As every year passes, it passes that much faster

I have noticed this too, I guess when we get older we start to have more and more responsibilities and our mind is so focused in complying with them that our sense of time gets a little distorted. I even talked about this with a family member a few years ago when I noticed that weeks and months were going faster for me and he told me the same happened to him.

About the benefits of being grateful, they are indeed real, our mindset affects our health and being grateful requires a positive mindset, so our health can eventually get stronger with time.

Cheers mate.