It’s a well-respected fact that the way we think, and feel will vary as we age, especially after every decade. Unfortunately for us, we can’t compare how we feel when we’re 20 and 50 right next to each other and our body adapts ever so slightly with each year. But at particular ages, we start to feel real changes happening in our body, somewhere at around age 40. Here are 5 ways your body starts changing in your 40s and 50s.
Slowing Down in Metabolism
If you thought your metabolism has dropped considerably since your college days, then you are about to get a greater shock. Once you reach your early 40s, your metabolism levels will be at an even lower level, with research showing that an average human may gain as much as 15 pounds in the years to come. Not only does this mean that you cannot be eating the same as you did at 30, but you may need to consider exercising more.
Muscle Mass Starts Decreasing
This brings us to the next point of muscle mass. The main reason why one’s metabolism drops further as they age is also because of their muscle mass. At age 40, more than 5% of one’s muscle mass would have fallen if they do not have an active lifestyle. To put this into perspective, that would mean that you would not only become weaker, but your ability to gain muscle would also occur at a slower rate. A decrease in muscle mass can lead to problems like fatigue and eventually affect your quality of life.
Decrease in Hormones
All of this happens, partly because of the decrease in hormones in one’s body. For males, they can expect a drop in their testosterone levels, while the females will feel their estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate irregularly. All of these can present problems such as irregular moods, a decrease in strength, and an overall loss in drive during life. A medical practitioner should be able to diagnose a decrease in one’s hormones and provide aid in your future treatment.
Changes in Vision
Changes in one’s vision may become a real problem as one’s extraocular muscles become weaker with time. This cannot be easily rectified as the muscles in and around the eyes cannot be trained as easily as the muscle groups in one’s body. Prescription glasses may be needed accordingly so do consult your optometrist should you feel your vision blurring.
Changes in Sleep Cycles
Finally, an unfortunate effect of aging in you in your 40s and 50s is that you may find yourself having changes in your sleep cycle. This may not mean that you’ll become easily tired at 40, it could also translate to finding yourself wide awake at 2 in the morning while waking up early at 5 every day. This could be both a good or a bad thing according to your predisposed beliefs but changing sleep cycles are a hassle, especially they interfere with your daily life.