This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: When it comes to mental health, it may not be how much time you have that matters, but rather how you feel about the time you have. That's one key takeaway of a new University of Colorado Boulder study examining the relationship between time and mental health.
The study of 646 undergraduates, published in the Journal of American College Health, found that those with the busiest schedules were significantly less likely to be depressed, and—contrary to some common assumptions—they got better grades. Those who felt a chronic sense of rush or "time pressure" had higher rates of anxiety and depression, regardless of what their schedules looked like. Additionally, those who scored higher on measures of mindfulness (the ability to be present and aware in the moment) appeared to be able to take on a heftier schedule without compromising their mental health.
"We have a tendency to think, 'Oh, things will get better, and I won't be stressed if I can just take some things off of my plate,'" said first author Caitlin McKimmy, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. "These data show that it's not that simple—that outside of what is actually on our calendar, we need to heal our relationship with time." Previous research shows that people can experience time differently, depending on what they're doing with it. One study found that people who give their time away, through things like volunteering or helping friends, tend to feel less stressed about time than those who spend time on themselves or waste time.
Other research has shown that when someone is fully immersed in a task they care about, also known as a "flow state," time seems to speed by. Deep breathing and other mindfulness practices have been shown to increase one's sense that their time is abundant. For the new study, McKimmy, a busy mother of two, wanted to examine the impact of two distinct elements of time: "time pressure" (or the subjective sense of rush) and "time scarcity" (the objective lack of noncommitted hours).
In her survey, she gathered data on how many hours per week the student participants spent in class, preparing for class, working a job, commuting and doing other activities. Survey questions also assessed how much time pressure they felt, how anxious or depressed they were and their level of mindfulness. The participants agreed to provide their GPAs and access to their academic records.
McKimmy was surprised to find that time scarcity was strongly associated with both better grades and lower rates of depression. Heightened time pressure, on the other hand, was strongly associated with more anxiety and depression and lower grades. Importantly, those short on time didn't necessarily feel time pressure.
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