For much of our existence, clocks and calendars did not exist to mark time. Instead, we lived according to the cycle of day and night. Weather, hunger, or seasons dictated when we ate, slept, and moved season to season continuing to survive. As humans, we have always lived spontaneously, in tune with natural rhythms, not according to an artificial, structured format. The idea of time as a scarce resource to be measured, tracked, and optimized is a recent invention. It now places a strain on the human mind. A strain that our biology was never built to handle.

The brain has been constructed to respond to the present moment. The brain does not react to external timelines or anticipated timelines because that's not how humans evolved. The way in which the brain evolved for memory, attention, and emotion was to promote immediate survival by focusing on environmental factors like danger. Animals exist in the wild by reading their environment and following established patterns. Human beings share the same nature. In addition to being guided by their biological makeup, humans now exist in an environment that compels them to always plan, track, and predict the future. Every minute of the day is accounted for. All tasks conform to the schedule of the day. Over time, this creates an inconsistency between how the brain has evolved versus how it has been conditioned to perform in this new, modern, and rapidly changing society.

The physical body is not aware of time deadlines as neutral but rather as a danger. The body perceives these time pressures or deadlines as potentially threatening to the individual's health and well-being. As an individual experiences repeated instances of time pressure, the physical body does not........

© Psychology Today