Have you ever wondered why a road trip seems long while going but short while returning?

Sometimes it feels like the roads are playing a trick on us. When we embark on our road trip with full excitement, every kilometer feels like a century. It feels as if the destination is deliberately running away from us.

But... as soon as we pack our bags and turn back home, why does the same route, the same distance, suddenly seem halved? Did we accidentally take a 'faster lane'?

No, it's not the roads, but your brain, which is scientifically known as the 'return trip effect'. Let's learn how our brain can increase or decrease the length of a route.

Noticing New Things
When you travel a route for the first time, your brain notices everything. It has to work harder to process this abundance of new information. Because of this increased mental activity, we feel that time is passing slowly, even though the trip is longer.

Disrupted Expectations
We often underestimate the trip's duration. When we embark on a journey, we have a subconscious expectation that it will end quickly, but when we encounter traffic or other obstacles along the way, this expectation is shattered. This "shattered expectation" disappoints us, and we feel the journey has taken longer than we thought.

Familiar Sights and Peace
On the way back, your mind relaxes. You've traveled this route before, so the views are no longer unfamiliar. You know where the next turn is, where the traffic will be less. In this familiar and comfortable state, the brain has to work less. With less stress and the joy of arriving home, time seems to fly by, and the journey seems shorter.

Where is our focus?
When we're traveling, our focus is on the destination. This impatience forces us to divert our attention from the journey and frequently check our watch. When we're waiting for something, time automatically seems to slow down.

In contrast, when we're returning, it's familiar. We're often lost in memories of the trip, like the fun we had, the food we ate, or the sights we saw. When the mind is preoccupied with memories, it overlooks the length of the journey, and the journey seems to pass quickly.

Number of Breaks
When leaving, we often take more breaks. Stopping to see new sights, finding a new place to eat, or simply resting on the way back, we create a mental "interruption" in the journey. These "interruptions" make us feel like the journey is broken up into multiple parts and therefore, stretched out.

But on the return trip, our main goal is to get home quickly. We take fewer breaks and drive mostly straight. When the journey is uninterrupted, our mind perceives it as a continuous flow, making the journey actually take less time (because of the saved break time) and feel faster.

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