I.e car accident
In: 41
One theory is your brain goes into ‘survival mode’.
It attempts to take in as much information as possible, process it, search your brain (life flashing before your eyes) then come up with a solution.
Your conscoiuss mind can’t process this as normal, so your brain ‘buffers’ and time appears to slow.
Paradoxically, situations that last a long time (several hours), such as a wartime firefight, have been reported to seem like minutes.
First, adrenaline during the event makes you react faster, so you can actually percieve it all and not just miss most of the event. Second, what you remember is not always what happens. Such an event will be a very bright detailed memory, so in retrospect you percieve it as longer lasting, you just remember more of it than other events.
I was a neuroscience researcher for many years. This wasn’t exactly my area of study, but I worked alongside learning and memory experts.
My understanding is that the brain makes more memories when it is highly activated and fewer memories when it’s calm.
Traumatic events trigger a stress response. This highly activates the brain and so it starts making a lot of memories very quickly, which slows down our experience of time.
It’s very similar to a slow motion camera, which works by taking a lot of individual pictures. When you play back those images the video is super slow.
Our brains are simultaneously making those memories and experiencing them. When there are a lot of memories to experience in a short period, time feels slowed down.
Long story short, adrenaline is a hell of a drug. I remember crashing my bike once, and as I was sailing over my handlebars, I distinctly remember thinking “Oh no, I’m gonna be late for class!” in the fraction of a second I was in mid-air. Fortunately, I only had some minor scrapes and bruises and actually did make it on time.
“Full” time periods (fun, exciting or interesting things) seem shorter when they’re happening but longer later on. They fly by but you make loads of memories.
“Empty” time periods (boring or dull things) seem longer when they’re happening but shorter later on. They go on for ages but you can barely remember them.
Traumatic events like falling over or getting in a car crash feel longer because you create a lot of memories. You’re full of adrenaline and your brain is trying to figure out what’s happening and how to regain control. It’s kind of like your life flashing before your eyes, but all the memories are of a split second ago.
Simplest answer would be slow-down of the brain’s analytical functions and I feel that the brain compresses some of it’s neuro-processing abilities in order to donate energy or accentuate blood flow to other parts.
PS:- Yes. I don’t know complex biology. This is just an oversimplified explanation.
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