensations where time slows, speeds up, or ceases to exist entirely. Mindfulness-based altered states of consciousness can disrupt normal timekeeping mechanisms in the brain, leading to prolonged present-moment awareness (Wittmann, 2012).

One possible reason for this distortion lies in the loss of ego consciousness—as the mind lets go of its usual constructs, including time, perception enters a more flexible, fluid state.

Psychedelics and Time Dilation

Substances like LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, and ayahuasca profoundly alter how we perceive time. Users frequently describe extremes where

• Seconds feel like hours (intense time dilation).
• Time loops or collapses (experiencing events repeatedly).
• Eternal "now" states eliminate past/future distinctions.

Scientific research suggests that psychedelics alter serotonin receptor activity and disrupt standard brain connectivity patterns, particularly in the **default mode network (DMN)**—the system involved in maintaining the sense of time, self, and continuity (Shanon, 2002).

What Happens in the Brain?

What ties all these experiences together is an alteration in normal consciousness—a shift in how our brain integrates information. Several neural mechanisms may contribute to this effect.

Noradrenaline and the Fight-or-Flight Response

During high-stress or fearful situations, the brain releases noradrenaline, a neurochemical that enhances cognitive sharpening. This may give the illusion of slow time because the brain’s perception system is working at an accelerated rate. However, since this process does not occur in meditative or psychedelic states, it cannot fully explain all instances of time expansion.

Memory Encoding and Detail Processing

Studies show that time slowdowns might be an illusion created by memory encoding. When environments are rich in stimuli—such as during trauma, intense focus, or psychedelic trips—the brain captures more detail than usual. Later, when recalling these moments, they seem longer (Stetson et al., 2007).

The Self & Time Dissolution Theory

Neuroscientist Marc Wittmann (2012) suggests that our sense of time is closely linked to our sense of self. In altered states—whether attained through meditation, deep focus, or psychedelics—the default sense of "I" dissolves, and with it, the normal time-tracking mechanisms loosen. This explains why timelessness is often reported in mystical and transcendent experiences.

Psychedelics, Mushrooms, and the Time Paradox

Psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, is notorious for inducing extreme shifts in time perception. Some users report

• A feeling of eternal presence, where past and future vanish.
• Time stretching, with minutes feeling like endless loops.
• Temporal fragmentation, where sequences of events become disjointed.

Scientists studying psilocybin's effects found that it disrupts the normal encoding of temporal events by impacting brain regions like the cingulate cortex and DMN (Shanon, 2002). This has led to fascinating theories on how psychedelics may offer insights into deep neurological mechanisms governing time perception.

Applications and Benefits of Time Expansion

Beyond curiosity, understanding time perception changes has practical applications in health, performance, and consciousness studies.

• Emergency Response Training: If we can harness trained perception control, first responders might optimize decision-making in life-and-death moments.
• Meditation and Mental Well-Being: Mindfulness practices already incorporate altered time awareness for stress reduction and deep relaxation.
• Therapeutic Psychedelic Research: Understanding time distortions could help refine psychedelic-assisted therapy, offering new treatments for PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

The Mystery of Time Perception

Time is not a fixed entity—it bends, flexes, and warps depending on how we experience reality. Whether in heightened fear, deep meditation, or psychedelic journeys, we step beyond the linear clock into a realm where moments stretch, collapse, and expand.