HOW AND WHY PEOPLE AGE - RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

Why do we age?

There are two theories that have been brought to everybody's attention in recent years, which are:

- 1st theory: Our genes determine how long we live. We have a gene or some genes that tell our body how long it will live for.

- 2nd theory: Over time, our body and our DNA gets damaged until we can no longer function properly.

It is important which theory is right, as it will determine how to push the limits of aging. For example; if how old we live is in our genes, then to increase our lifespan we may be able to change those genes someday. If on the other hand, our final age is based on the accumulated damage of a lifetime, then we could try to minimize that damage to live longer.

"Aging is cells dying rather than getting replaced or loosing some of their functioning" - longestlife.com

Why do people age differently?

The main answer is 'epigenetics'. The notion that our genes dictate how we age is progressively seen as less important as originally believed. - www.quora.com

Men and Women age differently

It has been said that men and women mature at different rates, with the latter being much quicker to grow up.

1. Longevity - life expectancy average for men in the US is 76.4, while it's 81.2 for women which means a 5 year difference.
2. Hormones - For women = - it's commonly known as menopause, which happens around the age of 50. This is when a women stops menstruating and the ovaries stop producing the hormone estrogen. It's common symptoms include: hot flashes, fatigue, vaginal dryness and lower labido. For Men = Aging doesn't bring on a sudden change as it does for women. It's more gradual, with testosterone levels declining slowly over time - a process sometimes called andropause. Testosterone levels fall about 1%, on average, every year after the age of 50 and lower testosterone could bring on things like erectile disfunction, reduction libido and even changes in sleep patterns.
3. Thicker Skin - The beauty industry targets women more with anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, pro-youth creams and serums due to societal pressures to stay young. According to the 'International Dermal Institute', male skin really is less susceptible to the signs of aging. Mens testosterone levels actually help thicken the skin, making it about 25% thicker. Men also have a rougher texture to their skin because they typically sweat more. Both men and women lose collagen after 30 at roughly the same rate, but after menopause, the rate quickens for about 5 years or so, then slows back down.
4. Weight - Gradual lean muscle loss after 30. Men and women gain weight differently. Men gain weight until mid 50s until it starts to drop again according to NIH. Women tend to lose weight until 65.
5. Hair Loss - Men and women will lose some hair with age, depending on hormones and genetics, but pattern baldness affects more men than women. It's shown half of all men show hair loss by the time they reach 50. Women can experience balding but more commonly experience thinning and finer hair.

How do we age?

• Increased fatigue
• Weakened bones
• Ill health
• Skin - with age becomes less elastic and more lined and wrinkled
• Fingernail growth slows
• Oil glands produce less oil - making the skin dryer.
• Hair becomes thin on the scalp, pubic area and armpits.
• Height - By 80 it's common to shrink around 2in. This relates to normal changes in posture and compression of joints, spinal bones and spinal discs.
• Hearing - changes in the ear make high-frequency sounds harder to hear and changes in tone and speech less clear.
• Vision - most people in the 40s develop a need for reading glasses as the lenses in the eyes become less flexible.
• Sleep - changes in sleep and circadian rhythm occur as you age.

Effects of Aging on skin

How skin ages will depend on a variety of factors: your lifestyle, diet, heredity and other personal habits. For example; smoking can produce free radicals, once healthy oxygen molecules that are now overachieved and unstable. Free radicals damage cells, leading to, among other things, premature wrinkles.

These changes normally occur:

• skin becomes rougher
• skin develops lesions such as benign tumors
• skin becomes slack. Loss of elastic tissue = loose skin
• skin becomes more transparent 
• skin becomes more fragile
• skin becomes easily bruised
• loss of fat below the skin in the cheeks, temples, chin, nose and eye area may result in loosening skin
• skeletal appearance
• bone loss around mouth and chin
• cartilage loss in the nose causes drooping of the nasal tip
• facial movement lines become more visible
• horizontal lines visible on forehead, vertically on skin above the root of the nose, and around mouth
• smokers have more wrinkles
• dry skin and itching is common.