A comparative study of time perception in long-term meditators and non-meditators.

Mindfulness meditation may improve how accurately people remember how long an event lasted. In a small exploratory study, 30 participants—half experienced meditators and half non-meditators—completed an 11-minute session of Naad Brahma meditation (meditators) or listened to an audio story (controls). Meditators estimated the retrospective duration more accurately than non-meditators, but this finding is preliminary and not evidence of a causal effect. No differences were found between groups in prospective time perception or subjective passage of time. Meditators reported being significantly happier than non-meditators, with no other emotional differences. The results tentatively suggest meditation may refine memory-based time judgments.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This study investigates how mindfulness meditation influences time perception by comparing practicing meditators and non-meditators (n = 30) on retrospective and prospective timing tasks. Retrospective time perception was assessed after an 11-min session of Naad Brahma meditation (for meditators) or listening to an audio story (for controls). Prospective time estimation was measured using rhythmically ambiguous music, with participants indicating perceived durations of 40 s, 3 min, and 8 min. Results showed that meditators estimated the retrospective interval more accurately than nonmeditators; however, given the exploratory design and limited power, this finding should be interpreted as preliminary and not as evidence of a causal effect of meditation practice. No group differences emerged in prospective time perception or subjective passage of time. Additionally, emotional states were evaluated, and meditators were found to be significantly happier than non-meditators, but no other significant differences in emotional states were found. The outcomes tentatively suggest that while meditative state does refine some aspects of temporal cognition, particularly in retrospective judgments, its effect on prospective time perception could not be established. The findings contribute to the growing evidence that meditation enhances specific cognitive domains related to time awareness, particularly those that depend on memory and attentional allocation.