With the current research pointing to time dilation as an after the fact effect, a new question needs to be asked.
Why do our brains manufacture the belief that time slows when we are scared? What function does this serve as a defense mechanism? Most importantly, is it truly helpful to look back on our worst moments and think of them as our longest?
The Brain Slows Down Time
Have you ever seen how time slows down in movies when the actor is extremely scared, or needs more time to think over the situation? Well that is exactly what this topic is about.
Question: Do you believe that the brain can actually slow down time? Or does it just seem like that to give the person experiencing it more time to figure out how to deal with a stressful or fearful situation?
A researcher named David Eagleman studied this phenomenon where he had a set of people record the time they felt it took for them to reach the ground from an extremely scary drop on a thrill ride. Later, they were asked to watch as other fellow participants were dropped. After the calculations were done, they found that those that were being dropped felt that they were in the air for a 36% longer fall than those they observed. This may also be the case when you are on a roller coaster, compared to when you watch others on it.
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