Functionally, the aging process starts early.
A stiffness in the nape upon waking, a breath a little shorter after having set up the stairs, an energy which seems to run faster than before … These little signs of everyday life remind us that our body keeps getting older and aging. Aging is a natural process that concerns us all. Far from being scheduled on a specific date, it is a slow transformation that starts much earlier than you think.
What we commonly consider as “aging” is in reality the moment when its effects become concrete and felt in our everyday life. “It is really in the fifties that we start to feel it”says Professor Eric Boulanger, professor of medicine and aging biology. The fifties is often marked by hormonal changes, including menopause for women and andropause in some men. Then, around 60 years old, other functions show signs of slowdown, in particular “Immunity and digestive and cognitive functions”. It is the age of the balance sheets, where one becomes aware of the need to preserve its health capital.
However, the real age where the body really begins to slow on the functional level is much earlier. Professor Boulanger is formal: “All functions are at most around 25 years old”. After this peak, the decline begins: from the age of 25-30 years, the rate of certain hormones decreases. Around 35 years old, it is the turn of bone density, muscle mass and cardiac and respiratory functions to slow down. “After 25 years, it is the turn of the kidneys, the brain and the liver to be concerned”adds the expert.
Despite this compulsory slowdown in the body, it is possible to age well. Aging varies enormously from one individual to another, because it depends on “Hygiene of life and the inherited genetic part. Genetics corresponds to around 20% of aging”the rest being mainly linked to our behavior and our environment. Preserving your muscle mass, monitoring your balance and maintaining regular physical activity are the keys to fighting the installation of fragility, slowing down this process, and especially living as long as possible in full possession of your means.
