Why Does Time Feel Slower in a Car Crash?

When you are playing or having fun, your brain is on autopilot. It does not need to save every little thing because nothing important is happening. But when something scary happens fast, like a ball flying at your face, your brain wakes up.

Think of your brain like a movie camera. Usually, it takes 24 pictures per second. That is enough for smooth movement. But in an emergency, the camera switches to high speed mode. It might take 100 pictures per second instead! This happens very quickly because your brain releases chemicals that make its clock tick faster.

Because you recorded so many more "pictures" or details, it feels like time stretched out while it was happening. Later, when you remember the crash, there is so much information packed into those few seconds. Your mind counts all those extra moments and decides that a lot of time must have passed. It is not that real time slowed down; it is that your memory filled up faster than usual.