Aging slower than others?

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Hello,

I started this as a discussion of the aging process, both physically and mentally, from birth to death. It seems to me that there are people out there who just age slower than others in both the mind and body. It also seems this is more common among people with autism, Asperger's and similar conditions.

I feel that some or perhaps a majority of these people are labeled as having a disorder, when really they are biologically younger than their birthday would suggest. People who age slower may struggle to keep up with their peers because they are not at the same level as them. Note I'm not implying they are less intelligent, some are even more intelligent than average in specialized areas! That would explain why studies suggest some people have areas of the brain that develop faster, while others slower than the average.

Personally, I have been told I look about 5 years younger than I am and the gap just keeps getting bigger. I have recently read up on developmental stages of the mind and I seem to be a whole age group behind and have always been based on my memories as a child. It wasn't until I was 19 that I began wondering about big questions in life and thinking deeply, something that seems to occur in people at about 16 maybe? My doctors have recently confirmed my ADHD and my Asperger's diagnosis is sitting on the back burner atm.

Just curious to hear others experiences with this. Also feel free to throw your ideas/hypotheses out there because I love a good discussion. And remember this is a discussion, not a place to butt heads. (I'm looking at you Youtube comments.) lol

I was thinking a bit more about this and if one does seem to age slower, it could either be to good cell maintenance, high cell turnover or both. In the case of the first, I would expect a person may have an average metabolism and changes in diet have less of an effect on brain function. In the latter, the person may have a high metabolism (an inadequate diet could potentially be starving the brain and reduce optimal functioning) and may be extremely sensitive to diet, due to the faster rate of nutrient consumption.

Poor immune functioning and nutrient absorption could aggravate these problems, while good immune function and nutrient absorption would be beneficial.

If these factors are true I would suspect a person with good cell maintenance, high cell turnover and good immune function would be the youngest looking people. This is just an hypothesis of mine.

I doubt the youngest people would necessarily live longer because a high cell turnover, especially if coupled with poor immune functioning and inflammation, increases the risk of cancer. The amount of calories consumed over a organisms life also correlated to lifespan. Eating more food could mean decreased life span.

I do NOT age slower physically but I do mentally. Various sources say Aspies age slower mentally by a third & I think that's true of me.

Both.

In little over a week I'll be old enough to drink, but when I went to the restaurant a couple days ago the waitress removed the wine glass from where I was sitting without even a thought. Usually they'd ask if you looked under 25 if you were over 18, but I look so young it's not even something considered. I don't even look close to my actual age, I genuinely look about 5 years younger. I'm short and look like a kid.

And mentally, well, I just am young. There is nothing about me mentally that suggests I'm nearing adulthood.

So I... look and act about 12/13 years old. I have no idea why.

There are a number of people in my family who look and act young for their age. In a good way, I mean. My mom is in her early 60's but she's like most women in their 30's at least. I'm in my early 40's and I got aches and pains and such but I still look pretty young and feel mentally like a teenager.

I was carded until my 40s, then age seemed to encroach with a vengeance.

I definitely feel mentally younger than what I'm physically. I don't know if this is true, so take with a grain of salt. Since people on the autism scale don't have fully developed parts of the brain. Mostly the parts that deal with social interactions, our brains are delayed in the aging process. Which could explain why mentally aspies feel mentally younger than others. We have to condition our brains at a much later stage in life than most people do. Again take this with a grain of salt, I doubt there is any medical proof to support this.

I'm a 53 year old woman and just this afternoon I was chatting with a teenaged girl, who told me she thought I was in my early 30s, which is twenty years younger than I am -- I'll take that! We had been talking about children and so I mentioned my age and she was shocked. I've always looked young for my age. I was still being carded into my 40s also, like auntblabby.

When I was 40 I dated a guy who was 25 and one night we entered a bar where everyone was being carded, even the 25 year old. The guy carding didn't look at either of us with any reaction, until he saw my ID and went "...OH!..." and looked at me with shock, I guess because he saw that I was with the 25 year old but we looked kinda the same age until he saw my licence. I enjoyed that, haha!

Age is catching up on me though I still look less than my actual years so far.

it feels to me, that gravity is weighing more on me than it should for somebody my age.

Well I pretty much look about the same as I did when I was 12, same size...had already gone through puberty by than, though I think my boobs have gotten a little bigger since that as well as maybe developing just a general more developed/defined figure and I think I probably dress better now so I look a bit older but not really all that much different though my hairs long and I used to have it more short most of the time. But yeah I am not any taller and people typically mistake me for being 16-18 when I am 25, I'll probably look 20 when I'm 40...I guess its not all bad, also though just looking at my family they sort of age well...except some on my moms side but I think that is more to do with unhealthy diet and just not being health conscious than genetics otherwise they all probably would. So good genes when it comes to looking well whilst aging combined with my becoming more and more health conscious, though even as a child I leaned more towards trying to eat healthy than really being attracted to all the junk food and sweet breakfast ceral they advertised to my age group.

About 3 months ago, at my local track, a 7 year old kid asked me how old I was. I then asked him how old he thinks I am. He said "17?" I told him I was 30. I eat healthy (with the occasional junk food once in a while) and exercise. I also started playing brain games to keep my mind active. I have had one great-grandma live to be a 101 and my grandma is 93 and still going strong.

Mentally... I feel like I am 18 or 17. I still feel like a teenager.