Aging is a natural process, but one that you go through at your own pace. Some people age faster than others or experience more overall body fitness and decline related to medical conditions or wear and tear. This decline may be related to genetics, heredity or lifestyle choices. Understanding how the body ages in general can help you protect and preserve your physical and mental health as long as possible, and enjoy enhanced quality of life and longevity.
Skin
As you age, your skin gradually loses its elasticity. The skin, or epithelial tissue, loses its fat content and mass. You may notice your skin feels drier, thinner and softer as you age. You may see wrinkles forming, or skin blemishes commonly called liver spots or age spots. These changes are caused by a reduction of collagen, elastin and nutrients that make your skin look supple and soft, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.
Joints
As you age, your joints may cause you pain and stiffness. This is because the ends of your bones wear down over time and often rub together. Padding-like connective tissues, sacs and discs found between many joints in the body, including the spinal vertebrae, the knees and the fingers simply wear out and don't protect the joints anymore. Medical conditions like arthritis and osteoporosis are common joint conditions experienced by older people whose joints become swollen, painful, still and inflamed.
Cognitive Decline
Cognitive decline is not part of the normal aging process, but is common in those diagnosed with any form of dementia such as Alzheimer's which is common in the elderly. While your thought processing skills may slow down a little, your brain cells don't die as you age. The ability of neural cells to reproduce does slow down. To increase brain cognition as you age, challenge the brain to learn new things, tasks or skills so that new neural pathways continually develop and grow.
Metabolism
As you age, your metabolism slows. Many seniors don't get the amount of exercise or activity as they used to, so the body doesn't need to consume so much energy. This process of the body burning energy or fat for fuel is called metabolism. As you slow down and become more sedentary, so does your metabolism.
Vision
As you age, the ability of your eye to refract light changes as the aging process gradually changes the curve of the lens and the retina. Common vision problems that generally start to occur by your mid-40s or early 50s include presbyopia, or an inability to read small print or objects close to your eyes.
