We have all experienced it -- a holiday that whizzes by at the time, the Daily Mail reported.

When we are on holiday, or doing something else new and exciting, the hours pass really quickly there and then. But all the new experiences lead to lots of new memories -- and when we look back at them, there are so many to go through, that it feels as if we were gone for ages.

In contrast, when we are at home or work and going about our normal routine, there are less interesting things and so fewer memories are laid down.

This phenomenon has been called "the holiday paradox" by psychology lecturer Claudia Hammond.

She said that our lives are normally so humdrum, that only six to nine experiences a fortnight are worth committing to memory. When on holiday, we remember six to nine things from each day.

(China.org.cn May 1, 2012)

据《每日邮报》报道，欢乐时光总过得特别快，相信人们都有同感。

人们在休假期间会做一些新鲜的、刺激的事情，当时就会觉得时间过得特别快。但其实，在这期间所有的新鲜的经历，都会变成新的记忆，因此，当我们回忆时，会觉经历了很多，而产生错觉以为时间过得特别快。

相反，在家、上班或者做日常必须做的事情时，便会丧失兴趣，能记住的事情便会越来越少。

心理学老师克劳迪娅•哈蒙德将此现象称为“假期迷思”。

她指出，平时我们的生活十分平淡，以至于2周才有6-9件经历值得记忆，而人们放假时，一天内起码有6-9件经历能够记住。