# What factors influence visible aging aside from genes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 13, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-influence-visible-aging-aside-from-genes/746058 "2016-02-13T22:52:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-influence-visible-aging-aside-from-genes/746058/21 "2016-02-16T17:21:07Z")
Looking at pics of 40+ women on a dating website, I can almost always tell which one is a smoker. The look older, a lot older. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-influence-visible-aging-aside-from-genes/746058/22 "2016-02-16T18:22:41Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > As was already said smoking, sunshine, stress, depression. Someone mentioned drugs. I sometimes wonder if long term but moderate use of opiates doesn’t actually make people appear younger. Through what mechanism would moderate use of opiates make people look younger? Moderate use of stimulants seems to have positive effects, although I don’t know if they actually make one look younger. I figure they may well since there seems to be a strong correlation between things that make you healthier and things that make you appear younger and vice versa. On the stimulants: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly1NjibK79U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly1NjibK79U) > **[Amphetamine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamine#Medical)** > > Amphetamine\[note 2\] (contracted from alpha-methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. Amphetamine was discovered as a chemical in 1887 by Lazăr Edeleanu, and then as a drug in the late 1920s. It exists as two enantiomers:\[note 3\] levoamphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Amphetamine properly refers to a specific chemical, the racemic free base, which is equal parts of... “reviews of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies suggest that long-term treatment with amphetamine decreases abnormalities in brain structure and function found in subjects with ADHD, and improves function in several parts of the brain, such as the right caudate nucleus of the basal ganglia” > [@usedtobe](#): > > And stress. Of any source. I’ve seen 20-somethings who looked 50+. I’m curious about how psychological phenomena could make someone look older. > [@iljitsch](#): > > Beard, gray hair and/or a receding hairline make you look a lot older, too. I know a guy who is close to 50 and he shaves his head. He tells me some people think he’s in his late 20s. How much difference is there between a full head of hair and a shaved head in terms of looking older/younger? Florida man/woman and other mug shots tend to look older than their age and even when they look young (because they’re quite young), it’s possible to see how they’ll fall apart in a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-influence-visible-aging-aside-from-genes/746058/23 "2016-02-16T21:05:08Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > > [@usedtobe](#): > > > > And stress. Of any source. I’ve seen 20-somethings who looked 50+. > > I’m curious about how psychological phenomena could make someone look older. Don’t know about the mechanism, but have you ever seen before and after photos of a US President? Eight years in that office tends to age one about 20+ years, on average. ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-influence-visible-aging-aside-from-genes/746058/24 "2016-02-16T21:16:55Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Don’t know about the mechanism, but have you ever seen before and after photos of a US President? Eight years in that office tends to age one about 20+ years, on average. Yep. And young parents with little kids often seem to look older than childless people of the same age. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-influence-visible-aging-aside-from-genes/746058/25 "2016-02-17T01:27:18Z")
> [@Turpentine](#): > > Yep. And young parents with little kids often seem to look older than childless people of the same age. > **[The arrow of time](https://zonezero.com/en/open/158-the-arrow-of-time)** > > On June 17th, every year, the family goes through a private ritual: we photograph ourselves to stop, for a fleeting moment, the arrow of time passing by. Compare the mother in 76 with 79-80. It hit her hard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-influence-visible-aging-aside-from-genes/746058.md?page=1)