Everything Pops or Cracks! What Happens to Our Bodies As We Age?

I’ve heard countless times, “Getting old isn’t fun!”. I wish I had the magic cure for aging, if I did I would be a very wealthy woman! Unfortunately we cannot stop aging, but understanding how your body changes and learning ways to improve the process along the way can make getting old more enjoyable.

Men and women age differently, go figure! Let’s start from the head down.

Memory and Thinking

We all joke about walking into a room and not remembering why we went in there. As you age, your brain undergoes changes. Just like your muscles and joints, certain cells in your brains stiffen up. Throughout your lifetime, your brain changes more than any other part of your body.

As you age, your ability to recall information can become challenging. Committing new information to memory and recalling names and numbers can take longer. Remembering life events and accumulated knowledge of learned facts and information, decline as well. However, procedural memories such as remembering how to ride a bike or tie your shoe remain intact. Here is why:

• Decreased brain mass especially in the lobe responsible for higher cognitive function and new memories (frontal). Usually doesn’t start until 60 or 70 years old

• Thinning of the outer-ridged surface of the brain due to declining synaptic connections, fewer connections may lead to slower cognitive processing

• Myelin is thought to shrink with age, and as a result, slow processing and reduce cognitive function.

• Decrease in dopamine, acetylcholine, serotonin, and norepinephrine activity may play a role in declining cognition, memory, and increased depression

Here are a few changes that are normal with aging of the brain

• Difficulty learning something new; committing new information to memory can take longer

• Multitasking: slowed processing can make processing and planning parallel tasks more difficult

• Recalling names and numbers: strategic memory that helps memory of names and numbers begins to decline at age 20

• Remembering appointments: without cues to recall the information, appointments can be put safely in storage and then not accessed unless the memory is jogged

Eyes and Ears

The structures inside the ear start to change and their functions decline. The ability to pick up sounds decreases. You may also notice you have a harder time maintaining your balance. The ability to pick up different frequencies declines. Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) becomes more apparent.

All eye structures change as we age.

• Your cornea becomes less sensitive, decreasing your chance of noticing an eye injury.

• By the time you turn 60, your pupils may decrease to about 1/3 of the size they were when you were 20! Your pupils may react slower in response to darkness or bright light.

• The lens becomes yellowed, less flexible, and slightly cloudy.

• The fat pads surrounding the eyes decrease and the eyes sink into their sockets.

• The eye muscles become less able to fully rotate the eye.

• The sharpness of your vision gradually declines.

• Difficulty focusing the eyes on close-up objects is one of the most common problems.

• Issues with glare, brightness, and darkness may make you give up driving at night.

• Floaters become more presents in your vision. If you develop floaters suddenly or a rapid increase, get your eyes checked by a medical professional.

• Reduced peripheral vision (side vision) is common.

• Dry eyes is quite common due to not producing enough tears as we age.

Common eye disorders that cause vision changes that are NOT normal include:

• Cataracts – clouding of the lens of the eye

• Glaucoma – rise in fluid pressure in the eye

• Macular degeneration – disease in the macula (responsible for central vision) that causes vision loss

• Retinopathy – disease in the retina often caused by diabetes or high blood pressure

Skin

With age, your skin thins, becomes less elastic and more fragile, and fatty tissue just below the skin decrease. You might also notice that you bruise more easily. Decreased production of natural oils might make your skin drier. Wrinkles, age spots and small growths are more common.

Weight

Metabolism slows down. If you decrease activities as you age, but continue to eat the same as usual, you’ll gain weight. To maintain a healthy weight, stay active and eat healthy.

• Body is made of fat, lean tissue (muscle and organs), bones, and water

• After age 30, you tend to lose lean tissue

• Muscles, liver, kidney and other organs may lose some of their cells

• Bones may lose some of their minerals and become less dense (osteopenia -> osteoporosis)

• Tissue loss reduces the amount of water in your body

• Amount of fat goes up steadily after age of 30

• Height loss is related to aging changes in the bones, muscles, and joints

• On average you lose 1 centimeter every 10 years after 40

• After age 70, height loss becomes more rapid

• Men often gain weight until about age 55 -> then begin to lose weight later in life

• Women usually gain weight until age 65 -> then begin to lose weight

Cardiovascular System

The most common change in the cardiovascular system is stiffening of the blood vessels and arteries, causing your heart to work harder to pump blood through them. The heart muscles change to adjust to the increased workload. Your heart rate at rest will stay about the same, but it won’t increase during activities as much as it used to. These changes increase the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension).

• Normal changes in the heart include deposits of the “aging pigment”, lipofuscin. The heart muscle cells degenerate slightly. The valves inside the heart, which control the direction of the blood flow, thicken and become stiffer. Heart murmur caused by valve stiffness is fairly common in older people

• Capillary walls of blood vessels thicken slightly -> slightly slower rate of exchange of nutrients and wastes

• Main artery from the heart (aorta) becomes thicker, stiffer, and less flexible -> increases blood pressure and makes the heart work harder

• Normal aging causes a reduction in total body water -> less fluid in the bloodstream -> blood volume decreases

• The speed with which red blood cells are produced in response to stress or illness is reduced

Common problems

• Angina – chest pain caused by temporarily reduced blood flow to the heart muscle, shortness of breath with exertion, and heart attack can result from coronary artery disease

• Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is very common

• Congestive heart failure – in people over 75, congestive heart failure occurs 10 times more often than in younger adults

• Transient ischemic attacks (TIA) or strokes can occur if blood flow to the brain is disrupted

Digestive System

Just like everything else in our bodies the digestive tract slows down. The muscles in the digestive tract become stiffer, weaker, and less efficient. Your tissues are also more likely to become damaged because new cells aren’t forming as quickly as they once did.

Digestive tract problems that can occur as people age include:

• Heartburn

• Peptic ulcers

• Diarrhea

• Constipation

• Hemorrhoids

• Gas

• Stomach pain

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

• Diverticulitis

• Fecal incontinence

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

It is IMPORTANT to seek medical help for any digestive discomforts and not just brush them off as part of aging. Treatment options are available to you.

Bladder and Urinary Tract

Changes in the kidneys that occur with age:

• Number of filtering units (nephrons) decreases; nephrons filter waste material from the blood

• Blood vessels supplying the kidneys can become hardened. This causes the kidneys to filter blood more slowly

Changes in the bladder:

• The bladder wall changes. The elastic tissue becomes tough and the bladder becomes less stretchy. They bladder cannot hold as much urine as before

• The bladder muscles weaken

• The urethra can become blocked. In women, this can be due to weakened muscles that cause the bladder or vagina to fall out of position (prolapsed). In men, the urethra can become blocked by an enlarged prostate gland.

Aging increases the risk of kidney and bladder problems such as:

• Bladder control issues, such as leakage or urinary incontinence (not being able to hold your urine), or urinary retention (not being able to completely empty your bladder)

• Bladder and other urinary tract infections (UTIs)

• Chronic kidney disease

RED FLAGS – Call health care provider

• Signs of urinary tract infection – fever or chills, burning when urinating, nausea and vomiting, extreme tiredness, or low back pain

• Very dark urine or fresh blood in the urine

• Trouble urinating

• Urinating more often than usual

• Sudden need to urinate (urinary urgency)

Bones, Joints, and Muscles

Bones tend to shrink in size and density as we age, weakening them and making them more susceptible to fracture. Muscles generally lose strength, endurance, and flexibility, all factors that can affect your coordination, stability, and balance.

• Decrease in bone mass or density, especially women after menopause. Bones lose calcium and other minerals

• Disc in your spine become thinner

• Vertebrae lose mineral content as well, making each one thinner. The spinal column becomes curved and compressed. Bone spurs caused by aging and overall use of the spine may form on some vertebrae.

• Foot arches become less pronounced

• Long bones of the arms and legs become more brittle because of mineral loss, do not change length

• Joints become stiffer and less flexible. Fluid in the joints may decrease. The cartilage may begin to rub together and wear away. Minerals may deposit in and around some joints (calcification).

• Hip and knee joints may begin to lose cartilage (degenerative changes). The finger joints lose cartilage and the bones thicken slightly. Finger joint changes are more common in women.

• Muscle changes often begin in the 20s in men and in the 40s in women. Muscles are less toned and less able to contract. Muscles become rigid with age and may lose tone, even with regular exercise.

• Posture may become more stooped. Knees and hips may become more bent (flexed). Neck may tilt, and the shoulders may narrow while the pelvis becomes wider.

• Breakdown of the joints may lead to inflammation, pain, stiffness, and deformity.

• Movement slows down and may become limited. The walking pattern (gait) becomes slower and shorter. Walking may become unsteady and have less arm swing. Increase in tiredness and decrease in energy.

Common problems

• Osteoporosis -> older women -> bones break more easily -> compression fracture of vertebrae can cause pain and reduce mobility

• Muscle weakness -> fatigue, weakness, and reduced activity tolerance.

• Joint problems -> mild stiffness to debilitating arthritis

I know this all sounds very discouraging, but just because these changes are occurring in your body, doesn’t mean you have to stop living an active life. Let age be just a number! Stay tuned for Friday’s more uplifting post about how to feel younger than your bodies wants you to feel!

Disclaimer: I am in no way diagnosing anyone, if you have persistent pain you need to call your local physical therapist and schedule an appointment.