Perception of Time Has Shifted During COVID-19, New Survey Reports

Just about everyone agrees that time is passing very strangely since新冠肺炎在2020年初举行了这个国家。有些日子永远占据，而月份是飞行的，部分原因是每天都在家里困扰着。英国进行的一项调查显示，超过80％的参与者认为，与预检时间相比，他们对过去几个月的时间转移了他们的时间的看法。

If days seem to blend together and time is something you often forget about, you might be wondering why it feels this way, what it means for your brain, and how you can adjust.

Do We Perceive Time Differently During the Pandemic?

如果在Covid期间的时间传递给你感到奇怪，你并不孤单。事实上，在普罗斯杂志上发表的英国出版的在线调查发现，超过604名参与者的80％以上的80％经历了冠状病毒大流行期间对时间的感知变化。

Moreover, how participants experience the distortion of time is really the key to these findings. According to the authors, higher stress levels, increasing age, reduced task load, and decreasing satisfaction with less socialization is linked to feeling a slower passage of time during the day.虽然年轻人，更为社会满意的参与者似乎更有可能经历更快的时间。

Why Time Is Passing So Strangely

为了真正了解这种现象，你需要记住事情的变化有多厉害。“小冠心病似乎去年年底出现，但在美国在2月的中途并入到3月份，并没有成为一个突出的话题，并进入三月，”博士说Sanam Hafeez, PsyD, a neuropsychologist in New York City and faculty at Columbia University.

“There was so little understanding of what was to come or the severity of the problem we had before us,” she says. Plus, initially, many people viewed CDC guidelines, shutdowns, and quarantines as a two-week precaution.

But now, months and months later, Hafeez says we've all gone through so much disappointment as economic instability,health-related anxieties并且孤立已成为我们的新现实。“这种突然的变化，结合长期的努力隔离和压平曲线，让我们通过了多个星期的同样焦虑。”

我们也有记忆感谢这个奇怪的时间。根据Pavan Madan博士，M.D., a psychiatrist atCommunity Psychiatry, the more new experiences we have, the longer time feels. For example, time seems to pass slowly when you’re on vacation exploring new-to-you cities or interesting tourist attractions.

“情境产生的情绪越多，我们记得的越多，”Madan说。由于我们许多人没有离开家，他说我们正在遇到更少的情感，这也将存储在我们记忆中的时间的地标，歪斜时间的看法。

此外，Madan表示，从工作日的过渡工作和家庭周末不再是一样的。“随着我们工作周的标志，它使得感受所经历的时间更加困难。”

这对你的大脑意味着什么

One of the main issues the brain has is the loss of routine. “Many people throughout this pandemic have experienced some level of失眠焦虑，甚至抑郁症状缺乏社会化，外面缺乏时间，以及我们目前所有目标都处于停滞状态，“Hafeez说。大脑对此做出了不同的方式。许多人可以适应，但对于别人来说，它可以是一个非常努力的时间来丧失日常生活。

When your days start looking the same, and you aren't leaving the house to go to work, school, or even grocery shopping or the gym, Hafeez says you can begin to feel trapped in your own circumstances. She suggests we try to find meaningful and fulfilling ways to work towards goals and learn new things as we get through what has become such trying times.

The concerns about time are about both sides of the coin, saysMoe Gelbart，Ph.D., psychologist and director of practice development,Community Psychiatry。

Our brain is trying to process a pandemic, which makes the concept of time confusing since most routines are not the same. Adding to this confusion is the uncertainty of the future, and not knowing when this will end.

“Anxiety comes with fear of the unknown and coping withjob and economic loss，关注我们的孩子是否会上学，并担心我们是否能保持安全健康，“格尔巴特说。

As we struggle to find a ‘new normal,’ Gelbart points out that our brains are in the process of adjusting — and needing to do so with little certainty. “Since we cannot rely on old patterns to fill our days, each day requires new thought and planning, which can make the day feel like it is creeping by.”

Tips to Help Reset Your Clock

Commit to a Routine

虽然生活似乎是从之前的地方删除了生命，但是，Hafeez说，由于技术，我们不像我们感受到的那样断开。“每天早上起床，确保光线进入房子，吃早餐，workout（并跟踪你的进度），并让一切都准备好了一天，“她说。

如果您从家中工作或进行远程学习，请确保您不留在床上。“准备好并有一个指定的工作站可以帮助信号到焦点时间的大脑。”

经常在户外去

Most cities are in some variation of an opening plan, which means it’stime to get outside。Hafeez说，如果你能够去散步并带着大脑休息，那么新鲜空气就是你可以为身体和心理健康做的最重要的事情之一。万博手机客户端

Stay Connected to Friends and Family

“Social distance does not have to mean social loneliness," says Hafeez. Making it a point toconnect with friends and family每天可以帮助您觉得支持并为您提供一种填补一段时间的方法。

Manage Your Sleep Schedule

We’re all dealing with a disruption in our sleep cycle. But Hafeez says sleeping in, as tempting as it may be, is not the answer. “A more productive choice is getting up as you would under more normal circumstances and if you have extra time, using it productively.” This way, she says, the twenty minutes you would have used on your drive to work is now going into learning about a new interest.

Include Meaningful Events in Your Day

Whether these events are new experiences or old traditions, Gelbart says having purposeful and故意生活行为有助于正常化我们的生育和时间。

Practice Mindfulness Meditation

A solution to combat this weird situation regarding time, says Madan, is to start by practicing mindfulness. “Try to introduce 15 minutes of a mindfulness activity each day—this will help you be more self-aware of your emotions and judgments, and to help you stay calm about the passing of time,” he says. He also suggests introducing new landmarks in both your weekdays and weekends, such as a Tuesday morning coffee walk or Friday evening Zoom happy hour with friends, so that they can set the tone for time passing.