Why Boredom Slows Time

Have you ever noticed that five minutes of boredom can feel longer than an hour of fun?

You’re sitting in a waiting room. No phone. No conversation. Just a ticking clock.

Every second feels stretched, almost heavy. But later that same day,

you’re laughing with friends or scrolling online, and suddenly hours vanish without warning.

Time didn’t change—your experience of it did. So why does your brain seem to slow

time down when you’re bored? Your brain doesn’t measure time like a stopwatch.

Instead, it judges time based on how much information it’s processing. When you’re engaged—watching

something exciting, learning, or emotionally involved—your brain is busy forming memories.