40 Ways Life Gets Worse After 40

If you're approaching 40, get ready to bombarded by people eager to tell you just how great the impending decade is going to be. From soaring confidence to improved career prospects, people love to espouse the many virtues of the so-called "fabulous forties." However, the reality for most of us is a lot less rosy.

In fact, 40 is often the start of a precipitous drop-off in our quality of life, from those aches and pains you just can't shake to that awkward feeling when you're clearly the oldest person in a room. If you're convinced that life gets worse after 40, you might be right—and we've rounded up the reasons why. And even if your over-40 future looks bleak, you can still improve your fashion game with these 15 Killer Style Accessories You Never Knew You Needed.

Those hangovers you got at 20 were a pain that could be solved with some headache medicine and electrolytes. By 30, they were enough to knock you off your game and resign you to a day of Netflix-watching from bed. At 40, hangovers can wipe out a whole weekend in one fell swoop, making you feel like you've been hit by a vodka truck as you once again swear off alcohol for good.

In your 20s and 30s, a bump or strained muscle was likely to annoy you for a day, but disappear as quickly as it arrived. At 40, those aches and pains come and sometimes stick around for weeks—or, worse yet, they don't get better at all. And for ways to make the most of that check-up, discover The 10 Secrets for Maximizing any Doctor's Visit.

Those cute glasses you bought a decade ago are no longer a sometimes accessory at 40. In fact, trying to read a book or menu without them has now become comically challenging. And yes, those lenses will only continue to get thicker.

While you used to be able to ditch those dark circles with a dot or two of concealer, over 40, even makeup so thick it's technically classified as spackle won't touch them. And when you want a brighter future on the horizon, check out The 40 Best Ways to Conquer Your 40s.

Remember those days when you could eat a whole pizza for dinner and wake up the next morning without having gained an ounce? Yeah, they're not coming back. But that doesn't mean you need to give up. You can still Make Your 40s Your Most Healthiest Decade Yet. ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

It used to be a shock to your system whenever you heard someone call you "ma'am" or "sir." Now hearing either one is basically just like hearing someone say your name.

Eight hours of sleep used to leave you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Now, even if you can manage to get even close to that amount of sleep, you still wake up feeling like you only got a few hours of shut-eye. And when you're ready to enjoy a better night's rest, start with these 20 Nighttime Habits Guaranteed to Help You Sleep Better.

You used to be able to walk into virtually any store and find something that would look great on you. Now, you're suddenly confronted by a maze of ripped jeans, crop tops, and intentionally hole-filled flannels that feel like poor uses of your hard-earned money.

Even if you have a smartphone in hand and a job in computer science, as soon as you hit 40, people will suddenly assume that all of your technological knowledge has gone out the window. Try to buy a new laptop and you'll immediately be bombarded with suggestions about how to make the typeface larger and lessons on where you go to check your email.

Thinking of trying to have a family in your 40s? It might not be as simple as you think. While your fertility begins to decline in your 30s, over 40 it really takes a nosedive. In fact, you only have a 40 to 50 percent chance of conceiving in a year if you're over 40.

You used to find a few hairs in your brush. Now, you run your hand through your hair and you end up with a handful of it. In fact, by age 50, 85 percent of men have hair that's thinned out significantly, according to the American Hair Loss Association.

Taking a multivitamin used to be more than enough to keep your body running like clockwork. Now that you've hit 40, however, you're taking a handful of pills every day—one for your skin, one for your eyesight, one for your heart health, and, of course, that multivitamin to top it off.

What you used to call "fine lines" are now full-fledged wrinkles. Worse yet, all the anti-aging products in the world aren't touching them.

Too hot? Your allergies act up. Too cold? Your shoulder aches. Once you've hit 40, virtually any change in weather can suddenly turn your body into a mess of aches and pains.

Those raises you used to count on virtually every year? Yeah, don't count on them anymore. According to PayScale, women's earnings tend to peak at 39 and men's earnings peak at 48.

An occasional run used to be all you needed to keep your body in shape. Now, if you're not jogging 15 miles every morning and doing CrossFit at night, you can't even button your jeans.

Sex used to be an activity you'd be happy to do whenever and wherever. In your 40s, however, between a lack of sleep, a lagging libido, busy schedules, and those ever-persistent aches and pains, it takes a little bit more effort to get things going.

By the time you're in your 40s, it feels like you find a new gray hair every day. In fact, one study reveals that 74 percent of people between 45 and 65 have more than a few grays.

A decade ago, you didn't know the difference between HDL and LDL, and you couldn't locate your rotator cuff to save your life. Today, you're suddenly in need of medication for countless body parts and other issues you never even knew your body could develop.

Think your 40s are going to be free of those blues that plagued you in your 20s and 30s? Think again. In fact, researchers at the University of Warwick and Dartmouth College found that depression tends to peak at 44.

Two decades ago, a good night at karaoke or getting your picture on the Jumbotron at a baseball game felt like potential opportunities for finally getting your big break. At 40, sadly, that ship has definitely sailed.

The adorable freckles that used to dot your nose and cheeks? Yeah, they're just called "age spots" now.

Wrinkles and age spots aren't the only skin woes you have to look forward to in your 40s. A distinct loss of elasticity also means that parts of your body you didn't even know could sag will start to do just that.

Those happy, active adults in arthritis commercials who are still going on long bike rides and taking dancing lessons, despite their formerly debilitating pain? They could be your peers.

Turn on the radio. If you're over 40, odds are the only songs you'll recognize are the ones your kids make you play over and over from Spotify—but you still probably couldn't name the artist.

With your lagging metabolism and those new gray hairs, all of your clothes suddenly seem wrong on you. Unfortunately, the clothes in most stores don't seem like better options, either.

Your go-to makeup routine suddenly becomes out of the question when you're in your 40s. That winged eyeliner emphasizes your crow's feet, mineral foundation settles into your fine lines, and setting powders look like pancake makeup on your suddenly-dry skin.

"Middle-aged" used to seem like such a scary term to you. Now, when you hear someone talk about middle-aged people, they're talking about folks your age—or younger.

Look around you the next time you head out to your favorite bar. If you realize that you're a solid decade older than most of the other patrons, buckle up: this is going to keep happening—a lot.

It may seem like hearing loss happens to people who are way older than you, but odds are you'll be experiencing some by the time you're in your 40s. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, 30 percent of women and 32 percent of men start to experience hearing loss between 40 and 59. Or, of course, you could also develop that hyper-sensitivity to sound that seems to plague many older adults and suddenly become that guy who's always asking DJs to turn it down a little.

Those days of sleeping in? You can kiss them goodbye. The older you get, the earlier your wake-ups tend to be, no matter what time you got to sleep the night before.

Think mid-life crises are just excuses to buy sports cars? Think again. When you hit your 40s, don't be surprised if every decision you've made, from your job to your choice not to marry your college sweetheart suddenly feels like a devastatingly bad one.

If you're a woman over 40 and you're dating someone even five years younger, you're officially going to be billed a cougar. Even if you only go on one date with a younger guy, the label will stick for years.

One of most annoying things about being over 40? Your back hurts. Not a little, not occasionally, but all the time, and a lot.

Sad though it may be, by the time you're in your 40s, chances are you know someone who died. And when your friends or family members get serious illnesses, you're always a little worried they might not bounce back from them.

You used to go to the doctor once a year for a routine physical. Now, you feel like you're there practically every day for something or another, thanks to the laundry list of maladies that seem to be afflicting you out of the blue.

In your 40s, odds are the only places you're sprouting a lot of new hair are pretty weird. Hello, back hair, toe hair, nose hair, and ear hair—now, how are we supposed to deal with you again?

There are few moments in a 40-something's life more depressing than turning on the radio and realizing that one of your favorite songs is playing on the oldies station. That's right: Prince sounds as dated to your kids as The Everly Brothers did to you growing up.

You used to be able to do little more than splash some cold water on your face before you went to work in the morning or got into bed at night. Now, your skincare routine involves a long list of products, from toner to neck cream, all of which you need to maintain any semblance of normalcy.

Perhaps the worst thing about being in your 40s? The fact that 50's just a few years away. If turning 40 hit you like a ton of bricks, just you wait. And if you want some inspiration for entering the next decade looking and feeling great, check out these 50 Amazing Over-40 Bodies.

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