Biological Clock

Biological Clock

Ticking toward Wisdom

Delicate lines extend the curves of your eyes. Support stockings are now more than a way to add shine to your legs.

You're beginning to feel . . . older. You heard the first tick of your biological clock at age 30, when a glint of silver appeared in your hair. The ticking grew louder at 35, when crow's-feet made their debut. And it reached a crescendo at 40, when you wondered whether you were fertile enough to get pregnant.

True, your body is beginning to age. But the process may not be as inevitable as you think.

In the past, the physical markers of aging led scientists to believe that the body was one big biological clock that got wound up at birth, never missed a tick through age 29, then spent the next 46 years or so winding down.

Today, scientists suspect that our biological clocks could actually keep on ticking for as long as 120 years. And the only reason they don't is molecular sabotage, says Huber Warner, Ph.D., deputy associate director of the Biology of Aging Program at the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland.

Molecules left over from normal body processes such as breathing and eating are the culprits, explains Dr. Warner. They damage all the body's genes, including those responsible for quality control, so that the genes can no longer do their jobs. And with damaged quality control genes less able to check the work of cellular repair squads, mistakes made by the squads start to pile up. Eventually, the body's cells cease to function properly, and the gray hair, crow's-feet, poor vision and saggy breasts that we associate with aging begin.

Of course, no one theory can explain all the complex changes associated with aging, says Dr. Warner. Other factors, such as changes in the levels of key body chemicals that tell various genes when to turn on and off, may also contribute to the aging process.

When human growth hormone, estrogen and testosterone (yes, in women, too) are reduced sometime after age 30, women shrink instead of grow, their egg quality declines and their skin thins and becomes dry. Moreover, immune system fighters that normally target invading microbes apparently lose the ability to tell friend from foe and end up targeting parts of the body that they're supposed to defend--and triggering diseases such as arthritis and lupus in the process.

Can You Turn Back the Clock?

Scientists are working on various strategies to keep our biological clocks in good repair until our last seconds of life, says Dr. Warner. Some scientists are tinkering with genes to correct genetic mistakes. Some are replacing hormones that affect cell growth. Some are developing compounds that will trap free radicals, the molecules that damage quality control genes. And some are studying lifestyle changes that may help.

Based on animal studies, some scientists suspect that eating radically fewer calories may keep you healthier well into your sixties and seventies.

A second strategy involves taking antioxidants--beta-carotene and vitamins C and E--to reduce the damage done by free radicals.

And one theory, still in the preliminary stages, involves replacing human growth hormone as it peters out.

Dealing with Reality

Until scientists are able to tell us how to keep our biological clocks running more efficiently for a longer time, at some point all of us must eventually come to terms with the fact that our joints are less flexible, our memory less trustworthy, our vision less acute, our fertility less of a sure thing.

Here's how experts suggest we do it.

Share. "Getting together with other women to talk about the changes in ourselves is crucial," says Phyllis R. Koch-Sheras, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and adjunct professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, particularly since our youth-oriented culture doesn't yet support or appreciate women who are getting older.

Sharing your feelings with other women who are experiencing the same biological changes will help you understand and accept those changes, says Dr. Koch-Sheras. You'll learn to look at yourself differently, without applying incorrect and destructive social attitudes about aging toward yourself.

It's not a case of denial or trying to look through rose-colored glasses, emphasizes Dr. Koch-Sheras. It's a case of putting aging in its proper perspective. You'll learn to appreciate your silver hair as a sign of increasing wisdom and your wrinkles as a sign of having an invigorating outdoor life. And you'll also see the positive reality of growing older--the increased tolerance, energy and assertiveness that allow you more control of your life than you've ever had, not to mention a well-developed sense of humor that allows you to laugh at your own foibles.

Examine your dreams. Another way to come to terms with a biological clock that's slowing down is through your dreams, says Dr. Koch-Sheras, who co-authored Dream On: A Dream Interpretation and Exploration Guide for Women.

"Dreams are an access to parts of yourself you don't know," she explains. In them, you can identify how you feel about yourself getting older.

Some women might see images in their dreams that indicate they are having difficulty accepting the breakdown of their biological clocks--perhaps the appearance of an old woman who was evil or who was rejected by everyone she met.

The point is to bring these anti-aging feelings out into the light, where you can evaluate them instead of having them subconsciously determine your attitude toward getting older, says Dr. Koch-Sheras. Once in the light, the truth tends to be more obvious.

Write a letter. For some women, one of the best ways to come to terms with aging is to write about the biological changes in a letter addressed to a friend or relative, Dr. Koch-Sheras says. You don't have to send the letter to anyone. The idea is to list your feelings on paper, then think about them. It's a process that not only will help you accept the notion that you're getting older, she says, but also will help you get to know yourself better as well.

Feel you've accomplished something. "Adjusting to aging is really not that difficult," says I. M. Hulicka, Ph.D., professor emeritus of psychology at Buffalo State College in Buffalo, New York. If you've done things that you're proud of--built a bridge, raised a child, supported friends or family through life's crises, volunteered at a local hospice--then "it's simply a matter of saying 'Well, I like what I've accomplished, I like my life and I'm looking forward to more.' "

Many people who have difficult times accepting their own aging are the ones who believe that they have done little with their lives and are just now realizing that there may not be enough time left in which to do anything they consider significant.

"That's terrible," says Dr. Hulicka. Make sure it doesn't happen to you by taking stock of your life now and establishing goals that, once attained, will give you a sense of accomplishment whenever you look back.