Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Felt Time summary
Marc Wittmann
The Psychology of How We Perceive Time
15 mins
Topics
Table of Contents
Felt Time
Summary of 6 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 6
We possess psychological and physiological clocks that help us stay tuned to the passage of time.
Before the invention of clocks, how did humans gauge time? After all, clocks have only existed for a tiny fraction of human evolution’s long history.
Luckily, we have psychological mechanisms that help us keep track of time.
Oxford psychologist Michel Treisman put forward the pioneering idea of a psychological clock in the 1960s. According to Treisman, our brains have a pacemaker that emits pulses at regular intervals, and the pulses are collected by a counter in our minds. Our brains then determine the passage of time by the number of pulses the counter detects.
Treisman argued that the counter registers time pulses only when we’re paying attention to the time – for instance, when we’re waiting for something. When we’re distracted and not thinking about the time, on the other hand, fewer pulses are counted, making time seem to pass more quickly.
A more recent scientific theory of our psychological clock posits that we can estimate the temporal duration of events by gauging the amount of intellectual and emotional exertion they require.
Consider how new experiences often feel like they last longer because they demand greater faculties of perception, thought and emotion.
And guess what? We’ve been blessed with not just a psychological clock, but also a physiological one, known as our circadian rhythm.
The circadian rhythm is a biological process of changes that happen to our bodies in response to daily light cycles. Cognitive performance is one of the things affected by our circadian rhythm – for example, many cognitive operations hit their peak before noon and slow down as the day progresses.
Fascinatingly, our bodies follow circadian rhythms even if the sun isn’t visible.
In the 1960s, psychologist Jurgen Aschoff conducted a set of experiments in which volunteers were kept in a room with no natural light. Despite being shut out from the outside world, Aschoff found that the volunteers’ sleep schedule and body temperature still followed a circadian rhythm.
Want to see all full key ideas from Felt Time?
Key ideas in Felt Time
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is Felt Time about?
Felt Time (2014) examines how your brain processes time. These blinks present fascinating facts and theories about how our bodies perceive time, and offers advice on how to make the most of the present moment, deal with boredom and control the pace of our lives.
Best quote from Felt Time
Long-term memory is essential for our sense of self, as it enables us to know who we are.
—Marc Wittmann
Who should read Felt Time?
- Psychologists, neuroscientists and brain researchers
- People fascinated by the concept of time
- Anyone wishing to reduce their stress levels
Categories with Felt Time
Books like Felt Time
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked
Start growing with Blinkist now
28 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers