WHY YOUR BODY STARTS TO AGE FASTER AT 50

Fact checked by Jennifer Klump

You might start aging faster once you turn 50. A new study found that organ and tissue aging accelerates around this age. However, not everything declines at the same rate: blood vessels start aging even faster than other parts of the body.

Aging May Speed Up Around Age 50

The new study, published in Cell, analyzed tissue samples from 76 organ donors who had accidental traumatic brain injuries between the ages of 14 and 68.

The samples included various parts of the body: the heart, lungs, intestines, pancreas, skin, muscle, blood, and adrenal glands, which are part of the endocrine system that produces hormones.

Adrenal tissues showed the earliest "aging signature" around age 30, which suggests endocrine imbalance may be an early driver of systemic aging, according to Guanghui Liu, PhD, a study author and professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Dramatic increases in aging were seen between the ages of 45 and 55. The aorta, the body’s largest blood vessel, changed the most, but the pancreas and spleen also had lasting changes during this period.

"The 45–55-year window emerges as a pivotal milestone, when most organ proteomes [a set of proteins] undergo a 'molecular cascade storm' with an explosive surge in differentially expressed proteins, marking the critical transition to systemic aging," Liu told Verywell in an email.

More research is needed with larger sample sizes and additional organs, especially since the brain, kidneys, and reproductive system were not included in this study. Still, this proof of concept shows that "human aging can be analyzed, quantified, and potentially modulated through a protein-centric approach," Liu said.

Protein Clocks Reveal Aging Patterns

The researchers used proteomic aging clocks to measure the aging of different tissues. Unlike epigenetic clocks that examine DNA changes, proteomic clocks use proteins to reveal aging patterns.

"The proteomic clocks are transforming the way we think about biological age," Douglas Vaughan, MD, director of the Potocsnak Longevity Institute at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Verywell.

"Here's a way you can find out the age of your organs: Are your lungs older than your brain? Is your heart older than your endocrine system?" Vaughan added. "It turns out, our systems do age at different rates."

Aging Can Speed Up at Various Times

Studies have suggested that aging speeds up at different time points in midlife. A 2024 study in the journal Nature Aging showed that aging occurs at two specific bursts: ages 44 and 60.

Another study showed that middle age (40-65) represented a shift in brain aging that could impact future cognitive health.

"There are all kinds of moments in our existence where we are aging at different rates. We don't necessarily feel it, but it's going on," Vaughan said.

These studies show the value of having your biological age measured at regular intervals. This could help you and your healthcare provider identify points of accelerated aging and find ways to slow aging during these "inflection points" with diet, exercise, sleep, stress reduction, or medications, he added.

Midlife Is a Crucial Time for Healthy Aging

Most people can't measure the age of their organs. Even without these measurements, we know that midlife is important for longevity. Studies show that having healthy behaviors in midlife increases the chances of aging in good health.

But you don't have to wait until midlife to adopt these behaviors.

"It is good to start as early as possible, because we start aging from birth," Robert Mankowski, PhD, an associate professor in the department of medicine in the division of gerontology, geriatrics, and palliative care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told Verywell.

Eating a balanced diet, exercising, getting enough sleep, and keeping your brain stimulated are habits that help support healthy aging.

While we can't change our genetics, we have control over our lifestyle, especially physical activity and nutrition. A healthy lifestyle helps support the immune system and defend the body from chronic disease in midlife and later life, Mankowski said.

What This Means For You

Aging may speed up around your 50s, but you can take steps earlier in life to help your body age more gradually. Healthy habits—like staying active, eating well, and managing stress—can support your organs and may reduce the effects of age-related decline.

Read the original article on Verywell Health

2025-07-31T18:33:38Z