25 Unexpected Shifts In The Body That Occurs After 40 And Beyond

Entering your 40s is often accompanied by a myriad of changes, both physical and psychological. Recently, a curious Redditor posed a question that resonated with many: “Hey y’all in your 40s: what are the physical changes you start to see in your body once you leave your 30s? What should we expect to experience physiologically as we get into our 4th decade?”

#1

Image source: pitathegreat, George Milton

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.

#2

Image source: Nervous-Specific849, TUBARONES PHOTOGRAPHY

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.

#3

Image source: Taskerst, Ono Kosuki

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.

#4

Image source: iamjustatourist, Dean (leu)

It takes longer to heal from everything!

#5

Image source: Ragegasm, Polina Zimmerman

Despite all the negatives, your “give a f***s” plummet at 40 which is pretty great.

#6

Image source: Mushrooming247, Andrea Piacquadio

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.

#7

Image source: RadonAjah, Andrew Neel

Tired. Just tired. If you were already tired before 40, then you’re gonna be more tired.

Until it’s time for bed.

#8

Image source: n3u7r1n0, Marcus Aurelius

I’m gonna be real. There is a day in your early 40s where you wake up weirdly tired, and that never goes away.

#9

Image source: totalperspec, Karolina Grabowska

Body’s gonna be sore. You want the soreness from exercising or the soreness from not exercising?

#10

Image source: MikiNiller, Thirdman

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.

#11

Image source: Cappster14, Towfiqu barbhuiya

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.

#12

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.

Image source: Zelamir

#13

Don’t stop moving. Ever.

Image source: Black_Ron

#14

Image source: TheUpgrayed, Mikhail Nilov

D**k quit. Hair quit. Eyes quit. Brain quit….annnd I forgot the last one.

#15

Image source: Action_Seal, Vanessa Garcia

Small lapses in memory/recall.

Various boner concerns.

A strange adjustment in self image from time to time.

Going “heurrghhh” while standing up. .

#16

My favorite childhood memory is my back not hurting.

Image source: montydad5000

#17

Image source: klitchell, Andrea Piacquadio

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.

#18

Image source: that-1-chick-u-know, NIH Image Gallery

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.

#19

Image source: JUYED-AWK-YACC, Andrea Piacquadio

I’m 64 and I’m not going to even bother.

#20

Image source: Roupert4, JESHOOTS.com

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.

#21

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

Image source: Funkinturtle

#22

Image source: TR3BPilot, Towfiqu barbhuiya

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!

#23

Image source: Skinnee11, macngeese

Skin tags.

#24

Image source: DarkIllusionsFX, cottonbro studio

I sneezed once and it felt like I broke two ribs.

#25

Image source: zerbey, Sasun Bughdaryan

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.