New Research Shows That Aging Isn’t Gradual—It Comes in “Bursts”

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If you’re suddenly feeling old, it’s not just in your head. New research shows that aging actually comes in bursts. Read more in our latest. | SUCCESS

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Achy bones, sensitive skin and dreaded gray hairs are slowly making their way to millennials, but research shows that it might not always be a case of “slow and steady wins the race.” A recent study has suggested that “bursts” of aging occur at the ages of 44 and 60, providing an answer to why some people feel so old all of a sudden.

The study, which Stanford researches published in Nature Aging, looked at human cells across many organs and systems at a molecular level and determined that they aren’t gradually aging like we’d thought. Instead, there are specific times where aging speeds up, including at ages 44 and 60.

“This study challenged the well-established thought process that aging is linear,” says Dr. Raj Singh, an internist at HEALOR and RAREV and an assistant professor at both the University of Las Vegas School of Medicine and Touro University of Nevada. “Contrary to the expectation that tissues deteriorate gradually over time, the study found that aging may not follow a straightforward, linear trajectory. Instead, certain tissues showed periods of stability interspersed with sudden declines in function. This non-linear pattern suggests that aging may involve complex biological processes that are not fully understood.”

However, Singh shows concern about the study’s size—it used only 108 California residents. “I would not draw any major conclusions from this study other than that it raised some interesting points that warrants more research,” he says.

But one of the study’s authors—Michael Snyder, P.h.D., a geneticist and director of the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University—disagrees.

“The way we do science is very different,” he says. “Everybody else does a little bit of data on lots of people. They’re in this mindset [that] you need thousands of people to discover anything, which is wrong. What we do is a super, super deep data dive on a small number of people, because the ultimate goal is to set up personalized tracking and interventions. [Researchers] followed most of the participants for over 11 years.”

Some middle-aged Americans have already experienced firsthand the feeling of aging all at once, long before research confirmed it. But others around the globe have different perceptions of when you really get “old.”

A January study in Frontiers in Social Psychology suggested that people in the U.S. do feel that burst near age 60 (or more specifically, between the ages of 62 and 63). But in other countries, this timeframe isn’t the same. People in China feel that “older adulthood” starts at age 58, while individuals in Belgium believe that it starts at 70.

Though these varied opinions show that age is as much about the perception of the aging process as it is about cellular breakdown, anyone who has hit a major health issue or two can tell you that aging feels very real.

“Nine days after I turned 60, I underwent a surprise triple bypass,” says Tami Kamin Meyer of Columbus, Ohio. “That was Feb. 8, 2024. While my heart is doing well now, I am suffering from extensive osteoarthritis in my right knee. I was forced to stop taking my arthritis medication after my surgery. Certainly the meds were masking my otherwise compromised knee.

“I am in pain despite a cortisone shot in my knee and physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around my knee,” she adds. “No doubt 60 has been ‘fun.’”

For others, these aging bursts are also a time for recognizing the positive aspects of aging. “At 44, I did have a leap in maturity and courage,” says Julie Lieberman Neale of San Mateo, California. “I said ‘yes’ to a big dream and started what I refer to as my mid-life renaissance on my 45th birthday.”

With two looming aging bursts on the horizon for those under 44, and for people over 60 who worry that it’s only downhill from here, we asked Snyder what he hopes people do with this new information.

“Keep on your toes before you get to your 40s,” he says. “People are getting too sedentary in their 30s.” He also suggests going on statins as you hit your 40s, which he calls “pretty safe,” and warns that one of the major findings in the study for that aging burst at 44 showed that this is when people start having more issues metabolizing caffeine and alcohol.

Because of this, it can be smart to reduce your consumption of both substances, or at least expect them to have more of an effect. This includes getting “a little bit more tipsy” from just one drink, he says. Snyder himself cut caffeine in the afternoon in his 40s, something that hadn’t bothered him when he was younger.

Though aging is completely natural and to be expected, those who are hoping to slow down the process can try a few science-backed tips to access the fountain of youth:

The real question now is what we’ll do next with this information. According to Snyder, “The main thing is to see how lifestyle interventions can shift your aging pattern”—so let’s get to it and live well while we can.

Photo by Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com

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