Internal clock: how heart rate and emotions shape our perception of time

Our perception of time depends on heart rate—this is the conclusion reached by neuroscientists at HSE University. In their experiment, volunteers watched short videos designed to evoke specific emotions and estimated each video's duration, while researchers recorded their heart activity using ECG. The study found that the slower a participant's heart rate, the shorter they perceived the video to be—especially when watching unpleasant content. The study has been published in Frontiers in Psychology.

Time perception plays a vital role in our lives—it helps us plan actions, make decisions, and interact effectively with others. When our perception of time is distorted, it becomes difficult to navigate the world around us. This can occur, for example, in psychiatric and neurological disorders: time may seem to drag for individuals with depression, while for those with anxiety, it may feel as though it’s passing too quickly. However, the exact way emotions influence our perception of time is still not well understood.

Researchers from the HSE Centre for Bioelectric Interfaces and the Institute of Health Psychology at HSE University-St Petersburg explored the relationship between time perception, emotions, and heart rate. The experiment involved 38 participants aged 18 to 37. Each was shown 36 videos of varying lengths and formats in random order—some evoking positive emotions, some neutral, and others negative. Participants were instructed to focus either on the video content or on their own bodily sensations. Participants’ ECGs were recorded throughout the experiment. After watching each video, participants rated its duration and evaluated their feelings about the content on a scale from 1 to 9, where 1 meant 'very unpleasant' and 9 meant 'very pleasant.' 

The results revealed a link between time perception and heart rate—the slower the heart rate, the shorter the video appeared to the participant. This effect was especially pronounced with unpleasant content, which tended to slow the heart rate and further distort time perception. According to the researchers, this reaction may be linked to the freezing response—an innate physiological inhibition triggered by threat. Positive videos were also perceived as slightly 'compressed,' but to a lesser extent. 

'Our study confirms that heart rate partially functions as an internal metronome: the slower the heart beats, the shorter the passage of time feels. However, emotions affect time perception through more than just heart rate—other mechanisms are involved that have yet to be explored,' explains the study's author, Maria Volodina, Research Fellow at the HSE Centre for Bioelectric Interfaces.

Interestingly, whether participants focused on their bodily sensations or on the video did not affect the relationship between heart rate and time perception. However, further analysis of the same sample—currently not included in the paper—revealed that the relationship differs among certain participants. Before the experiment, all participants completed the Skugarevsky and Sivukh's Own Body Image Questionnaire, reporting how much they agreed with statements such as 'I’m ashamed of my body' or 'It’s embarrassing to look worse than others.' About one-third of the participants scored above 12 points, a level considered indicative of significant dissatisfaction with their appearance. In this group, heart rate significantly decreased when participants focused on their bodily sensations. However, their focus of attention did not affect their perception of time. Further analysis showed that among participants dissatisfied with their appearance, the link between heart rate and time perception was disrupted.

'If a person is generally satisfied with their body, there is a clear relationship: when the heart rate slows down, time feels like it “shrinks.” However, with severe body dissatisfaction, this relationship weakens—heart rate may slow, but the perception of time hardly changes. This is only a preliminary finding based on a small sample, but it suggests that improving body awareness could be important for these individuals,' according to Anna Rusinova, Research Assistant at the Centre for Bioelectric Interfaces.

The researchers suggest that the link between heart rate and time perception could be used to train people to be more aware of their bodies—such as noticing their pulse, breathing, or muscle tension. Body awareness interventions that help individuals better understand their inner state could benefit people with anxiety or depression.

The study was conducted with support from HSE University's Basic Research Programme within the framework of the Centres of Excellence project.