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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

"The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 Despite all the negatives, your “give a f***s” plummet at 40 which is pretty great.

Ragegasm , Polina Zimmerman Report

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    #2

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    Mushrooming247 , Andrea Piacquadio Report

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    #3

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 Tired. Just tired. If you were already tired before 40, then you’re gonna be more tired.

    Until it’s time for bed.

    RadonAjah , Andrew Neel Report

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    #4

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 I’m gonna be real. There is a day in your early 40s where you wake up weirdly tired, and that never goes away.

    n3u7r1n0 , Marcus Aurelius Report

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    #5

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 Body's gonna be sore. You want the soreness from exercising or the soreness from not exercising?

    totalperspec , Karolina Grabowska Report

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    #6

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    pitathegreat , George Milton Report

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    jlkooiker avatar
    lenka
    lenka
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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.

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    #7

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    Nervous-Specific849 , TUBARONES PHOTOGRAPHY Report

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    tinataylor avatar
    ToastedFroggy
    ToastedFroggy
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hahaha, laughed so hard at this one. Now my dog is looking at me funny.

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    #8

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    Taskerst , Ono Kosuki Report

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    rararando avatar
    rararando
    rararando
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh snap, i've been in my 40s since i was 10? ):

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    #9

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    that-1-chick-u-know , NIH Image Gallery Report

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    #10

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 It takes longer to heal from everything!

    iamjustatourist , Dean (leu) Report

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    #11

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 I'm 64 and I'm not going to even bother.

    JUYED-AWK-YACC , Andrea Piacquadio Report

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    michaelpperthaussieguy avatar
    Michael P (Perthaussieguy)
    Michael P (Perthaussieguy)
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm 67 and .............just tying to remember what I was going to say.............nope, lost it :(

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    #12

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    Roupert4 , JESHOOTS.com Report

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    #13

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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!

    TR3BPilot , Towfiqu barbhuiya Report

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    #14

    You become grumpier and tolerate a lot less s**t from people, because you realize time is starting run out for you.

    Funkinturtle Report

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    snowman78 avatar
    Ban-One
    Ban-One
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yup, I'm a mix between Al Bundy and Red Forman. Best of both worlds.

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    #15

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 Skin tags.

    Skinnee11 , macngeese Report

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    #16

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    zerbey , Sasun Bughdaryan Report

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    danielgilroy_1 avatar
    Blayze Infyrno
    Blayze Infyrno
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There's no way that weird headless person in the photo is over 40.

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    #17

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 I sneezed once and it felt like I broke two ribs.

    DarkIllusionsFX , cottonbro studio Report

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    #18

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    Kissariani , Valeria Boltneva Report

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    #19

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 What the f**k is up with all this ear hair?

    KingBrave1 , Zyada Report

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    #20

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    MikiNiller , Thirdman Report

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    rachel_raynor avatar
    Rachknits
    Rachknits
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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

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    #21

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    Cappster14 , Towfiqu barbhuiya Report

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    #22

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 D**k quit. Hair quit. Eyes quit. Brain quit....annnd I forgot the last one.

    TheUpgrayed , Mikhail Nilov Report

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    mikefitzpatrick avatar
    Mike F
    Mike F
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I worked with a guy who used to say "it takes you all night to do what you used to do all night" and it's true.

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    #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.

    Zelamir Report

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    #24

    Don't stop moving. Ever.

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    michelle_95 avatar
    Michelle
    Michelle
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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.

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    #25

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 Small lapses in memory/recall. 


    Various boner concerns.


    A strange adjustment in self image from time to time. 


    Going “heurrghhh” while standing up. .

    Action_Seal , Vanessa Garcia Report

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    megafayce avatar
    Guigsy Gwiggins
    Guigsy Gwiggins
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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.

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    #26

    My favorite childhood memory is my back not hurting.

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    mariancochran avatar
    Me Oh My
    Me Oh My
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hahahahaha... hahaha.. :') (I'm 17 and I've had back pain since I hit puberty)

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    #27

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    klitchell , Andrea Piacquadio Report

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    TomBeingPushed
    TomBeingPushed
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That doesn't seem to be normal, even for people over 40. Would ask a doctor for advice, really.

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    #28

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 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.

    OnlyPants69 , Samantha Gades Report

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    jill_rhodry avatar
    Jill Rhodry
    Jill Rhodry
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    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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.

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    #29

    In your 40’s you commit to one of two things: fitness or illness.

    nunsandhills Report

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    #30

    "The Check Engine Light Came On": 30 Body Changes People Experienced After Hitting 40 Do yourself a favor and start doing Pilates. Get that core strong and save yourself back problems down the road.

    Costcorocks , Jessica Monte Report

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    robin aldrich
    robin aldrich
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    5 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Can I do that without buying expensive equipment? or going somewhere and I embarrass myself in public????

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