Summary: New research shows that people commonly experience a slowing of time while exercising compared with resting or after exercise. The study measured subjective time perception during different cycling scenarios — solo riding, riding with a passive avatar, and competitive trials against an opponent avatar — and found a consistent slowdown in perceived time during physical activity.
These results suggest that the subjective slowing of time during exercise could influence enjoyment, pacing decisions, and motivation. Understanding this effect may help coaches, exercise designers, and recreational athletes create training and competition strategies that account for altered time perception.
Key facts
- Participants reported that time seemed to pass more slowly during exercise than during rest or after finishing exercise.
- The study tested three cycling conditions — solo trials, a passive opponent avatar, and an active competitive avatar — and found no additional change in perceived time due to competition.
- Awareness of time slowing during physical activity could be used to improve enjoyment, pacing, and performance strategies for different exercise settings.
Source: Canterbury Christ Church University
Published in the journal Brain and Behavior, this study is the first to document a consistent slowing of subjective time during exercise compared with resting and post-exercise states. The research team was led by Professor Andrew Edwards of Canterbury Christ Church University, working with Dr. Stein Menting and Associate Professor Marije Elferink-Gemser from the University of Groningen, and Professor Florentina Hettinga of Northumbria University.
The study found that perceived time slowed reliably during exercise, and that adding a competitor — passive or active — did not further alter this effect. To assess perception of time, participants completed a standardized time estimation task before, during (at set distances), and after each trial. The cycling trials were run in randomized order and used immersive Velotron 3D visual simulations to recreate solo and competitive race environments.
Professor Edwards commented that these findings carry practical implications: they could help shape healthier and more enjoyable exercise sessions and offer ways to optimize athletic performance. He emphasized the preliminary nature of the results and noted several important caveats.
First, the sample consisted of 33 recreationally active adults (16 women, 17 men); while they were in generally good physical condition, they were not professional cyclists. Because of the sample size and participant profile, further research is needed to confirm whether the effect generalizes across different fitness levels, age groups, and sporting contexts.
Second, though perceived exertion (RPE) rose over the course of trials — a typical response to sustained effort — the slowing of time appeared independent of those RPE increases. That suggests a distinct perceptual shift during exercise that could affect pacing accuracy and split-second decisions across endurance activities.
The researchers aim to extend this work to broader populations and to test whether manipulating environmental or competitive cues can reduce negative associations with slowed time or harness the effect to boost motivation and performance.
About this exercise and time perception research news
Author: Andrew Edwards
Source: Canterbury Christ Church University
Contact: Andrew Edwards – Canterbury Christ Church University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Open access. “The perception of time is slowed in response to exercise, an effect not further compounded by competitors: behavioral implications for exercise and health” by Andrew Edwards et al., published in Brain and Behavior.
Abstract
The perception of time is slowed in response to exercise, an effect not further compounded by competitors: behavioral implications for exercise and health
Introduction
Time perception is known to vary with context, and physical exertion appears to be one such context that alters subjective time. This study examined whether situational factors — specifically perceived exertion and the presence of an opponent — influence how people perceive time during endurance exercise.
Methods
Thirty-three recreationally active adults (16 female, 17 male) completed three randomized 4-km cycling trials on a Velotron ergometer. The virtual environment simulated (1) a solo time trial, (2) a time trial with a passive opponent avatar, and (3) a competitive time trial with an active opponent avatar and instructions to finish before the opponent. Participants estimated 30-second intervals at baseline (before exercise), at 500 m, 1500 m, 2500 m during the trial, and after exercise, using a standardized, reproducible protocol. Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) was recorded throughout each trial.
Results
Across exercise trials, participants consistently perceived time to run more slowly during exercise than during rest or after finishing (p < 0.001). There were no reliable differences in time perception between the solo, passive-opponent, and active-opponent conditions at the tested distances. RPE rose over the course of exercise, as expected, but did not explain the slowed time reports.
Conclusion
This study provides initial evidence that exercise induces a subjective slowing of time that does not appear to be further affected by the mere presence of competitors. The finding has practical implications for exercise adherence, enjoyment, and performance, because altered time perception could influence pacing, motivation, and decision-making during physical activity. Future studies should test larger and more diverse samples and explore whether environmental or psychological strategies can mitigate or leverage this perceptual shift.