People Over 40 Are Sharing The Physical Surprises They Weren't Ready For, And It's Unsettling

Reddit user u/successful-bonsai took to the platform to ask people in their forties: "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?" Here is what people had to say:

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

2."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."Peeing more often. Not being able to get it up as easily. Forgetting names more often."

4."It takes longer to heal from everything!"

5."What the fuck is up with all this ear hair?"

6."My body started degenerating a lot more after about 45. It's still healthy and works, but I have to be careful about feeding it properly, getting some exercise, and the like. But now I look old, and people treat me differently because of it, and that's sad."

7."Skin tags."

8."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!"

9."Dick quit. Hair quit. Eyes quit. Brain quit....annnd I forgot the last one."

10."I've noticed the skin on my hands is much more sensitive to dryness and is thinner than it used to be."

11."I sneezed once, and it felt like I broke two ribs."

12."Grey pubes. Oddly enough, my head hair only has a couple of random greys that are super fine, whereas, in my pants, it's all salt and pepper."

13."Mid-40s athletic male here. All my joints constantly ache and it takes longer to recover after exercise and playing sports. I’m always feeling stiff, and I was recently diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my shoulder. I can’t get comfortable when I sleep at night, and when I do fall asleep, I have to get up multiple times to pee. I wear glasses to see far, but I have to remove my glasses/contacts to read. That’s how the 40s have impacted me physically."

14."Farting."

15."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, muscle wasting, violent emotional swings, and inability to concentrate. Fun times."

16."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 others."

17."Hangovers take much longer to go away..."

18."Brain fog. Not being able to think of the name of that actor who was in that movie last year. Starting and forgetting."

19."I didn’t really notice anything until about 45. My eyes lost the ability to read fine print. My back hurts, and now I grunt like a pirate when I get up off the couch."

20.And, lastly, I'll leave this here:

"Let's see...

I threw my back out and wound up on the sofa for three 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 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 three weeks now instead of every four.

I'm pretty sure I could grow a goatee to rival any teenager's if I stopped my daily search for hair in places I do not want hair.

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."

—u/that-1-chick-u-know

Phew... are you over or under age 40? What are your thoughts or comments about this? Let us know in the comments!