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People say that getting old sucks. In my humble opinion, it's still better than the alternative. Yet each decade comes with its own perks and woes. Interestingly, according to research, the 5th decade of a person's life is the least joyful. You see, a person's happiness correlates to their age: we get a U-shaped curve if we were to look at a person's entire life.
We're happiest when we're little, and we're the least happy in our 40s. Then, after our 5th decade, the happiness starts to rise again. In 2020, Economist David G. Blanchflower concluded that the U-shaped happiness-age curve applies to many places, not just Europe and America. So, it seems to be a universal experience, not just for developed countries.
But what's it like to be in your 40s? Is it really that bad? One netizen wondered exactly this because they asked: "Hey y'all in your 40's: what are the physical changes you start to see in your body once you leave your 30's? What should we expect to experience physiologically as we get into our 4th decade?" As a person entering her 4th decade soon, I'm starting to wonder: should I be afraid?
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#1
Despite all the negatives, your “give a f***s” plummet at 40 which is pretty great.
#2
43 here.
Ladies, at some point in your late 30s you will wake up and realize everything is b******t and you don’t care what any dude thinks about you, lol. After a youth indoctrinated to seek their approval, you realize it’s all b******t.
Don’t shave your legs and underarms, don’t wear a bra, cut your hair short and dye it blue, get all of the tattoos and piercings you ever wanted. That one dude doesn’t find you attractive? Hahahahaha haha….
That is the biggest and most important physical change you will experience as you age.
#3
Tired. Just tired. If you were already tired before 40, then you’re gonna be more tired.
Until it’s time for bed.
#4
I’m gonna be real. There is a day in your early 40s where you wake up weirdly tired, and that never goes away.
#5
Body's gonna be sore. You want the soreness from exercising or the soreness from not exercising?
#6
If you’re a woman, perimenopause. You don’t realize how much hormones contribute to the overall running of your body until they start to go away.
Horrible periods at random times, acne, hair loss, weight problems, extreme fatigue and muscle wasting, violent emotional swings, inability to concentrate. Fun times.
lenka 6 months ago
So much this. I thought menopause was after 50. It's not. It starts in your 40s and lasts 10 f*****g years! And just to really twist the knife, while I'm learning to manage my new hormonal roller coaster - I have to figure out how to support my teenagers who are on the even scarier roller coaster on the opposite side of fun park.
#7
Know how when women get older their breasts will start to sag? No one warns you against your Sack creeping down and sticking to your knee in the summer like a hot piece of silly putty.
ToastedFroggy 6 months ago
Hahaha, laughed so hard at this one. Now my dog is looking at me funny.
#8
Brain fog. Not being able to think of the name of that actor who was in that movie last year. Starting one thing and forgetting that I’m in the.
#9
Let's see...
I threw my back out and wound up on the sofa for 3 days moving a trowel full of dirt from a bag to a planter.
I developed cataracts in both eyes. Yes, both.
Years of terrible work posture (I assume) led to a bulging disk in my neck.
Washing my face with bar soap if I remember has morphed into a whole multi-product routine more complicated than anything I had as an acne-riddled teen.
There is more gray in my hair than brown.
My right knee can tell when it's going to rain.
I don't really drink anymore because the hangovers last for days and just aren't worth it
Sleeping in a weird position means at least one full day of back/neck/shoulder pain
My periods come every 3 weeks now instead of every 4.
I'm pretty sure I could grow a goatee to rival any teenager's if I stopped my daily search for hairs in places I do not want hairs.
Falling asleep is hard. Staying asleep is hard. Waking up rested is a pipe dream
Every so often, I get to wake up in a pool of my own sweat.
But, I wake up.
I'm at a good place in a career I love.
I care less about what others think with each passing day.
I have found friends and activities that bring me joy.
#11
I'm 64 and I'm not going to even bother.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 6 months ago
I'm 67 and .............just tying to remember what I was going to say.............nope, lost it :(
#12
I finally got diagnosed with ADHD at age 38 and started meds that work. I'm 40 now and this is the most emotionally stable I've been in my entire life and it's amazing. So it's never too late to figure out your life.
#13
All of your old injuries come back to haunt you. That banged up knee that you got sliding into home plate when you were nine? Hello, again! That time you tweaked your back lifting that grocery bag? Did you miss me? Blurry eyes from staying up too late on the computer? Well, now they're always blurry!
#14
You become grumpier and tolerate a lot less s**t from people, because you realize time is starting run out for you.
#16
I like to joke I hit 40 and the check engine light came on. You'll get random aches and pains that just come and go, and sometimes stick around permanently. If you injure yourself, expect healing times to be 2-3 times longer at least. Same with illnesses, you just don't bounce back like you used to.
Blayze Infyrno 6 months ago
There's no way that weird headless person in the photo is over 40.
#18
I've noticed the skin on my hands is much more sensitive to dryness and is thinner than it used to be. I feel like Cassandra from Dr Who.
#20
Wait til ur 60! Bad balance, lots of aches and pains. Worry every time u get a checkup or lab test. Enjoy ur forties!! Don’t worry about every little ouch.
Rachknits 6 months ago
I agree. I'm 52 and most of this list didn't really impact me until I was late 40s/early 50s. If you don't have any chronic health issue by 40 then you're doing great, enjoy your body and what it can do rather than focusing on how it's different from younger years. You can take this either negatively or positively - its only going to get worse from now on so make the most of it
#21
Everything makes you fat. Everything hurts. Meals are a topic of conversation now. Your lawn consumes most of your waking thoughts. You turn to your wife for comfort: she is lawn.
#22
D**k quit. Hair quit. Eyes quit. Brain quit....annnd I forgot the last one.
#23
Thinning and yet MORE hair!!!!!!!! Whether a woman or a man. Also, for women, stupid damn chin hairs. Somehow you get more hair in some places and less in the others.
#24
Don't stop moving. Ever.
Michelle 6 months ago
Agreed, you don't have to do anything strenuous, but make sure you just keep moving, even if its going to a walk every day. I noticed if I don't do anything for a few days I literally feel my body breaking down and I'm only 40 now. I understand now why they say 'if you don't move it, you'll lose it' and unfortunately why people who might have an injury/illness and end up confined to a bed for a long period can sometimes never recover from that.
#25
Small lapses in memory/recall.
Various boner concerns.
A strange adjustment in self image from time to time.
Going “heurrghhh” while standing up. .
Guigsy Gwiggins 6 months ago
You get less sporadic erections alright but it doesn’t mean it don’t work. Testosterone tends to drop around this time and you have to take more measures to boost it naturally like lifting and diet.
#27
I barely drink anymore, the hangovers suck, but it also makes my heart race. Like I’ll wake up in the middle of the night like with my heart going as fast as if I’ve been working out.
TomBeingPushed 6 months ago
That doesn't seem to be normal, even for people over 40. Would ask a doctor for advice, really.
#28
Body started degenerating a lot more after about 45.
It's still healthy and works but I have to be careful about feeling it properly, getting some exercise, and the like. But now I look old and people treat me differently because of it, and that's sad.
Jill Rhodry 6 months ago
But you feel the same as you did when you were 17 on the inside - so your brain makes promises the body just can't keep.
#29
In your 40’s you commit to one of two things: fitness or illness.
#30
Do yourself a favor and start doing Pilates. Get that core strong and save yourself back problems down the road.
What do you think ?
Bald Panda 6 months ago
I just turned 41 and I have never been happier or healthier as an adult. That sort of self-obsessed notion that other people think poorly of me or that I need to seek approval has vanished in the last few years. I enjoy my career, - I am experienced and confident, imposter syndrome be damned! In tandem with that, I am happily married to a wonderful supporting wife and I've taken up bikepacking so I keep myself relatively fit. Got a handful of dear friends and that is enough for me. I was miserable, emotionally lost and almost completely sedentary and very unkind to myself for all of my 20s and about half of my 30s. Yes, I am in my 40s, but for me it has been pretty great so far.
Mike F 6 months ago
Enjoy it! I was a lot the same. I worked a very physically demanding job printing but it was certainly no piece of cake. By 55 I didn't want hear about that any longer and, like above, old work injuries reared their ugly head and it's no picnic since then. Enjoy your 40's.
Load More Replies...
Seedy Vine 6 months ago (edited)
Menopause is great for the lack of painful periods and all that comes with them. Any hair you've been plucking or shaving may never grow back. And one's decolletage can look like an alligator's skin if you don't cover it up in the sun while you're young.
Bartlet for World Domination 6 months ago
I'm in my fifties, I smoke, I don't exercise, and apart from needing glasses I noticed only two things: from 35, a mother of a hangover lasted two days instead of one, and at 50 I started becoming irregular. Nothing aches, I sleep well. No problem.
Bald Panda 6 months ago
I just turned 41 and I have never been happier or healthier as an adult. That sort of self-obsessed notion that other people think poorly of me or that I need to seek approval has vanished in the last few years. I enjoy my career, - I am experienced and confident, imposter syndrome be damned! In tandem with that, I am happily married to a wonderful supporting wife and I've taken up bikepacking so I keep myself relatively fit. Got a handful of dear friends and that is enough for me. I was miserable, emotionally lost and almost completely sedentary and very unkind to myself for all of my 20s and about half of my 30s. Yes, I am in my 40s, but for me it has been pretty great so far.
Mike F 6 months ago
Enjoy it! I was a lot the same. I worked a very physically demanding job printing but it was certainly no piece of cake. By 55 I didn't want hear about that any longer and, like above, old work injuries reared their ugly head and it's no picnic since then. Enjoy your 40's.
Load More Replies... Seedy Vine 6 months ago (edited)
Menopause is great for the lack of painful periods and all that comes with them. Any hair you've been plucking or shaving may never grow back. And one's decolletage can look like an alligator's skin if you don't cover it up in the sun while you're young.
Bartlet for World Domination 6 months ago
I'm in my fifties, I smoke, I don't exercise, and apart from needing glasses I noticed only two things: from 35, a mother of a hangover lasted two days instead of one, and at 50 I started becoming irregular. Nothing aches, I sleep well. No problem.
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