Almost everyone knows how many years it has been since they were born, but did you know that this isn't the only indicator of how old you actually are? Gray hairs, wrinkles and other physical signs of aging can also be expected. Here we list some of the changes that your body will go through as you get older.

俗話說，人活七十古來稀。然而年齡不是判斷衰老的唯一標志，身體的運作狀況才是。白發(fā)、皺紋、老花眼……哪些信號提醒你變老了？專家總結出衰老的信號，幫你自查身體年齡。

As you age, you may suffer from dryness of the eyes and find it increasingly difficult to adapt to low light levels. You might also develop a sensitivity to very bright lights.

隨著年齡的增長，你時常眼睛干，一到晚上就看不清楚，對強光愈發(fā)敏感。

Over the course of a normal lifetime, the muscles of the jaw lose about 40 percent of their mass. This, combined with the fact that your mouth produces less saliva when you're older, can make chewing and swallowing difficult.

在人的一生中，隨著年齡增大面部肌肉會退化40%左右。因為腮腺分泌的唾液減少，容易感到口干。由于吞咽、咀嚼能力變差，面部肌肉松弛，吃東西容易嗆到。

The upshot of this is a tendency to eat slower and preference for softer foods among older people.

進食速度慢，或抱怨食物煮太硬，咀嚼時常不小心咬到臉頰內側的肉等，都是變老的標志。

Taste and smell are two closely linked senses that both become less sensitive the older we get. You may not notice at first, until your family ask why the food you cook is always so salty!

人老后味蕾減少、嗅覺細胞退化，食物吃起來變得較無味。尤其對甜、咸感覺不敏感，煮菜容易做得較咸。

Arteries become narrower and less resilient to wear and tear with age, leading to hypertension.

年齡增加后，動脈趨于硬化、狹窄且彈性較差，血壓會比過去高。

Our kidney functions also tend to deteriorate, which can result in even higher blood pressure, especially when aggravated by too much dietary salt.

腎功能隨年齡自然退化，影響排鈉的能力，血壓更容易升高。

Aging causes our bone density to decrease, cartilage to degenerate and muscles to shrink, resulting in a shorter, lighter body overall.

人老后骨密度變低，加上肌肉流失速度變快、細胞水分減少等，老人的身高、體重會逐漸比以往下降一些。

Our immune systems weaken as we age, meaning wounds take longer to heal. Recovery time is also prolonged for common ailments such as colds and the flu.

免疫功能會隨老化變差。受傷時，傷口愈合會比以前慢，感冒也需要較多天才會復原。

Most older people have a slower digestive system, which can lead to constipation. 

因腸道肌肉較無力加上腸道神經(jīng)老化，人老后腸道蠕動減少，就容易有便秘的狀況。

Their bladder capacity is also reduced, resulting in frequent urination, especially at night.

此外，人變老后，膀胱容量會稍微變少，導致排尿頻繁，尤其夜間起來上廁所的次數(shù)變多。

It's not uncommon for the elderly to sleep less but fatigue easily. They can also find it harder to fall asleep when they want.

變老的另一個標志是比以往難入睡，睡眠時間比以前少，晚上容易醒，白天又需要補覺。

Degeneration of the bones and joints causes a lack of flexibility, which can mean that older people adopt a sluggish gait and become more prone to stumbling.

因骨骼退化、肌力衰退、腳踝關節(jié)活動度變小，走路時就會不自覺拖著腳跟，不小心踢到物品或被絆倒。

As above, muscular atrophy and a general lack of joint mobility can affect the pace at which older people walk. Decreased heart and lung function also has apart to play, and can cause shortness of breath.

因心肺功能下降，加上肌力萎縮、關節(jié)活動度變低，老人的步伐會比以前小，快走時容易喘不上氣，或覺得累，想停下來休息。

Aging is unavoidable and it's perfectly natural to experience some or all of the symptoms listed above as you age. But beware these next three common signs of aging, as they could indicate something far more life-threatening:

年紀變大后，體力衰退、反應變慢在所難免，大部分都正常。但有些異常癥狀特別容易被當成自然老化的現(xiàn)象，很可能是需要趕緊治療的疾病。

If your hands start to shake, don't dismissit too easily because it could be a precursor to Parkinson's disease. Other early indicators include stiff limbs and poor balance. Consult a medical professional if you have any concerns.

需要警惕的是有些手抖可能是帕金森的前兆。一般來說，帕金森除手抖之外，通常還有四肢與表情僵硬、步伐緩慢、平衡感不佳的癥狀，身體看起來有點駝背，且手抖的狀況在靜止或活動時都會發(fā)生。

As our brains gets older, we react more slowly to things and tend to become more forgetful. Most of the time, this reduced memory function doesn't have too big of an effect on our daily lives.

年紀大后，因腦神經(jīng)傳導物質的減少，反應力會比以前稍慢，注意力較不集中，或偶爾忘記一些事。但大多數(shù)時候，記憶力輕微的變差不會影響到日常生活。

But forgetfulness can also signal the onset of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease. Neurological disorders like this are progressive and irreversible.

如果發(fā)現(xiàn)長輩記性明顯變差，如常常才講過的事情又重復交代、忘記前一兩天發(fā)生過的事、忘記過去一向熟悉的事，且有情緒暴躁、奇怪舉動等表現(xiàn)，就要警惕可能是老年癡呆癥的前兆。

Asillnesses and other medical issues become more common with age, so does fatigue. Demanding tasks such as climbing flights of stairs or walking long distances can leave older people exhausted and out of breath.

人老后，體力、心肺功能變差，有些老人從事以往習慣的活動，如買菜、爬樓梯、逛街等，會比較容易疲勞或氣喘吁吁。 

This is nothelped by asthma, which becomes increasingly common among people over the age of 65.

哮喘的發(fā)病率在年齡大于65歲的人群中愈來越高。

Though you may think that a little tiredness never hurt anyone, don't forget that fatigue can be a symptom of heart disease. In fact, according to one study, unexplained fatigue, shortness of breath and sleep disturbances were a better indicator of an imminent heart attack in female patients than actual chest pain. 

但喘與疲勞也是心臟病的癥狀之一，要格外提高警覺。據(jù)統(tǒng)計，急性心肌梗塞的女性中，有超過七成曾出現(xiàn)氣喘、疲倦感、失眠、消化不良、焦慮的情況，反而沒有胸痛感。

Source: People's Daily

Editor: Zhang Xi

Intern: Ji Jiayue