Spurts of ageing at 44 and 60

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According to a new study, there are two, not one, time periods in our lives when we show sudden signs of ageing. There is a burst of ageing at 44, and then at 60, accoriding to research done at Stanford University in the US. This busts the general notion that our bodies and minds decline in a slow process, referred to as 'linear ageing'.

Has this been your experience?

www.sciencealert.com/study-finds-humans-age-faster-at-2-sharp-peaks-heres-when-to-expect-them

Now that I think of it, yes, it really has exactly been my experience.

Late fifties I still looked much the same I had ten years earlier. But by 60 my skin was losing elasticity and it showed on my neck a lot.

Very interesting. DH turned 60 about 18 months ago and seems to me to have aged a lot since then. I thought it was just my perception of him - me being firmly in the menopause - but maybe not, especially given that DD (19) has also remarked that he has suddenly gone "deaf and grumpy" 😂.

I think early 80s is a period of "sudden ageing" too. I've seen this quite a lot in relatives.

I have seen that too in early eighties.

Maybe hit me early as it was 39/40 I aged about ten years overnight!

Yes. And I've seen it in my parents.

Interesting!
Yes that makes a lot of sense- DH and I both 47, was looking back at photos approx 4 years ago and thinking how much younger we looked. I assumed it was just the usual- work stress, teenagers,Covid etc but maybe it was turning 44….
Ah well, 60 to look forward to next 😂

44 chimes with me. It's exactly when perimenopause hit.

I think my first burst of ageing was a bit later, more at menopause early 50s. I wasn't really aware of a 'peri' stage.

And now at 63 I'm aware of more change (particularly skin on arms)

There are photos of me at 28 and 35 the difference is massive . I believe we age every seven years .

My best friend is now 61 and has dramatically aged in last year. She genuinely looked very early 50's two years ago (she gets Botox and fillers very frequently but subtle - only I know) but only now can you tell that she's actually older

Not bad, she's utterly beautiful and very fit with great skin. But there's no doubt that she's looking late 50's now.

I wouldn't mistake her for younger now.

They say they reckon that there is another period aged about 78, when the same thing happens, but nobody in this study was of that age, so they couldn't comment

It was exactly aged 44 that I noticed my eye sight completely deteriorate
I felt my hearing reduce a little also but it was the eyes that did me
From perfect vision to being unable to read a book or text message 🫣

44 was fine, I felt great, everything worked as in I could run, dance, jump etc, and I went on to fall pregnant the following year.

60 (last year) was indeed when a lot of things started to hurt, I started to hold the bannister on stairs and escalators, and also when I stopped using foundation makeup as it now made the wrinkles worse . But also when I decided I will wear a bikini if I want to and not a "control" swimsuit. Because IDGAF any more.

Oh well I'm buggered, aren't I? Given that I'm not yet 40 and feel like I've been aging extremely rapidly the last 5-6 years 😅

Having to try to remember that aging isn't a bad thing, it's actually a bit of a privilege if you think about it, and I plan to be a wrinkly, eccentric hedge witch in my dotage. Something to look forward to!

My optician once said to me that people hit the time when they need to wear glasses at around their 40th birthday, so that's pretty close too.

I think my shortsightedness kicked in nearer 50 ....though it may be that my memory is going...

I too was 44/45 when I started having aches and pains. I was so fit up to that point,running 4 times a week, going to gym classes 2 to 3 times a week plus walking and other activities then bang I started to have one issue after another(a lot were gynae related). I literally felt like I aged overnight..& I haven't come back from that. My mum aged drastically again just before she turned 80. Before that she was pretty active and looked younger than her age with no wrinkles and had plenty of strength in her,now 3 years later she's like a frail little woman and her mobility is bad.

Someone will be along to say that this thread is ageist and that people in their seventies aren't old in a minute.

Interesting and tend to agree. Looking at me at 40 I looked as good as I did at 34 however by 44 I felt I had aged. Physically and mentally. Slightly overweight, never really struggled with weight just look old in photos whereas before I didn’t. Always used to turn heads and compliments, this never happens anymore. Can’t comment on aging at 60 as not there yet but I tend to agree with 44 statement

No my experience was only in my 60s, not in my 40s or 50s. Sudden decline in my 60s which I put down to hypothyroidism.

Oh my God! I had the exact same thing - at 44! From PERFECT eyesight, sudden rapid decline and now reading glasses forever.

I am about to turn 44 and recently I have a few things that I felt has aged me!!

For me I did not feel I was ageing until I hit 46/47 and started to lose my close reading vision. I also started to lose my youthful confidence and felt I had shifted into another life stage.
Now I am 63 I would definitely agree that you start ageing rapidly then. My face started dropping and I started getting subtle lines at the sides of my mouth and my neck is suddenly looking crepey. It has seemed startling, like something else has changed every time I look in the mirror. Otherwise I try to keep fit and healthy.

I'd generally agree with that. I'm 48 and think that I've aged both physically and mentally in the last few year. I've just put it down to peri and stressful life events.

My friend is 62 and has definitely seemed older in the last year.