If you’ve ever felt that your gym sessions last twice as long as they should, science says you might not be imagining it. A recent study published in Brain and Behavior confirms that time really does slow down when you’re in the middle of a workout. But it’s not the endless treadmill hum or the chatter from the person on the next elliptical it’s all in how our brains perceive time under physical strain.
In this small yet insightful experiment, participants were asked to complete stationary bike trials and then estimate 30-second intervals as accurately as possible. The results? On average, people were 8–9% faster than real time suggesting that during exercise, the clock in our minds ticks ahead while the one on the wall seems to drag behind. In other words, as the article quips, “time slows way down when you’re inside the gym.”
To dig deeper, researchers from the Netherlands and England had 33 participants complete a 4000-meter cycling task under three conditions: solo, with a “ghost” opponent (similar to racing your best lap in Mario Kart), and in a live competitive trial. At different checkpoints — 500m, 1500m, 2500m, and post-exercise participants estimated 30-second intervals and rated how hard they felt they were working.
Surprisingly, “there was no difference between exercise conditions or time points (500 m, 1500 m, and 2500 m),” meaning the presence of competition or increasing fatigue didn’t alter participants’ sense of time. Whether racing alone or against another cyclist, their perception of time distortion remained consistent.
Though small, the study’s novelty lies in its fresh look at how psychological and physiological factors intersect. As the researchers note, “more work has to be done to further unravel the role of external stimuli, exercise intensity, and duration on the perception of time during exercise.” They emphasize that pacing, timing, and attention all intertwine in complex ways critical not only for everyday fitness enthusiasts but also for elite athletes striving for precision.
Even legends like Michael Phelps rely on perfect timing a single mistimed flip turn could cost a world record. The study suggests that new training tools, like timed lighting systems, could help athletes fine-tune their sense of time and energy output. After all, mastering internal timing might be just as important as building strength or endurance.