Finitude of the Perception of Time - Between Rhythm and Silence - Decolonial Neuroscience SfN Brain Bee
Finitude of the Perception of Time - Between Rhythm and Silence - Decolonial Neuroscience SfN Brain Bee
First-Person Consciousness
“I am the time I perceive within me. I count heartbeats, breathe in cycles, feel thirst, hunger, fatigue. Each sensation is a marker that anchors me to the passing of hours. But when I fall asleep, I cease to exist as a clock: there is no before or after, only the immersion into waves that suspend me. In deep sleep, I discover that time is not absolute — it is perception that dissolves, allowing me to recognize myself in the whole, where there is no difference between yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”
Time and the Damasian Mind
Time does not exist in itself: it always requires a reference, a differential between at least two spaces or volumes in motion.
In the body: we use heartbeats, respiratory cycles, thirst, hunger, and hormonal rhythms (such as the circadian cycle) to give meaning to the passage of time.
Damasian Mind: integrates interoception and proprioception in metabolic rhythms that create temporal perception.
Inference: when we reference ourselves in the whole, time ceases to exist. In sleep, consciousness returns to this state of suspension, where there is no clock, only belonging.
The Finitude of Time in Sleep
N1: temporal sequence begins to fail; fragmented perceptions no longer follow linear order.
N2: spindles organize memories without a reference to “when”; the mind consolidates without needing to mark time.
N3: deep silence eliminates the internal clock; heartbeat and breathing slow to minimum cadence, dissolving the sense of passing.
REM tonic: dreamlike narratives emerge without temporal coherence — past, present, and future intertwine.
REM phasic: emotions and memories create stories where time does not flow but bends into repetitions and displacements.
Neuroscience of Temporal Perception in Sleep
EEG: slow waves in N3 reduce connectivity across temporal networks, dissolving sequential order.
fNIRS: lower prefrontal activity during deep sleep indicates suspension of executive temporal control.
Circadian rhythms: the large hormonal cycles (melatonin, cortisol) organize the body in wake–rest patterns but do not generate subjective time.
Integration: the perception of time is a product of the body-territory in motion; when the body suspends itself, time also ceases.
When the Finitude of Time is Blocked
Insomnia: increases temporal self-awareness, creating a painful perception of the passing of hours.
Anxiety: accelerates heartbeat and breathing, making subjective time feel faster.
Zone 3: the body remains in alert, keeping continuous time-counting and preventing temporal dissolution in sleep.
For Clinicians and Caregivers
Promote environments that reduce temporal vigilance (silence, darkness, absence of clocks).
Encourage breathing and relaxation practices that slow internal rhythms.
In palliative care: propose the dissolution of temporal perception as an experience of peace, not as loss.
Conclusion
The perception of time is not an absolute truth, but an arrangement of the body to orient itself through differences and cycles. Its finitude in sleep shows that, in the whole, time does not exist: there is only life in flow. Nightly rest is a rehearsal of finitude itself — the ending, the letting go, the non-continuity — experiences that give meaning to life and allow reorganization for awakening.
Indicative References (post-2020)
Cunningham T.J. (2022). Sleep and emotional memory processing: a review.
Gong H. et al. (2022). Prefrontal excitability dynamics across sleep stages measured by fNIRS.
Halonen R. et al. (2024). REM sleep theta oscillations preserve stress responsiveness.
Duan W. et al. (2025). Selective consolidation of salient and rewarded memories during sleep.
Yuksel C. et al. (2025). Complementary roles of SWS and REM in emotional memory consolidation.
