CANNABIS AND TIME PERCEPTION - A brain network called the thalamo-cortico-striatal circuit is integral to our perception of time. When THC from cannabis floods the brain, it could disrupt the normal functioning of these receptors, resulting in distorted time perception. Frequent consumers experienced no significant repercussions on their time perception regardless of the amount of THC in their systems. They were immune to cannabis’s time-twisting effects. Thus, those who use cannabis consistently may eventually develop a biological tolerance to the drug’s effects on time perception. Regular users might have learned that cannabis tends to have this effect on their sense of time and consequently “re-calibrated” their internal clocks accordingly. While the distorting effects of cannabis may seem trivial and might just be used as a creative strategy to squeeze some extra time out of your day, there could be significant hazards associated with a slightly altered time perception. A disrupted internal clock while driving or operating heavy machinery might result in impaired decision-making that could have life or death consequences.

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 Cannabis And Time Perception

Why Does Cannabis Slow Down Our Time Perception?

Adam Hoffman

Cannabis consumers may experience distortions in their perception of time, often reporting how minutes can feel like they stretch to hours on end — an unsettling experience, to say the least.

But to what degree is this a scientifically proven phenomenon?

Researchers have been curious about this question as well, and have conducted several investigations over the years probing cannabis’ strange time-altering properties.

Many of these experiments have corroborated individual reports that time slows down while high, though this has largely been on the scale of seconds or minutes, not hours.

Research on Marijuana and Time Perception

“One of the most commonly reported effects of cannabis by users is to distort the perception of time,” says Zerrin Atakan, a London-based psychiatrist who surveyed all known studies of cannabis and time distortion in 2012.

“Our review of papers on the topic showed that 70% of studies found that users experienced over-estimation of time. In other words, users felt using cannabis made them feel as if the time was longer than the actual time.”

Yet, many of these studies have been rife with limitations — small sample sizes, failure to consider the effects of previous cannabis exposure, and use of delivery methods such as inhalation and oral administration that produce wide variation in THC’s effects over time, to name a few.

Later that year, a team at Yale School of Medicine sought to address these shortcomings and clear the smoke surrounding the connection between cannabis and time tripping.

“I was fascinated by the observation that some drugs can distort the experience of passing time, and that the phenomenon was not well understood,” says Deepak D’Souza, a professor of psychiatry at Yale and leader of the investigation.

“I was particularly intrigued by the observation that in some individuals who found the effects of cannabis unpleasant and also experienced time dilation, the overall experience was even more unpleasant.”

In their study, 44 individuals who had varied experience with marijuana were brought into the lab and asked to complete two time perception tests before, during, and after either a THC dosage ranging from 0.015 mg/kg to 0.05 mg/kg (delivered through an IV) or a 0 mg/kg placebo.

In the first test, called the time estimation task, participants were repeatedly asked to approximate how much time had passed (ranging from 5 to 30 seconds) while they completed a distraction task that prevented them from actively counting to themselves (e.g. count the number of “B’s” that appear amongst a random assortment of letters on a computer screen).

In the second test, called the time production task, participants were given the same distracting assignment, but had to hold a computer key down to produce a given amount of time.

The results showed that participants who were high overestimated time by as much as 25 percent and underproduced time by up to 15 percent when compared with their sober baseline levels.

Meanwhile, those who received a placebo showed no significant difference in time estimation or production as compared with their own baseline levels.

“Marijuana dilates time — that is, five minutes is experienced as ten minutes,” says D’Souza.

“So, the subjective experience is that time is passing slowly — but that feeling can only occur if the internal clock is speeded up.”

In summary, those with THC in their system experienced a speeding up of their internal, subjective time — making them feel as if external, objective time passed more slowly.

After they sobered up, however, these effects disappeared.

These clock-accelerating effects of THC have also been mirrored in animal experiments.

In a 2001 study, for example, rats who were given chemicals that activated their cannabinoid receptors showed time underproduction similar to behavior seen in humans, while rodents that received a chemical blocking these receptors showed time overproduction.

Similar results have been observed in monkeys, as well.

What Factors Influence Time Dilation?

How exactly does cannabis press the accelerator on our internal clocks?

“This is quite a mystery,” and any hypotheses about a precise mechanism are speculative, says D’Souza.

However, previous studies have shown that a brain network called the thalamo-cortico-striatal circuit is integral to our perception of time.

This collection of brain areas is also known to contain a large number of cannabinoid receptors.

So, when THC from cannabis floods the brain, it could disrupt the normal functioning of these receptors, resulting in distorted time perception.

Do these effects vary based on how frequently you consume cannabis?

Further analyses from D’Souza and his team revealed that these time-distorting effects were particularly strong amongst those who rarely consumed, with medium and high doses leading to temporal overestimation and all doses resulting in temporal underproduction.

Meanwhile, frequent consumers (2 to 3 times a week or more) experienced no significant repercussions on their time perception regardless of the amount of THC in their systems.

They were immune to cannabis’s time-twisting effects.

The researchers have offered several potential explanations for these results.

Although frequent users don’t develop a tolerance to the euphoric effects of THC, previous studies have shown that regular use can blunt THC’s perception-altering effects as well the sensitivity of our body’s receptors to the chemical.

Thus, those who use cannabis consistently may eventually develop a biological tolerance to the drug’s effects on time perception.

Another possibility is that regular users might have learned that cannabis tends to have this effect on their sense of time and consequently “re-calibrated” their internal clocks accordingly.

Yet, an individual would likely have to spend more time under the influence than not in order to produce these effects.

They would also demonstrate abnormal timekeeping when sober, which the subjects in the 2012 study did not show.

What Implications Do These Effects Have?

But if cannabis only warps time by a few seconds, what’s the big deal?

“Given that timing is everything, there is no action or behavior which does not require precision of timing,” says Atakan.

“So, if timing is disrupted via cannabis use, this may have important implications on normal functioning.”

“Many basic human behaviors rely on temporal judgments in the seconds to minutes range,” adds D’Souza.

“For example, deciding when to cross the street based on perceptions of approaching traffic, following a beat in a musical composition, or returning to the stove just prior to the tea kettle whistling.”

While the distorting effects of cannabis may seem trivial and might just be used as a creative (and potentially unpleasant) strategy to squeeze some extra time out of your day, there could be significant hazards associated with a slightly altered time perception.

A disrupted internal clock while driving or operating heavy machinery, for instance, might result in impaired decision-making that could have life or death consequences.

Although research has shed some light on the time-warping effects of cannabis, we are still far from fully understanding its impact on time perception.

“There are not yet enough studies to provide more detailed information on the topic,” says Atakan.

“More research with robust methods is required to reach conclusions about the precise effect of cannabis and its active compounds on time perception.”

In future studies, researchers hope to use advanced imaging technology to learn more about how brain circuits involved in timekeeping are impacted by cannabis and whether these distortion effects might be seen at the scale of milliseconds or minutes.

But that future could be a long way off…or it at least can seem to be if you’re high.

Adam Hoffman is a freelance science writer living in Brooklyn. He grew up in the Bay Area, where he developed a profound love of fog and tacos. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Health Magazine, and STAT News.

https://www.leafly.com/news/science-tech/marijuana-time-perception

TIME - Clocks are based on seconds, minutes, and hours. While the basis for these units has changed throughout history, they trace their roots back to ancient Sumeria. The modern international unit of time, the second, is defined by the electronic transition of the cesium atom. Physicists define time as the progression of events from the past to the present into the future. Basically, if a system is unchanging, it is timeless. Time can be considered to be the fourth dimension of reality, used to describe events in three-dimensional space. It is not something we can see, touch, or taste, but we can measure its passage. However, time in the natural world has one direction, called the arrow of time. The question of why time is irreversible is one of the biggest unresolved questions in science.

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Time

What Is Time? A Simple Explanation

by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Time is familiar to everyone, yet hard to define and understand.

Science, philosophy, religion, and the arts have different definitions of time, but the system of measuring it is relatively consistent.

Clocks are based on seconds, minutes, and hours. While the basis for these units has changed throughout history, they trace their roots back to ancient Sumeria.

The modern international unit of time, the second, is defined by the electronic transition of the cesium atom.

But what, exactly, is time?

Scientific Definition of Time

Physicists define time as the progression of events from the past to the present into the future.

Basically, if a system is unchanging, it is timeless.

Time can be considered to be the fourth dimension of reality, used to describe events in three-dimensional space. It is not something we can see, touch, or taste, but we can measure its passage.

The Arrow of Time

Physics equations work equally well whether time is moving forward into the future (positive time) or backward into the past (negative time).

However, time in the natural world has one direction, called the arrow of time. The question of why time is irreversible is one of the biggest unresolved questions in science.

One explanation is that the natural world follows the laws of thermodynamics.

The second law of thermodynamics that within a closed system, the entropy of the system remains constant or increases.

If the universe is considered to be a closed system, its entropy (degree of disorder) can never decrease.

In other words, the universe cannot return to exactly the same state in which it was at an earlier point. Time cannot move backward.

Time Dilation

In classical mechanics, time is the same everywhere. Synchronized clocks remain in agreement.

Yet, we know from Einstein's special and general relativity that time is relative.

It depends on the frame of reference of an observer. This can result in time dilation, where the time between events becomes longer (dilated) the closer one travels to the speed of light. 

Moving clocks run more slowly than stationary clocks, with the effect becoming more pronounced as the moving clock approaches light speed.

Clocks in jets or in orbit record time more slowly than those on Earth, muon particles decay more slowly when falling, and the Michelson-Morley experiment confirmed length contraction and time dilation.

Time Travel

Time travel means moving forward or backward to different points in time, much like you might move between different points in space.

Jumping forward in time occurs in nature. Astronauts on the space station jump forward in time when they return to Earth and its slower movement relative to the station.

However, traveling back in time poses problems. One issue is causality or cause and effect.

Moving back in time could cause a temporal paradox. The "grandfather paradox" is a classic example.

According to the paradox, if you travel back in time and kill your own grandfather before your mother or father was born, you could prevent your own birth. 

Many physicists believe time travel to the past is impossible, but there are solutions to a temporal paradox, such as traveling between parallel universes or branch points. 

Time Perception

The human brain is equipped to track time. The suprachiasmatic nuclei of the brain is the region responsible for daily or circadian rhythms.

Neurotransmitters and drugs affect time perceptions. Chemicals that excite neurons so that they fire more quickly than normal speed up time, while decreased neuron firing slows down time perception.

Basically, when time seems to speed up, the brain distinguishes more events within an interval. In this respect, time truly does seem to fly when one is having fun.

Time seems to slow down during emergencies or danger.

Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston say the brain doesn't actually speed up, but the amygdala becomes more active. The amygdala is the region of the brain that makes memories. As more memories form, time seems drawn out.

The same phenomenon explains why older people seem to perceive time as moving faster than when they were younger.

Psychologists believe the brain forms more memories of new experiences than of familiar ones. Since fewer new memories are built later in life, time seems to pass more quickly.

The Beginning and End of Time

As far as the universe is concerned, time had a beginning. We can measure cosmic background radiation as microwaves from the Big Bang, but there isn't any radiation with earlier origins.

One argument for the origin of time is that if it extended backwards infinitely, the night sky would be filled with light from older stars.

Will time end? The answer to this question is unknown. If the universe expands forever, time would continue.

If a new Big Bang occurs, our time line would end and a new one would begin.

In particle physics experiments, random particles arise from a vacuum, so it doesn't seem likely the universe would become static or timeless. Only time will tell.

Key Points

·    Time is the progression of events from the past into the future.

·    Time only moves in one direction. It's possible to move forward in time, but not backward.

·    Scientists believe memory formation is the basis for human perception of time.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

·   Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

·   Science educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.

·   ThoughtCo and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.

·   Widely-published graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic tables and other illustrations used in science.

Experience

Anne Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels. She has worked as a research scientist and also abstracting and indexing diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.

In addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently serves as a scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an interdisciplinary approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and college professor. 

Education

Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.

ThoughtCo and Dotdash

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.

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https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-time-4156799

 

A clock is a familiar device used to measure time.

Time is a measurement of the progression of events. 

Time passes more slowly for moving clocks. 

The arrow of time means time moves from the past into the future, not in the other direction. 

A temporal paradox from time travel might be avoided by traveling to a parallel reality.

Aging affects time perception, although scientists disagree on the cause.

It's unknown whether time has a beginning or end.