Polaris OBark

Nature Aging has a report that has seen a lot of coverage in the popular press. Link.

The claim is that decline with age is not a linear progression, but rather that there are two steep drop-offs, one of which is in your 40s, and the other one in your early 60s.

Polaris OBark

Here is a general audience news report:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/...low-and-steady

Scientists find humans age dramatically in two bursts – at 44, then 60

US findings suggesting ageing is not a slow and steady process could explain spikes in health issues at certain ages

_ForceD_

At 63, and an athlete since my early teens, I will say that approximately those two ages is when I saw the most dramatic changes in athletic performance.

Dan

pdlamb

While I understand the rationale, I suspect splitting one forum broadly read and posted, into two or three would see one or more languishing. See Early brifter for an example that honestly didn't work.

Polaris OBark

It was a rhetorical thread title, not a policy suggestion.

Steve B.

There's a 55+ section. Really wants a +70 or +75 section

mschwett 

Would be really interesting to see the data to understand the specificity of the two ages. Is that an average/median of a wider period in which changes accelerated, or something really specific and sudden. The latter is hard to imagine, given that most things we do vary from person to person in quantity over time - heartbeats, breaths, steps, infections, orgasms, etc. about the only thing which is fixed over time is nights of sleep.

if everyone’s body goes into “decay” mode after waking up 16,000 times, it would be really interesting and potentially easy to change!

pdlamb

Ah. Maybe I'm mourning for Tommy Smothers, taking things too seriously, and didn't realize it.

(Mom always liked you best!)

Polaris OBark

That is why I posted the link to the Nature Aging article.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-024-00692-2


Sudden. At age 44 and again at 60. That's why it is interesting. It might be determined by number of cell divisions in some specific tissue.

I wake up 16,000 times every night.

I agree it interesting. I don't think it will be easy to change.

gobicycling

I'm turning 85 in 2 months, and I'm really being hit right now. Too bad they didn't study beyond age 75.

mschwett 

aha. I only followed the second link. There is a ton of data there, interestingly visualized but hard for the layperson to assign significance to. Interesting that within a span of 10ish years, something happens to cause sudden decline in the counts (45ish) but then sudden increase (55ish). It would be interesting if the actual trend is a gradual decline from maturity to death, but there are events in the 40s and 50s which cause a brief and ultimately futile rally….

unterhausen

The data is interesting, but many of us have been exercising regularly through those ages and I suspect that changes the way things work out.

Things definitely got worse for me when I hit 60, but part of that was by choice. I had elective ankle surgery, and recovering from that has been slow. Not so much because of the ankle, but I got out of shape badly enough that my other problems got worse. Before that, I was working too much in my '30s and '40s, and put on a lot of weight. So that negatively affected my fitness, and I had to work pretty hard to get back into shape. So anything that might have been aging related was masked by the problems I caused myself at the refrigerator.

Polaris OBark

Interesting. I had non-elective (emergency) ankle surgery at age 50, and it ultimately had exactly the opposite effect (after about 20 years of breeding and blimping).

canklecat

Yup, I've experienced phases of rapid decline in fitness, but not at those specific ages. Mine occurred in conjunction with an auto immune disorder in my late 30s, and worsening by my 50s.

My fitness actually improved by age 60, but that's because I worked my butt off to regain fitness after years of being sedentary.

I had another sharp decline in fitness a couple of years ago at age 64, but that was also related to my auto immune disorder worsening after a bout with COVID or some other respiratory virus that took months to clear up. That illness tanked my testosterone level so I started TRT in late 2023. Helped a lot, although it's not a miracle potion -- it didn't magically restore me to my peak fitness of my early 60s. But it's worth checking into if your symptoms and lab results indicate it's an appropriate treatment and your doc approves.

Chuck M 

You are as old as you feel. Lately I feel the birthdate on my driver's license is wrong.