Human Aging and signs of aging

All living things have a life span. They progressively pass through different stages during their lifetime. And eventually, they get old and die. Non-living things also get old, but they fade and not necessarily die. They do not breathe.

Death is when the breath is taken away from a living being. When a living thing can no longer breathe, when its heart stops beating and its bodily functions no longer work, death is said to have occurred. Death is the final physical stage of every living thing but before this stage is aging.

This progressive stage is not always the case as death could be premature. But following the natural order, aging must occur.

No living thing remains as it is from the time of existence. It is affected by physical, environmental, and biological factors. This causes it to change.

Aging can be seen as the process of getting weaker and older. Human aging starts at the age of twenty-five (25years) as at that age our bodies no longer regenerate cells but used cells start to decay. Though the prominent aging starts at age forty (40years). Aging affects every organ, cell, tissue, and system in the body.

Signs of Human Aging

⮚ Wrinkling of the skin.
⮚ More susceptible to infection and diseases as the strength of the immune system is reduced.
⮚ A slouching posture.
⮚ Falling of hair couple with change in the colour of hair to gray or white.
⮚ Weakening of the bones. They also become thinner. Joints become less flexible and they begin to stiffen.
⮚ Reduced agility. The person becomes slow in carrying out activities.
⮚ Rate of digestion becomes slow.
⮚ Reduced eye-sight and hearing ability.
⮚ Another sign of Human aging is the decrease in the biological function of the body such as digestive juice secreted in the body is reduced, after an exercise the rate of heartbeat takes longer to return to normal.

Generally, the overall functioning of the body system becomes slow.

Types of Aging

There are four types of Aging;
⮚ Cellular Aging: our bodies are made of cells. Some of these cells combine together to form tissues, and tissue combines to form organs and the organs form a system. But the basic functional unit of development in our bodies is our cell.

Cellular aging is when the body is no longer able to regenerate cells but existing and used cells start to die and decay. Cells can regenerate up to 50 times before they are no longer able to copy correctly their genetic material and they start dying.

⮚ Metabolic aging: this type of aging is a result of our body metabolism which results from our day-to-day activities. Our bodies digest and supply energy from the food we eat pumps blood at a faster rate from the exercises we do, and relaxes when we sleep. All these activities contribute to the process of aging.

⮚ Accumulated damage: this is the effect of external activities on our bodies that leads to aging. The effect of the sun on our skin, toxins from the environment which could enter our bodies through the mouth, nose, or eye, certain food substances we consume, all these eventually causes the body to age.

⮚ Hormonal aging: changes in the skin such as pimples and acne, voice, body form, puberty, menstruation, and menopause are caused by hormones secreted in the body. Hormones are a contributing factor to growth; therefore they also contribute to aging.

Causes of Aging

The following factors contribute to human aging:
⮚ Stress and fatigue
⮚ Side reaction to food, drugs, and other substances.
⮚ Diet and Dehydration
⮚ Effect of sunlight
⮚ The state of the mind. When we are not always happy, do not socialize, easily get depressed and angry, this contributes to quickening the rate of our body aging.

Ways to slow down the rate of aging

Knowing the causes of aging would help you avoid conditions that may lead to aging. Aging is inevitable but it can be slowed down. The following can help slow down aging;
⮚ A good mood: Being happy, social interaction, and smiling can help.
⮚ Get a good diet and adequate rest. This enables to body to properly maintain its cell structure. Avoid dehydration, drink water as much as necessary as possible.
⮚ Consumption of vegetables and certain fruits like avocado, blueberries, papaya, and nuts.
⮚ Avoid smoking and high consumption of alcohol.