5 Signs of Aging That Sound Scary But Are Usucontally Normal
When you’re young, no one warns you of all
the perfectly natural but unexpected changes our bodies are bound to
undergo with age. Sure, everyone knows about the superficial things like
partial vision loss, grey hair, or wrinkles, but it isn’t only our
appearance and eyesight that changes with time. For example, your
digestive system slows down with age, your blood vessels become stiffer
and more fragile, and bone size and density tend to decrease.
In some cases, these perfectly normal signs
of aging can be confused with serious symptoms of devastating health
conditions like a heart attack or dementia, which can result in a lot of
unnecessary stress and anxiety. In this article, we'll focus on 5 such
perfectly normal symptoms of aging that can sound scary but are usually
normal.
That said, keep in mind that everything depends on your personal life
context. For example, people experiencing any of the symptoms we list
below that also have a family history of the respective condition
associated with these symptoms should immediately seek medical help, as
they have a much higher risk of said diseases. Thus, be careful and when
in doubt, do seek professional help.
1. Heart Palpitations
Changes in heart rate are part of everyone's life, and in many cases, a
racing heart is a sign that you're a living breathing person. Increased
heart rate is a normal hormonal response to increased physical activity,
stress, or even emotions - it's a sign that your sympathetic nervous
system is activated and your body is ready to act and defend itself. So,
if you feel like your heart is pounding after a workout, a morning run,
or a stressful situation, it's probably no cause for concern.
That said, an irregular heartbeat can also signify cardiovascular issues
and even medical emergencies like a heart attack, so it's not a good
idea to dismiss a racing heart completely. Cardiologists point out that
heart palpitations that do not stop or worsen after a few minutes are a
reason to visit a doctor. Likewise, if your heart rate increases many
times a day during everyday activities like watching TV, especially
without any apparent reason like being emotional or stressed, is a
reason for concern.
2. You Feel Cold All the Time
Feeling cold all the time is another one of
those side effects of aging no one warns you of. The thing is that,
with age, the body's muscle mass naturally decreases, and no matter how
much we exercise and how well we eat, the blood circulation is becoming
less effective, too, and you may start noticing that your hands and feet
always get cold. If this process is gradual, and there are no other
symptoms that you've noticed, like sweating and sudden weight changes,
you have nothing to worry about.
However, if you noticed that this symptom has developed rather rapidly,
your hands and feet become pale and numb, or you experience sweating
together with freezing even in hot weather, it may be a sign that
something is wrong with your thyroid gland or cardiovascular system, and
in this case, you definitely ought to visit a doctor.
3. You Can't Hear High Pitch Noises Well
It's strange that age-related vision loss
is such common knowledge, but hearing loss isn't, even though it often
starts much earlier than vision problems, with most people starting to
lose some of their hearing as early as in their 30s. The hearing of high
pitched sounds seems to be the first to be affected by age, and it's
perfectly normal and nearly always happens.
Still, be mindful of your personal context, too, and assess the
situation systematically. If the hearing loss is symmetrical and
gradual, it's likely no reason to be concerned, but sudden hearing loss
or hearing loss in just one of the ears is a different story and may
warrant a trip to your GP.
4. You Forget Things From Time to Time
We live longer today than people ever did
in the past, and with an increasing number of people with a lifespan of
80 and above, dementia and Alzheimer's disease have become more
prevalent than ever before. This makes perfect sense, and raising
awareness in the public regarding these neurodegenerative diseases is
extremely important, but with a raised awareness also comes some
confusion.
If you sometimes forget whether you left the lights on in the living
room before leaving to work or not, that's perfectly normal, even if
you're only in your early 30s or 40s. We must remember that our memory
is affected by many other factors, especially stress, lack of sleep, or
even a poor diet, so misplacing things or not remembering some
information is perfectly fine most of the time. As Dr. Cleveland, a
geriatrician, recently reported in an interview, “You’re stressed,
rushed, tired, or you have one too many drinks. It doesn’t mean you have
Alzheimer’s. It’s a matter of degree. If you forget where your keys
are, that’s one thing; if you forget what your keys do, that’s another".
We live longer today than people ever did
in the past, and with an increasing number of people with a lifespan of
80 and above, dementia and Alzheimer's disease have become more
prevalent than ever before. This makes perfect sense, and raising
awareness in the public regarding these neurodegenerative diseases is
extremely important, but with a raised awareness also comes some
confusion.
If you sometimes forget whether you left the lights on in the living
room before leaving to work or not, that's perfectly normal, even if
you're only in your early 30s or 40s. We must remember that our memory
is affected by many other factors, especially stress, lack of sleep, or
even a poor diet, so misplacing things or not remembering some
information is perfectly fine most of the time. As Dr. Cleveland, a
geriatrician, recently reported in an interview, “You’re stressed,
rushed, tired, or you have one too many drinks. It doesn’t mean you have
Alzheimer’s. It’s a matter of degree. If you forget where your keys
are, that’s one thing; if you forget what your keys do, that’s another
So, if your symptoms do not involve repeated and fundamental memory loss
and you're nearing your golden years, don't worry. You may also find
that memorizing things becomes more difficult as you age and you may
need more repetition and practice to learn new information and skills,
and that's fine, too. The good news is, though, that older people are
less likely to then forget the skill or information they learned
compared to youngsters, so there is a silver lining to these age-related
memory changes, too.
5. Your Knee Pops
Have you ever been told by your parents
that you should stop popping or cracking your fingers because it will
give you arthritis? I know I have, and to this day, I have negative
associations with the sound of cracking joints, although I know well
that in most cases, it's completely harmless. That said, our joints do
tend to pop more with age, which can be because of the breakdown of
collagen that happens with age, which is the main "ingredient" of
cartilage and connective tissue and is crucial for healthy joints.
So, doctors point out that in some cases, popping joints can signify the
beginning of osteoarthritis, and if you start noticing it more, it
might be useful to start some sort of exercise regimen, to walk more,
and lose some excess weight if you have any. But all in all, it's only
if you experience popping joints accompanied by stiffness and soreness
of the joint that it's a cause for concern.