5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Getting Older

While some of us look forward to aging gracefully, others dread getting older. Much of this fear comes from a lack of understanding surrounding the actual process of aging. That uncertainty makes a normal, beautiful part of life much scarier. 

Learning more about aging can help remove some of that fear. At Miami MD, we believe in aging gracefully. We can’t stop the aging process—nor should we want to!—so embracing it is the way to go. 

Here are five of our favorite facts about getting older so that you can savor every phase of your life.

1. Your Taste Changes… Literally

We place so much focus on aging’s physiological changes to eyesight and hearing, but did you know that your sense of taste also changes as you age?

Part of this is due to physical changes that occur in the mouth. Although your tongue holds the majority of your tastebuds, they’re also present on the roof of your mouth and even in your throat. To put it into perspective, the tongue alone contains anywhere from 2,000 to 8,000 taste buds. Each tastebud has between 50 and 150 taste receptor cells, which take the taste and report it back to the brain. 

Every taste bud can experience each of the five basic tastes — bitter, salty, savory, sour, and sweet.  When combined with the physical sensations of temperature and texture, the brain receives a complete, complex picture of whatever you may be eating. 

As we age, our body places less importance on regenerating cells. That is why skin starts to sag and thin, too —  a lack of regeneration of collagen and elastin. Each tastebud has a lifespan of about two weeks, so they need to be regenerated relatively often. With fewer functional tastebuds comes a dulled ability to taste food, which is partially why so many older people tend to oversalt or over-sugar their food.  

Your sense of smell also affects your changing tastes. Taste and smell are inexplicably intertwined. Think of the best part of eating your favorite food. Likely, part of the experience is how it smells before you take a bite. Many factors can alter your ability to smell as you age — medications you may take, allergies, chronic illness, etc. — but the result is the same. With that altered sense of smell, your ability to taste changes as well.  

2. Your Sex Life Keeps Getting Better

More than two-thirds of women report being satisfied with their sex lives after age 40. That number continued to increase even as far as their 80s. Even if you’re having sex less often as you age, it just keeps getting better.

There are a lot of reasons why this may be the case. 

The older we get, the more confident we become. That confidence can impact many pieces of our sexuality, like feeling more at home in our skin and being able to ask for what we want. This may be why older women are more likely to have orgasms during sexual activity. 

When we’re older, we’re also more likely to choose more experienced partners. If you’ve had the same sexual partner for years, you know each other’s bodies and benefit from the release of “feel good” hormones. Oxytocin and serotonin flood the body when you’re around someone you care about, making you feel happier and more content. 

3. The Skin Thins Out

So much of aging occurs internally, in organs like our lungs and hearts. However, our largest organ exists on the outside of the body — our skin. 

For most of us, our face is where we first notice our skin getting older. The skin on the face, especially around the eyes, is some of the thinnest skin on the body. Because of that, it tends to show fine lines and wrinkles more quickly than in other areas.

The body’s natural fat stores play a part in skin aging, as well. In our youth, the fat in our face is evenly distributed, with pockets plumping areas around the forehead, cheeks, temples, mouth, and eyes. As the years’ pass, those fat stores shrink, migrate downward, and clump up. This is most visible in the cheek and eye areas, which is why we’re more likely to develop jowls and a double chin in our older age. 

There is also a loss of collagen and elastin through a process called senescence. These are the proteins that make up the skin’s structural matrix. The more of these proteins we have, the tighter and firmer appearance our skin will be. When these cells naturally degrade and aren’t replaced, the skin loses its tautness and develops fine lines and wrinkles. 

But what, if anything, can you do about it?

Learning to embrace your skin is the best place to start, no matter what it may look like. Holding yourself to impossible beauty standards just doesn’t work and will negatively impact how you feel about yourself. However, there are ways you can slow the aging process. 

One of the best ways to help your skin stay healthier for longer is to moisturize your skin. Aging skin also frequently suffers from a lack of hydration, worsening symptoms like fine lines and wrinkles. Just drinking water isn’t enough to help, though. You have to consciously make sure that you’re maintaining your moisture balance by using the right products. 

4. You Can Rely On Your Crystallized Intelligence

There are different types of intelligence. You may have heard of book smarts versus street smarts, but it’s more complex than that. 

When we’re younger, we exhibit fluid intelligence. This is the type of intelligence that we use to help us solve new problems. However, as we age, it may be challenging to learn new things. That’s why crystallized intelligence is so important. 

Crystallized intelligence is using the information we already know to solve problems. Think of it as similar to speaking English. It may have been challenging to learn the grammar and language subtleties at first. But now, you use English without a second thought. This is crystalized intelligence at work, and it keeps getting better as we age. 

5. You’ll Probably Become An Early Riser

Do your parents or grandparents seem to get up super early in the morning? While some people have always been early birds, something starts to shift in the body around age 60. We tend to get more tired earlier in the evening and wake up earlier in the morning.

Much of that has to do with circadian rhythm or the sleep-wake cycle. When left to its own devices, without responsibilities or alarm clocks, everyone’s body falls into its own patterns. Typically, those patterns follow the cycle of the sun. 

The sun is one of the major factors that tell us when to wake up. This is a biological imperative, developed as humans evolved. Many anthropologists believe the sleep-wake cycle arose because it wasn’t safe to continue sleeping when the sun was up, as predators could more easily see our ancestors. Following that logic, it makes sense that we prefer to sleep later during the winter when the darkness sticks around for longer. 

As we age, it’s easier for our circadian rhythm to get out of whack. Combined with the fact that older people naturally produce less melatonin, a hormone that the brain releases in response to darkness, it’s more common for older people to take late evening naps and wake up very early in the morning.

In Summary

Life is an adventure. From the time we’re born until the time we die, our bodies are constantly changing. Embracing those changes and knowing what to expect while getting older can make the process seem a lot less scary. 

If you’re noticing visible signs of aging on your face, Miami MD can help. While we can’t stop the aging process, we may be able to slow it down and give you time to become comfortable in your skin. Your body has worked hard for you. Let us help you work hard for it.

Sources:

How Smell and Taste Change as You Age | National Institute on Aging (nih.gov)

Why Your Face Ages and What You Can Do | Harvard Health

Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics