The realization that you are getting older can come in waves.

關(guān)于你在衰老的提醒會紛至沓來。

You watch movies and point to the actors, saying: “She’s dead. Oh, he’s dead, too.”

看電影時，你指著里面的演員，說：“她已經(jīng)死了。噢，他也死了。”

Your parents move to a retirement community they call God’s waiting room.

你的父母搬進(jìn)了一個養(yǎng)老社區(qū)，他們稱之為上帝的候車室。

You hear more snap, crackle and pop in your joints than in your breakfast cereal.

渾身上下的關(guān)節(jié)咔噠啪啦作響，比咀嚼早餐麥片還熱鬧。

In society, youthfulness is glorified and getting older is cast as something to avoid, but as your age increases, your quality of life does not necessarily have to decrease, experts said.

在社會中，青春是一種榮耀，變老是需要避免的事，但是專家說，年齡會增長，你的生活質(zhì)量卻不一定要隨之下降。

Here’s what you should know:

以下是一些需要知道的東西：

What is ‘old’?

什么是“老”?

Most people wouldn’t say that a 38-year-old qualifies, but once you pass the median age of 37.8, you may statistically be considered “old,” said Tom Ludwig, emeritus professor of psychology at Hope College in Holland, Mich.

多數(shù)人不會認(rèn)為一個38歲的人“老”，但密西根州霍蘭的霍普學(xué)院(Hope College)的心理學(xué)榮休教授湯姆.路德維格(Tom Ludwig)說，一旦越過37.8這個年齡中值，你在統(tǒng)計學(xué)意義上就屬于“老人”了。

Studies show that people start feeling old in their 60s, and a Pew Research Center survey found that nearly 3,000 respondents said 68 was the average age at which old age begins.

研究顯示人們是在過了60歲以后開始覺得老的，皮尤研究中心(Pew Research Center)的一項調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，將近3000名受訪者認(rèn)為68歲是進(jìn)入老年階段的平均年齡。

Daniel B. Kaplan, an assistant professor of social work at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., said in an email that living to an advanced age was a relatively recent achievement.

紐約州加登城的阿德爾菲大學(xué)(Adelphi University)的社會福利工作助理教授丹尼爾.B.凱普蘭(Daniel B. Kaplan)通過一封電郵表示，活到高齡相對來說是人類近期才取得的成就。

“The average human life span gained more years during the 20th century than in all prior millennia combined,” he wrote, adding that the average life expectancy in the United States is 79.1.

“人類平均壽命在20世紀(jì)的增幅，比之前的幾千年加起來還要大，”他寫道，此外他說美國人的平均預(yù)期壽命為79.1歲。

“For many people, old age creeps up slowly and sometimes without fanfare or acknowledgment,” he wrote. “While most people enjoy relative continuity over the decades, being able to adapt to the changing context of our lives is the key to success throughout life.”

“對許多人來說，衰老是慢慢到來的，有時候并不會大張旗鼓，往往令你猝不及防，”他說。“雖然大多數(shù)人的生活都會在幾十年內(nèi)保持相對的連貫性，但是縱觀人的一生，適應(yīng)不斷變化的生活環(huán)境乃是成功的關(guān)鍵。”