Aging in Leaps: Is It True That We “Fall” into Old Age?
- Iryna Verbas
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
I recently came across an intriguing article claiming that people age not gradually, but in bursts. Surprisingly, this isn’t just a metaphor or a subjective feeling — science is starting to confirm it.
🔬 Aging Isn’t Linear: What Researchers Are Finding
Recent studies suggest that human aging doesn’t happen evenly over time. Instead, the body undergoes molecular and physiological “spurts” — and those are the moments we often feel like we’ve suddenly aged.
In 2021, researchers at Stanford University conducted one of the largest aging studies to date. After analyzing blood samples from over 4,000 people, they found that major biological shifts happen around ages 34, 60, and 78, with particularly sharp changes at 44 and 60 — including disruptions in metabolism, muscle function, and immune response. [[Lehallier et al., Nature Medicine, 2021]].
🧬 What Changes Happen?
Muscles lose mass and strength (sarcopenia begins).
Immunity weakens (immunosenescence).
Metabolism slows, increasing disease risk.
Skin, after 40, may:
struggle more with inflammation,
lose moisture faster,
recover more slowly from microdamage,
react differently to familiar products.
🧠 Aging Organs Unequally
A 2020 study in Cell Systems showed that the heart, brain, and kidneys age faster than other organs. What's more, each individual can have a different “biological age” for different systems — sometimes differing by decades from their actual age. [[Ahadi et al., Cell Systems, 2020]].
Mice show three distinct aging phases — at the beginning, middle, and end of life — supporting the idea that burst-like aging may be a universal biological mechanism.
⚠️ Other Aging Accelerators
Besides age, several factors can accelerate aging at the molecular level:
Pregnancy — alters hormones and immunity.
Chronic stress — raises cortisol, harming cells.
Infections, including COVID-19 — can trigger long-term molecular changes.
Chronic inflammation — accelerates tissue aging.
A 2022 study by Harvard Medical School found that even a single severe COVID-19 infection can temporarily push biological age forward by 3–7 years — though some changes may be reversible. [[Yousefzadeh et al., Nature Aging, 2022]].
🧭 So What Can We Do?
Understanding that aging happens in bursts may help us adjust our lifestyle in advance — such as by monitoring our health more closely during critical age periods.
What about you? Have you ever felt like aging hit you all of a sudden?
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