SIX STRANGE AND ANNOYING SIGNS YOU’RE GETTING OLDER (AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEM)
I can’t be the only one noticing all the pesky signs of ageing. I used to be 5ft 8in – now, at 63, it’s more like 5ft 7in.
My vision, hearing, memory and hair aren’t quite what they used to be, just a few things that tend to wane as the number of candles on our birthday cake increases.
Are there biological and scientific reasons behind all of these annoying signs? What is normal and what isn’t? And more importantly, can I slow them down? I consulted the experts to find out.
“There are two factors really driving ageing,” explains Leigh Breen, a professor and expert in longevity at Leicester Diabetes Centre.
In primary ageing, cells become tired and can’t continue to replicate at the same rate as in our youth. “Examples linked to this are skin wrinkling, greying hair, slower reaction times, reduced bone density,” Prof Breen says. “Fortunately, there’s also a process called secondary ageing, driven by factors outside the body, many of which are preventable or modifiable.” This is music to my ears.
“There’s a lot we can do around diet and physical activity to make sure that deterioration is minimised, so we can stay mobile, play with the grandkids… and the knock-on effect is that you actually stand a better chance of coming out of chronic health conditions in decent shape. It gives you a buffer.”
Here’s how to spot those pesky signs.
1. The teeth ‘shift and drift’
Our teeth never stop moving, which can lead to crowding in the lower front teeth or gaps in the upper teeth. Common reasons include the loss of a tooth; gum disease, which can make teeth unstable; and wear from things like grinding.
“Your teeth are not fixed rigidly into your jaw the way a screw sits in a wall,” says aesthetics doctor Memee Ahmad. “They gradually lose resilience and repair capacity as we age. The jawbone itself follows the same slow decline in density and strength that affects the whole skeleton over time.”
Decades of chewing slowly wear down the biting surfaces, which can cause individual teeth to tilt or drift. “And if even one tooth is lost, the neighbouring teeth begin to lean into the gap, setting off a chain reaction through the rest of the arch.”
What to do
See a dentist if we notice new or progressive crowding or spacing, food trapping consistently in the same area, jaw discomfort, or any tooth mobility. “These can be early signals of periodontal inflammation and bone loss that, if left unaddressed, can rapidly worsen. Crucially, because you are also less likely to feel food trapped between teeth, oral hygiene becomes more important.”
If significant drift is occurring, modern options – such as retainers, clear aligners and composite bonding – are far less invasive than those used in yesteryear, says Dr Ahmad, and can restore function and alignment effectively, even later in life.
A well-fitted night-guard is also simple and protective for teeth-grinders.
2. You’ll shrink (and keep shrinking)
Most people get shorter as they age, starting around the age of 40. But research by the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging shows that men and women lose height differently.
By the age of 70, men will have lost an average of one inch, women closer to two inches. By 80 we’ll probably have dropped another inch. We lose bone and cartilage in the vertebrae of our spine, which can make us shorter, and the abdominal and lower-back muscles around the spine can weaken, making it harder to hold the spine upright.
“Poor posture and muscle loss can lead to a hunched appearance and perceived shortening of the spine known as kyphosis,” explains Dr Cara Green, a research fellow at Bath University focusing on nutrition and healthy ageing. “If people notice, in a very short space of time, a more pronounced loss of height, or they start to develop back pain or a stoop, or perhaps they’re susceptible to fractures, that could suggest osteoporosis,” says Prof Breen.
“Bone loss is accelerated particularly in women post-menopause due to oestrogen effects on bone metabolism,” says Dr Fiona MacRae, a specialist in integrative women’s health and bioidentical hormone balancing for Marion Gluck Clinic. “As oestrogen declines, bone resorption increases, bone density decreases and vertebrae become more fragile. In men, the decline is more gradual.”
What to do
While height loss is rarely reversible, the aim is to stabilise and prevent further structural decline. Dr MacRae recommends measuring current height properly, comparing it with previous adult height, and assessing your fracture risk. A Dexa scan measures bone mineral density and your GP may ask for a “trabecular bone score” to check its strength.
“You may be able to slow things down in part by doing resistance training and weight-bearing exercises that strengthen your core and stimulate bone growth, and by getting enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet,” advises registered nutritionist Karen Preece Smith.
“The recommended dietary allowance is 1,000-1,200 mg daily for adults over 50. Canned salmon is a great source, as is dairy, leafy green vegetables and tofu. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, and is important for oestrogen production and supporting HRT in menopause. 800 international units [per day] is recommended. Mushrooms and oily fish are great sources, as is sunlight. Potassium and magnesium are also needed to increase bone mineral density.”
3. You get hair in strange places
This is one of the most visible and often misunderstood features of ageing, says Dr McRae. “We lose scalp hair and may get more facial hair as we age. The key principle is that different hair follicles respond differently to the same hormonal environment.”
She explains that with age, especially around and after menopause, there is a dramatic drop in oestrogen for women (a hair-friendly hormone that helps keep hair in the growth phase), while androgens (like testosterone) remain relatively stable or decline more slowly. Gradual scalp thinning and a few coarse chin hairs in midlife are common.
In men, while total testosterone declines, facial hair follicles tend to thrive under the influence of DHT (dihydrotestosterone, an androgen hormone derived from testosterone), whereas scalp hair follicles may become reduced due to the same hormone. “The overall result tends to be loss of head hair in men and increased facial hair.”
What to do
For scalp hair loss, the best-supported first-line treatment for female pattern hair loss is topical minoxidil, although once started this treatment needs to be continued, as stopping minoxidil is likely to lead to the loss of up to 80 per cent of new hair growth, Dr McRae advises.
Facial hair treatment depends on how bothersome it is. “For persistent facial hirsutism in women, topical eflornithine is the main licensed topical option; evidence also supports combining it with laser hair removal for better effect.”
“For men experiencing hair loss, we can run a special urine test which tells us how much of a particular hormone is being produced and then recommend supplements such as saw palmetto to influence this.
“We can use prescription hair tonics from the Specialist Pharmacy or platelet-rich plasma and exosome therapy [which works by injecting a blend of your blood’s platelets with stem cells]. Personalised treatment is so important because it can be tailored to the individual and also check which other imbalances could be causing problems.”
4. You can’t get off the sofa
Alarmingly, after the age of 40, people typically lose about 1-2 per cent of muscle mass each year.
“Less than 15 per cent of older adults are doing their twice-a-week strength exercise, even though that is the number one thing that will maintain their functional independence,” says Dr Oly Perkin of the University of Bath’s Centre for Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.
What to do
Perkin recommends two whole-body strength training sessions a week. “The best exercises are the ones that move as many joints as possible – knees, hips, ankle joints – at the same time; so squats and dead lifts, or sit-to-stand from a chair. Try and work in upper body movements that ask you to stretch up as high as you can, then pull as far back, or push as far forward as you can.”
He also recommends deep-breathing exercises for older adults who cannot engage in other physical activities. “Try to expand your thoracic cavity, your rib cage, as much as possible.”
5. We go to the loo more often
Bladder capacity in older men and women is almost half that of younger individuals.
“The question I am most often asked about sleep is ‘How do I stop needing to get up at night to pee?’,” says Professor Russell Foster, author of Life Time: The New Science of the Body Clock.
About 50 per cent of people experience it in their 60s, and around 80 per cent in their late 70s. It is considered a major cause of sleep disruption and daytime sleepiness. Because sleep is not as deep as we age, sleep disturbance is much more likely to occur. Following awakening, we are more likely to become aware of our bladder “status” and then be prompted to go for a pee.
Light sleep will also make us more aware of the signals coming from the stretch receptors in the bladder, which will drive awakening.
What to do
If older individuals are given sleep medication, nocturia is reduced. The hormone vasopressin regulates urine production and its rhythm changes with age, so talk to your GP about taking desmopressin, a synthetic hormone that can help manage nocturia by mimicking vasopressin. Prof Foster also recommends stopping drinking fluids two hours before bed.
6. We feel less thirsty
After the age of 80 we start losing our sensation of thirst, says Dr Ardeshir Hashmi at the Center for Geriatric Medicine at Cleveland Clinic.
Thirst is an “early warning system” that lets us know we are getting dehydrated. As the thirst sensation is blunted, we need to be increasingly mindful to drink the right liquids.
What to do
It sounds obvious, but it’s vital to keep up the fluids, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Water, juice and other electrolyte-rich drinks are key at regular intervals to prevent dehydration.
Ideally, drink 1.8 litres per day, but a target of 1.4 litres per day is more practical. Most of us rarely get to this target. Caffeine, tea, coffee and soda only dehydrate us.
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2026-06-01T07:21:12Z
