When waiting for people, it feels like time passes very slowly, which is mainly due to the psychological and physiological mechanisms of the person. From a psychological point of view, when people are waiting, their expectations and needs are not being met, which can make people feel anxious and anxious. This emotion can make a person’s perception of time sluggish, making it feel like time is passing very slowly.

From a physiological point of view, while waiting, the human brain will continuously focus on the waiting object or event, and this constant attention will consume the person’s attention and energy. At the same time, waiting can also cause mood swings, making people’s heart beat faster, blood pressure higher, etc. These physiological responses can also slow down the perception of time, which in turn makes people feel that time passes very slowly.

It is a subjective psychological feeling that time passes very slowly, which is mainly related to the following factors:

1. Attention focus: When we wait, our attention tends to be focused on the thing of waiting, and we are more sensitive to the feeling of the passage of time. When we focus on something, it feels like time is speeding up, and when we are doing nothing or paying attention to time repeatedly, every minute can seem extraordinarily long.
2. Expectation vs. reality: During the waiting period, the delay between the person or thing we expect to see in our hearts is delayed, and this delay between expectation and reality can lead to psychological discomfort and anxiety, which can make time pass slowly.
3. Lack of alternative activities: While waiting, if there is no other thing to divert attention, our brain will keep thinking about what is waiting for, and the lack of other activities fills this time, so that time perception is amplified.
4. Psychological anticipation and uncertainty: Waiting times for the unknown often feel longer because we are unsure of how long we have to wait, and this uncertainty can make people more anxious and irritable, which can make time feel like time is dragging on.
5. Memory illusions: Psychological research has shown that people’s memories of painful or boring waiting times tend to be exaggerated, while memories of pleasant times tend to be shortened, which is one reason why time passes slowly when waiting for someone.

Therefore, although the passage of time is objectively constant, due to the influence of psychological and cognitive factors, people feel that time passes very slowly when waiting for people.