Mindfulness meditation, time judgment and time experience: Importance of the time scale considered (seconds or minutes)
PLoS One October 18, 2019 Sylvie Droit-Volet, Magali Chaulet, Frédéric Dutheil et al. 22 citations
Mindfulness meditation alters time perception in opposite directions depending on the interval length. In two experiments, participants who meditated for 15 minutes underestimated intervals of 15 to 50 seconds but overestimated intervals of 2 to 6 minutes, compared to a control exercise. Across all durations, meditation made time feel as though it passed faster. The meditation exercise increased present-moment awareness and happiness while reducing anxiety. Statistical analyses showed that present-moment focus mediated the effect on time estimates for long durations. The opposing effects are explained by different cognitive mechanisms: attention for short intervals and memory for long intervals.