Opinion: 15 Surprising Life Changes That Will Make or Break Your 30s

The saying goes, "When you turn 30, it's all downhill from here." While this may be true in some cases, life after 30 certainly isn't all negative. Here are some of the most popular unexpected things people have experienced since entering their thirties.

Woman with glasses winkingPhoto byImage Credit: Wavebreakmedia via Deposit Photos.

1. Long Hangovers

Gone are the days of recovering from a night out in just a couple of hours. Sure, in your twenties you might have been able to cure your hangovers with a warm shower, a greasy brunch, and a nap, but once you cross into your thirties, it's a whole different ball game. You can expect a hangover to last at least 24-hours, and it's likely that you'll still have at least a few symptoms that linger in the days that follow.

2. Revisiting Old Interests

As you get older, you may find yourself turning back the clock a bit. For some, this can cause people to turn back to interests they had as a kid that they felt they couldn't like anymore once they became a teenager because those interests weren't considered cool. For most, once you reach your thirties, you already have a pretty strong sense of self, and aren't as likely to care about what other people think, so you feel like you can go back and explore those things you once loved and see if you can find enjoyment in them again.

3. Finding the Perfect Job

As you get older, especially when you enter your thirties, climbing the corporate ladder in pursuit of your dream job starts to become less appealing. Instead, you begin to realize that there is so much more to life than just work. Your priorities shift, and things like relationships, family, and hobbies become more important to you than they were before.

4. Stomach Issues

When people say things start to break down after thirty, this is just one example of what they mean. Lots of people begin to experience stomach issues after passing 30, and have to start making changes to their diets. In some cases this can be due to changes in metabolism (which slows as you age), or because your body is just processing things differently. But don't be surprised if there are things you can no longer eat because your body changes.

5. Neck and Back Injuries

All that time we spend on our phones and sitting at a desk finally starts to catch up with us once we cross into our thirties. Believe it or not, you can injure yourself from something as simple as sleeping in the wrong position or sneezing too aggressively! It's important to take care of yourself by doing regular stretches to maintain your back and neck health as best you can to prevent injuries because not only can we injure ourselves more easily as we get older, but it also takes us longer to recover from them.

6. Losing Friends

As you get older, you may notice that your social circle starts to get smaller. This can be for a number of reasons—people growing apart, priorities changing when your friends begin to have kids and families of their own, etc. You need to realize that while you may not have as many friends, quality over quantity is definitely your new motto when it comes to friendship.

7. Your View of Your Parents Changes

As you enter your thirties, you may start to realize changes in how you view your parents. For example, you may realize how hard it would have been if you had kids at the same time that your parents did. This new perspective may make you appreciate your parents more and gain compassion for them in understanding that they did the best they could with where they were. Also, if you become a parent yourself, you might begin to realize that parenting is far more difficult than it seems, especially when you are now the parent and not the child.

8. Time Flies

It seems like with each passing year, time goes by quicker and quicker. And that's not necessarily our perception; it actually has to do with how we process time and memories as we age. For example, when you are younger and in childhood, a month may feel like a long time because it's a significant portion of time in relation to your life overall. But as you age, that same amount of time becomes less significant because you've lived through more time. This can contribute to you feeling like time is passing much faster as you age.

9. Priorities Change

As you age, you begin to realize how much time and effort you put into things that suddenly become unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Instead, you start to zone in and focus on the things that truly matter to you – your relationships and the things that provide you joy and fulfillment.

10. Young at Heart

Many people say that once you cross into your 4th decade (aka your thirties), there's a subtle pressure to feel more like "an adult." The reality is that we are still much closer to our childhood selves at that age than we are to old age. This can make you still feel like you're a kid at heart, which can feel strange when you have the ability to do other adult things, like having a driver's license, living on your own, and the ability to make your own decisions and ultimately do whatever you want.

11. Old Jokes

As you start to get older, if you have friends that are a few years younger than you are, especially if they are in a different generation than you, you may find that they start to make jokes about you being old. This only increases with each passing year, as there's a general perception that as we age, we become more out of touch with current-day trends, technology, etc. While it may be annoying, you do get used to it as time passes.

12. Enjoy Staying at Home

It's crazy how much your preferences change once you get into your thirties. Gone are the days of going out every night and staying out dancing until 2 or 3 a.m. Instead, you'd much rather be at home on the couch with your favorite blanket, snacks, your pet, and family, watching your favorite shows that you pre-recorded so you could watch them without ads. There's absolutely no other place you'd rather be.

13. Early to Bed

Your late teens and twenties were all about staying up all night, never missing out on anything. Get ready for the tables to turn once you hit your thirties - crawling into bed early will be your new favorite thing to do. Getting a good night's sleep becomes the goal, and believe it or not, you'll crave your bed by the end of the day.

14. Algorithm Changes

Be prepared for the social media algorithms to start showing you different content, whether you want it or not. For example, if you are female, you can start to expect to see content about weddings, pregnancy, and baby stuff, whether you're at that point in your life or not. It can be frustrating if it's not the type of content that you want to consume, but the good news is that with some work, you can train the algorithm to show you what you truly want to see.

15. Unexpected Calmness

Many people experience a feeling of calmness when entering their twenties. This can come from feeling like the weight of your twenties is finally off your shoulder and you can just truly be yourself. It can be a true breath of fresh air for some people, and feels like the start of a new chapter for many, and there's nothing like a fresh start.

This article first appeared on Cents + Purpose.

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