The Darin Olien Show

Why Time Feels Like It’s Speeding Up (And How to Slow It Down)


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In this solo episode, Darin dives into one of the most universal modern experiences: the feeling that time is accelerating. Drawing from neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science, and lived experience, he breaks down why time doesn’t actually speed up, but our experience of it radically changes.

From the impact of digital distraction and divided attention to the way novelty, memory, aging, and even COVID reshaped our internal sense of time, this episode offers both clarity and agency. Darin shows how reclaiming attention, breaking monotony, and creating richer experiences can give us the feeling of having our time back.

 

Breakdown


What you’ll Learn

00:00:03 – Welcome to SuperLife and the exploration of time
00:00:32 – Sponsor: TheraSage and frequency-based healing
00:02:16 – Why time feels like it’s speeding up
00:03:07 – Measured time vs experienced time
00:03:39 – Subjective time and how the brain constructs duration
00:04:38 – Boredom, flow, and why time feels slow or fast
00:05:20 – Memory density and time compression
00:05:42 – Clock models vs attention and memory models
00:06:13 – Novelty, travel, and rich experiences
00:06:34 – Routine, repetition, and unremarkable days
00:07:21 – Divided attention and disappearing moments
00:07:56 – The digital shift and fragmented attention post-2000
00:08:30 – Micro-stimulation and wasted time
00:09:12 – Why scrolling doesn’t equal flow
00:09:46 – Social acceleration and modern life
00:10:25 – COVID as a global experiment in time perception
00:10:55 – Loss of temporal landmarks during lockdown
00:11:57 – Sponsor: Caldera Lab and clean skincare
00:13:39 – Research on monotony and time compression
00:14:40 – Aging, fewer neural events, and faster time
00:15:30 – Childhood vs adulthood time perception
00:16:22 – Is time real or constructed?
00:16:57 – Physics, relativity, and subjective experience
00:17:56 – How to slow down your experience of time
00:18:12 – Novelty, adventure, and memory creation
00:19:00 – Sustained attention vs multitasking
00:19:37 – Breaking monotony in daily life
00:20:06 – Reducing digital distraction
00:20:25 – Enjoying life as a scientific practice
00:20:49 – Time as memory, not seconds
00:21:08 – Gaining agency over your experience of life
00:21:29 – Creating a richer year through experience
00:22:10 – Curiosity, adventure, and Darin’s fascination with time
00:23:27 – Closing thoughts and call to action

LINKS

Find more from Darin:

Instagram: @darinolien

Podcast: SuperLife Podcast

Website: superlife.com

Book: Fatal Conveniences

Join the SuperLife Patreon for extended episodes, private Q&As, and Darin’s personal health protocols: https://patreon.com/darinolien

 

Down to Earth: darinolien.com/down-to-earth/

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SPONSORS

Therasage: Go to www.therasage.com and use code DARIN at checkout for 15% off

Caldera Lab: Experience the clinically proven benefits of Caldera Lab’s clean skincare regimen and enjoy 20% off your order by visiting calderalab.com/darin and using code DARIN at checkout.

 

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The Darin Olien ShowBy Darin Olien