Did time feel different during the COVID-19 lockdowns? Can you remember? Although the lockdowns that resulted from the global pandemic may have felt neverending as we trekked through our ‘new normal,’ it seems now that it swept past us in a confusing, jumbled-up blur. In order to determine what has caused recollections of the lockdown to become distorted, researchers used empirical methods to determine the root cause of the phenomenon and the extent to which memory was affected.
Another common experience that researchers took note of was the increase in anxiety and depression that resulted from the pandemic. There was a dramatic spike in mental health issues around the globe during the beginning of the lockdowns. Support systems were disrupted as families were forced to social distance, and the weight of uncertainty was overwhelming for many as doors were shut to homes, businesses, and public spaces around the globe. These widespread struggles were hypothesised to significantly contribute to changes in people’s memories.
Perception of timeline events
The events that followed the global coronavirus pandemic in 2020 were certainly unprecedented. However, having a warped perception of time was not a novel experience—previous studies have found similar occurrences among prison inmates. Stating that lockdown was similar to being in prison seems like a comical exaggeration, but researchers deemed it a necessary comparison in terms of how it impacted our memory.
A 2022 study in the UK surveyed 277 participants with several established boredom, anxiety, and resiliency scales that determined their emotional state during the pandemic. A scale was also used that measured how heavy one’s workload was during the pandemic and whether or not it adversely impacted the quality of their lockdown experience. Then, the participants were asked to correctly assign an event to a slot of time on a timescale that ranged from 2016 to 2022.
The results that this experiment yielded were mostly unsurprising; recent events were typically placed correctly on the timescale, and a gradual decline in accuracy was observed as the dates went further into the past. There was, however, one significant outlier in this linear pattern. The year 2021 was extremely difficult to correctly recall for the majority of the participants. Specifically, those with higher rates of anxiety and depression and lower rates of resiliency produced poor results for the period in which lockdowns were implemented.
The results did, in fact, mimic those found in prison inmates in past studies. The causation has been linked with a lack of significant occasions, such as birthdays, outings, and holidays, that would anchor one’s linear understanding of time. Furthermore, spending too much time in a single enclosed space without sufficient social interaction, whether this be in a prison cell or an apartment, can result in greater occurrences of stress and depression that also correlate to a skewed temporal experience.
Thankfully, an altered perception of time is only noticed during these elongated, monotonous, and/or stressful periods of time. So, for the average individual, there is no danger of permanent damage being done to one’s ability to properly recall information. Nonetheless, long-term impacts may still be of great concern among certain groups of people.
Cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s and dementia patients
Caregivers and loved ones of those with cognitive impairment or dementia were concerned that there would be an escalation in cognitive dissent as a result of the pandemic restrictions. This fear stemmed from the lockdown-induced stress that would inevitably coincide with a loss of contact between families and reduced working caregivers. In response to this, a study was conducted where Alzheimer’s and dementia patients underwent cognitive testing. A faster decline in immediate and delayed recall was observed, with pre-dementia patients being especially prone to increased memory deterioration.
The mandated pandemic closures were certainly not enacted without good reason—they were effective in protecting immunocompromised people from an aggressive virus that was especially threatening in earlier variants. However, these pressing issues should not overshadow other indirect effects of the lockdowns. The health and well-being of so many individuals were adversely affected during the pandemic, with the quality of life being worsened for those with cognitive impairment.
We should learn from the results of this study and never again allow the structures that support these vulnerable groups to be neglected. Rather, a balance should be maintained between the physical and mental health of all members of our society. Our memories play a central role in our perception of our experiences on earth and who we are as humans; the detriment of the crucial ability to recall our past should therefore warrant extensive preventative measures in order to preserve a high quality of life.
