7 Changes in men

Since infancy, boys and girls enter adolescence at different ages, where girls tend to experience puberty earlier. These differences continue into adulthood and enter old age. Men and women have different growth patterns in terms of physical, mental, and emotional capacities. Here are some differences that can be found between men and women as they age.

1. Men look younger than women

In terms of appearance, increasing age will certainly cause changes in a person's skin. Women are more prone to experience a variety of wrinkles on the face from adulthood to the elderly, although both men and women experience a decrease in collagen levels that are not much different at the age of 30 years.

This is due to the skin nature of men who age slowly so they tend to be less prone to aging. The male hormone testosterone also plays a role in increasing skin thickness and collagen density. The skin in men also tends to be stronger and more moisturized because they are more often exposed to lactic acid from the sweat they produce.

2. Men experience a decrease in muscle mass first

Although weight gain is generally influenced by intake and activity, there are differences in weight gain patterns between men and women. Muscle mass in men will decrease earlier than women, namely at the age of 50 years. This is because the hormone testosterone tends to decrease so that it cannot maintain muscle mass. Whereas in women, body weight decreases after the age of 65 years due to decreased muscle mass, but this is not really influenced by decreased hormones.

3. Different levels of happiness

Based on a study, in the elderly, men tend to be happier than women. The proportion of elderly who felt very happy in the study was greater in the male group (25%) than in the female group (20%). In contrast to the female group, the proportion of individuals who are very happy is found in individuals with a younger age.

Men are also more likely to accept physical changes with age. One study among college students also showed that women were more worried about physical changes as they were older than men. Mood changes due to physical conditions are also often experienced by women at the age of 40 because of the appearance of wrinkles on the face. Especially after menopause, physical changes that are so fast can also cause elderly women to be more prone to depression.

4. Menopause and Andropause

Both are caused by changes in sex hormones that affect various reproductive functions in both women and men. Menopause in women normally occurs at the age of 50 years. This is marked by the cessation of various reproductive functions in women because the body no longer produces the hormone estrogen and causes the body to tire easily, the vagina feels dry, and decreased libido. Meanwhile, hormonal changes in men are known as andropause. In contrast to menopause, andropause does not interfere with fertility in men as a whole and occurs gradually after the male turns 30 years. Andropause may cause erectile dysfunction and decreased libido, but men who are healthy can still produce sperm cells at a later age.

5. Men experience baldness

Both men and women are at the same risk of going bald despite hormonal and genetic influences. Changes in hair growth patterns usually begin to be experienced by a person when they are 50 years old. However, male pattern baldness is more prone to be experienced while women tend to experience thinner and straighter hair growth.

6. Male brains age faster than women's brains

Decreased cognitive function is a common thing experienced by elderly men and women, but decreased brain function is more likely to be experienced by men than by women. One study suggests that the inner (subcortical) brain region in men tends to age and experience a more rapid decline in function. This part of the brain serves as a unit for processing various cognitive abilities to move and process emotions.

7. The life expectancy of men is lower than that of women

Based on data from BPS, the life expectancy in Indonesia in 2014 for male individuals is 68.9 years while for women is 72.6. This means that women have an average age that is about 4 years longer than men. Of course this is closely related to differences in health conditions and lifestyles between men and women.

Men have different activity and work patterns from women. The way men deal with stress and deal with health problems can also have an impact on their health conditions later in life. One study has also shown that men have a higher average blood pressure than women of all ages. This also allows men to be more susceptible to various cardiovascular diseases at a young age.