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bboygravityyesterday at 6:25 AM3 repliesview on HN

Are you at or over 40?

Anecdotally I feel I noticed a very fast ageing speed between 38 and 40. Suddenly got white hairs, feel more tired, more wrinkles, way harder to keep VO2max up (I run a lot), muscle sores after training suddenly lasting up to 3 days instead of 1, face looks older, etc.

I feel like that all happened real fast around this age.


Replies

isoprophlexyesterday at 6:35 AM

I'm 38. We had three kids over a period of 8 years. Looking at old pictures I seemingly held on for a long while, until something hit me at 35-36?!

It's like there's two versions of me now, the one who was somehow moderately fit by biochemical decree, with a healthy amount of flesh to his face, voluminous dark blonde hair and a pleasant complexion...

... And the grey haired, weathered, lined, dessicated mummy I see in the mirror. I love my kids dearly but the constant caring really takes something out of you. That and the whole getting older thing in TFA.

I keep telling myself I'll get a gym membership soon to reclaim some of my dignity.

show 6 replies
riskassessmentyesterday at 1:15 PM

I said I was skeptical of there being a precise pattern of rapid aging. I never said I was skeptical that rapid/non-linear aging can occur. If you did experience rapid aging in the way the paper measured this from 38-40 that is more evidence in support of my point that there is some broad random distribution of when rapid aging occurs and this paper and blog post overintepret the data to mean rapid aging occurs precisely in your mid-forties and at 60.

asturayesterday at 12:41 PM

I'm well into my 40s. I've noticed aging in almost all my friends and work colleagues my age as well as those up to 10 years younger than me. I haven't noticeability aged myself yet though. Don't have any grey hairs, no wrinkles, don't look older than I did in my 20s.

It's not just my perception either, other people assume I'm early 20s.

I can't really relate to the physical stuff though because muscle sores after training was always 3 days for me and it was always difficult to keep VO2max up, even in my early teens. So I guess I just started out in middle age.