It seems inevitable. When we grow older, time seems to speed up as we experience the same things over and over again, and part of it's because even our favourite things in life have become, sadly, no longer new to us.
New research has uncovered a simple trick anyone can do that seems to breathe new life and enjoyment into activities we've performed countless times before, making old experiences seem fresh all over again.
The key, according to consumer behaviour researcher Robert Smith from Ohio State University, is trying to experience familiar things in new, unconventional ways.
Doing this â the thinking goes â can disrupt our inevitable adaptation (and therefore immunity) to the newness of repeated experiences and activities, helping us revitalise our sense of novel enjoyment in them.
That kind of adaptation is what's called hedonic adaptation â an observed phenomenon where the boost in happiness when we experience new things inevitably fades as we adjust to our changed circumstances.
But that adjustment can effectively be prevented, Smith says, as long as we keep doing things in fresh and unconventional ways that we're not accustomed to.
