一到郊外就觉得时间变慢？研究：大自然会调节人们的时间感

研究发现，置身大自然会让你感觉时间过得更慢，有助于将你的注意力从眼前转移到未来的需求上。

你将能够延迟即时满足感，转而追求长期回报，而不是永远生活在“只求过得去”的状态中。

图源：东方IC

Do you ever get that feeling that there aren't enough hours in the day? That time is somehow racing away from you, and it is impossible to fit everything in. But then, you step outside into the countryside and suddenly everything seems slower, more relaxed, like time has somehow changed.

你是否有过这样的感觉：一天的时间不够用？时间不知不觉地从你身边溜走，不可能把所有事情都安排好。但是，当你走到郊外，突然间一切都变得缓慢、轻松起来，就好像时间发生了某种变化。

It's not just you – recent research showed nature can regulate our sense of time.

不仅仅是你，最近的研究表明，大自然可以调节我们的时间感。

For many of us, the combined demands of work, home and family mean that we are always feeling like we don't have enough time. Time poverty has also been exacerbated by digital technologies. Permanent connectivity extends working hours and can make it difficult to switch off from the demands of friends and family.

对我们许多人来说，工作、家庭和家人的综合需求意味着我们总是感觉时间不够用。数字技术也加剧了时间贫乏。永久连接延长了工作时间，也使我们难以摆脱朋友和家人的要求。

Recent research suggests that the antidote to our lack of time may lie in the natural world. Psychologist Richardo Correia, at the University of Turku in Finland, found that being in nature may change how we experience time and, perhaps, even give us the sense of time abundance.

最新研究表明，解决我们时间匮乏问题的良方可能在于自然世界。芬兰图尔库大学的心理学家理查多·科雷亚发现，身处在大自然中可能会改变我们对时间的体验方式，甚至可能让我们感觉到时间的充裕。

Correia examined research that compared people's experiences of time when they performed different types of tasks in urban and natural environments. These studies consistently showed that people report a sense of expanded time when they were in nature compared to when they were in an urban environment.

科雷亚查阅了比较人们在城市和自然环境中执行不同类型任务时对时间体验的研究。这些研究一致表明，与在城市环境中相比，人们在大自然中会有时间更充裕的感觉。

For example, people are more likely to perceive a walk in the countryside as longer than a walk of the same length in the city. Similarly, people report perceiving time as passing more slowly while performing tasks in natural green environments than in urban environments. Nature seems to slow and expand our sense of time.

例如，与在城市中散步相比，人们更倾向于认为在郊外散步的时间更长。同样，与城市环境相比，人们在绿色自然环境中执行任务时会觉得时间过得更慢。大自然似乎减缓并扩展了我们的时间感。

It's not just our sense of time in the moment which appears to be altered by the natural world, it's also our sense of the past and future. Previous research shows that spending time in nature helps to shift our focus from the immediate moment towards our future needs. So rather than focusing on the stress of the demands on our time, nature helps us to see the bigger picture.

自然世界似乎不仅改变了我们当下的时间感，还改变了我们对过去和未来的时间感。先前的研究表明，在大自然中度过的时间有助于将我们的注意力从眼前转移到未来的需求上。因此，大自然会帮助我们看到更广阔的前景，而不是专注于时间要求带给我们的压力。

This can help us to prioritise our actions so that we meet our long-term goals rather than living in a perpetual state of "just about keeping our head above water".

这可以帮助我们确定行动的轻重缓急，从而实现我们的长期目标，而不是永远生活在“只求过得去”的状态中。

This is in part because spending time in nature appears to make us less impulsive, enabling us to delay instant gratification in favor of long-term rewards.

这在一定程度上是因为在大自然中度过的时间似乎会让我们不那么冲动，使我们能够延迟即时满足感，转而追求长期回报。

Why does nature affect our sense of time?

为什么大自然会影响我们的时间观念？

Spending time in nature is known to have many benefits for health and well-being. Having access to natural spaces such as beaches, parks and woodlands is associated with reduced anxiety and depression, improved sleep, reduced levels of obesity and cardiovascular disease, and improved wellbeing.

众所周知，在大自然中度过时光对健康和幸福有很多好处。拥有海滩、公园和林地等自然空间与减少焦虑和抑郁、改善睡眠、降低肥胖和心血管疾病水平以及提高幸福感有关。

Some of these benefits may explain why being in nature alters our experience of time.

其中一些好处或许可以解释为什么身处大自然中会改变我们对时间的体验。

The way we experience time is shaped by our internal biological state and the events going on in the world around us. As a result, emotions such as stress, anxiety and fear can distort our sense of the passage of time.

我们体验时间的方式是由我们的内在生理状态和周围世界发生的事件决定的。因此，压力、焦虑和恐惧等情绪会扭曲我们对时间流逝的感知。

The relaxing effect of natural environments may counter stress and anxiety, resulting in a more stable experience of time. Indeed, the absence of access to nature during COVID-19 may help to explain why people's sense of time became so distorted during the pandemic lockdowns.

自然环境的放松效果可以抵消压力和焦虑，使我们对时间的体验更加稳定。事实上，在新冠疫情期间无法接触大自然可能有助于解释为什么在大流行病封锁期间人们的时间感会变得如此扭曲。

In the short term, being away from the demands of modern-day life may provide the respite needed to re-prioritize life, and reduce time pressure by focusing on what actually needs to be done. In the longer term, time in nature may help to enhance our memory and attention capacity, making us better able to deal with the demands on our time.

从短期来看，远离现代生活的需求可以让我们得到喘息的机会，从而重新确定生活的优先次序，并通过专注于真正需要做的事情来减轻时间压力。从长远来看，在大自然中度过的时间可能有助于增强我们的记忆力和注意力，使我们能够更好地处理对时间的需求。

Accessing nature

亲近大自然

Getting out into nature may sound like a simple fix, but for many people, particularly those living in urban areas, nature can be hard to access. Green infrastructure such as trees, woodlands, parks and allotments in and around towns and cities are essential to making sure the benefits of time in nature are accessible to everyone.

到大自然中去听起来似乎很简单，但对很多人来说，尤其是生活在城市地区的人，可能很难接触到大自然。要确保每个人都能享受到大自然带来的益处，城镇及周边地区的树木、林地、公园和种植园等绿色基础设施是必不可少的。

If spending time in nature isn't possible for you, there are other ways that you can regain control of your time. Start by closely examining how you use time throughout your week. Auditing your time can help you see where time is being wasted and to identify action to help you to free up more time in your life.

如果您无法在大自然中度过美好时光，您还可以通过其他方式重新掌控自己的时间。首先，仔细检查自己一周中如何利用时间。审核时间可以帮助您发现时间浪费在哪里，并确定行动，帮助您在生活中腾出更多时间。

Alternatively, try to set yourself some boundaries in how you use time. This could be limiting when you access emails and social media, or it could be booking in time in your calendar to take a break. Taking control of your time and how you use it can help to you overcome the sense that time is running away from you.

或者，在如何使用时间方面为自己设定一些界限。这可以是限制您访问电子邮件和社交媒体的时间，也可以是在您的日历中预定休息时间。控制好自己的时间和使用方式，有助于克服 “时间正在离你远去”的感觉。

编辑：陈丹妮 董静 齐磊

来源：The Conversation、Science Alert