Eli5: Why, if at all, does it seem like the years go quicker as you get older?

Question

I hear a lot of people making that remark, that the years go by quicker as you get older.
For me, at least, it seems like that’s only the case if nothing much changes in my life in that year.
To me, years seem to feel like they go slower if there’s lots of new/different things happening.

In: 348

Answer 1

If you turn 10, a new year will take 1/10th of your life.
If you turn 20, a new year will take 1/20th of your life.
As you get older each year has a less mathematical impact on your overal life, so it tends to feel shorter aka “faster”.
As someone already said, as a young human you receive more incentives, which makes your brain run at a lower “speed” to recognise it all. if you are older and already used to incentives, youre brain handles it is “nothing new”, so it perceives time as going faster.