Physical Signs Of Ageing

15 December, 2009 No Comment

Most of us would love to enjoy long, healthy lives and never grow old. Ageing is an experience but most of us view it as a disease. You might grow old even when you are 20 or remain young at the age of 75 depending on your overall fitness level and outlook towards life.

Even if you choose to remain young forever, you cannot defy the ageing process, at least not physically. The following changes occur in the body as we age, but can be slowed down or sped up depending on our lifestyle and dietary habits.

Physical signs of ageing:

Skin: As we age, our skin tends to become baggy and saggy and loses its malleability. This process is a gradual one but is often hastened by exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun and may result in sunburn, pigmentation, wrinkles and age spots.

As you age, the skin becomes drier and looses its softness. You can slower the process of skin ageing by using a good sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or more before stepping outdoors and use sunglasses, hats, umbrellas and gloves to prevent exposure to the sun. Smoking and drinking alcohol also speed up the process of ageing and must be avoided.

Hair: With ageing, the cells located at the base of the hair follicles produce less pigmentation and finally die. Research tells us that by the age of 50, almost 50% of Americans have partially gray hair. Almost 65% of men become bald by the age of 65. Proper hair grooming followed by the intake of a nutritious diet with supplement products is important for maintaining healthy hair.

Bones, muscles and teeth: By the mid 30s more bone is absorbed than is developed which can result in excessive loss of bone density. While this might not be a major problem among men, women can go on to develop osteoporosis.

Muscles too tend to weaken with age and muscle fibers lose their ability to contract or are lost resulting in the accumulation of fat and collagen. Ageing causes the muscles to become less flexible and more susceptible to pulls, cramps and strains.

The teeth can last a lifetime if taken proper care of. Dental diseases and lack of proper hygiene can result in tooth decay and tooth loss.

Eyesight: In the forties most individuals go on to develop presbyopia or a gradual decline in the ability to focus on objects. One requires more light for reading and performing other close tasks such as threading a needle. Cataracts and other visual defects also become more prominent with age.

Hearing: With age, an individual’s hearing ability declines. In the United States, hearing loss is the fourth most common chronic physical disability. However, this loss may go unnoticed until the age of 60 and becomes apparent only after an individual experiences difficulty in comprehending speech.

Taste and smell: Research tells us that about two-thirds of the taste buds in the mouth die by the age of 70 as well as the sensory receptors in the nose, thereby diminishing the senses of taste and smell.

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