Sound perception slowed down in the morning?

Question

Back when I'm still studying in high school I remembered I have this very weird problem, but have no one to turn to at that time. I played music games on my computer a lot. One day I notice that in the morning I launch my music games again like everyday but every song is now slowed down!

I'm not sure that last night I played so much that the song speed up in my head and when resting the brain somehow recovered so the next day I have the impression of song slowed down... or if you listen to music in the morning when your brain isn't fully activated the song will appears to have lower BPM?

Pretty weird, not sure someone had this or not and it's not easy to search for in the internet. There might be some theories I think people here might know..

Off-topic : I had this strange thing in my eyes that is when I looked at white wall and try rolling my eyeballs there will be some semi-transparent thing float around! Of course like this problem, I don't know what terms to search for on Google lol. (Luckily I found out that it's called "Floater" not "Amoeba in eyes" that I searched for.)

Answer 1

I played music games on my computer a lot.

This might explain something. I don't find it extraordinary that if you focus on some activity (which may involve deep concentration) for prolonged periods that your "brain and senses" kind of get "locked" into those sensations that are sensed during that prolonged activity. Also, I don't find it particularly difficult to sometimes "trick" your senses, when you assume/expect something to be something (e.g. in your case a song to have a certain tempo) and it "turns out to be/feel different than what you expected". Suggestion is a powerful tool.

Sensory hallucinations tend to be more random (and if they're of an uncommon type, last long or are very believable/strong then they're usually a symptom of some serious illness). As long they're not something different than the common types like those floaters, then it should be "normal".

Btw, I don't think this is the right or best place to ask for medical advice.

Answer 2

Just to check.. You haven't changed the sample rate right!?

Answer 3

Sometimes you can play a track that sounds slower on headphones than on speakers. The more detail your brain is able to lock onto, the more time resolution you can get, and things sound at quicker or slower tempos. "Real time" becomes subjective.

One supposedly concentrates better before noon.

In moments of very intense concentration, like risk situations requiring quick reactions, things almost seem to roll in slow motion. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_motion_perception

Answer 4

I have noticed something similar to this when listening to a MP3 on my computer vs in the car. It often sounds slower in the vehicle. I have no explanation as to why, but find it interesting none the less.