Aging accelerates at 36, 44 and 60. Here's how to slow down the clock.

Aging might not be as simple as counting the number of candles on your birthday cake or the years on your calendar. A growing body of research suggests that people age in bursts instead of continuously over time, giving a new perspective on what it means to get older in a healthy way.

In fact, the concept of fast periods of growth isn’t new: Babies and toddlers grow at a rapid rate, and teenagers do too. But the idea of going through these aging spurts outside of things like menopause as an adult is.

Rapid genetic changes at certain points in life is newer scientific territory, even for doctors, Dr. James Powers, professor of medicine at Vanderbilt Health, tells Yahoo Life. But he says recent research suggests that taking steps to prioritize your health during certain times of life may help you age in an even healthier way. Here’s what the research has found, and what it might mean for you.

What are the key aging years?

Aging bursts have been the focus of a few studies released over the past year. The most recent one was published in the Annals of Medicine. It analyzed data from hundreds of people born in Finland who were followed from childhood until their early 60s. The researchers collected information on the participants’ mental and physical health when they were 27 and again at ages 36, 42, 50 and 61.

The researchers found that the repercussions of risky behaviors like smoking and heavy drinking, as well as exercising less than once a week, were more likely to catch up to people from a mental and physical health perspective from age 36 and on.

Another study published in the journal Nature Aging in August analyzed the cells of 108 people between the ages of 25 and 75, as well as their microbiomes (microorganisms that play an important role in your health and more), and followed them over several years. The researchers discovered that most participants’ molecules and microbiomes didn’t age in a gradual way. Instead, they went through two periods of rapid aging: around 44 and 60.

“Overall, this research demonstrates that functions and risks of aging-related diseases change nonlinearly across the human lifespan,” the researchers concluded.

Why might aging happen in bursts?

This is evolving science, and no one has conclusive answers yet, Michael Snyder, a professor of genetics at Stanford University and senior author on the Nature Aging study, tells Yahoo Life.

“We know that in your 60s, your immune system declines and your muscle mass declines,” he says. “But what about the 40s?” Snyder says that the existing theory is that people aren’t prioritizing their health in their 40s as well as they did when they were younger.

“We’re all very active in our 20s and, as you hit your 30s, you might not be as active or eating as well,” he says. “People aren’t taking as good care of themselves and it’s catching up with them.”

But this may not be as simple as saying that everyone will go through these bursts at specific ages, Dr. John Fudyma, interim chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, tells Yahoo Life. “These studies give us hints of what’s happening as we age, but what I see in most patients is individual,” he says. “I see different aging processes with different individuals based on their lifestyles and choices.”

How can you protect your health before these aging waves hit?

Doctors say the best way to prepare for these aging bursts is to work on weeding out bad behaviors and focus on ones that support your health. Dr. Kanwar Kelley, an otolaryngologist and co-founder of Side Health, tells Yahoo Life that research clearly shows a link between smoking, heavy drinking and lack of physical activity with faster aging. “While these behaviors do not guarantee poor health in the future, they substantially increase the risk of worse outcomes,” he says.

Fudyma agrees. “In people who have very unhealthy lifestyles, you definitely see the earlier onset of chronic disease and physiological aging, where they seem older than they actually are,” he says.

While it may be tempting to try to get your act together right before these aging bursts hit, like cramming for a test, Fudyma says it’s more complicated than that: “You want to try to be healthy over time, not healthy during certain times,” he says.

“Since we do not know the threshold at which these behaviors become harmful, the message we should be sending young people is that any amount of these behaviors can be harmful,” Dr. David Cutler, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., tells Yahoo Life. “Deciding where to draw the battle line will be more difficult.”

Still, Fudyma says that having healthy lifestyle habits in place before these aging waves hit can’t hurt. These include the usual suspects, along with trying to maintain a healthy weight:

• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Research shows that eating five daily servings of fruits and vegetables can help you live longer.

• Limit processed foods. Highly processed meats like hot dogs and sausages, as well as sodas, may accelerate aging and can shorten your lifespan.

• Quit smoking. If you smoke, stop immediately, Fudyma says. While that's easier said than done, these tips on how to boost your odds of successfully quitting can help.

• Cut back on alcohol. “If you drink moderately, we’re starting to see evidence that even that may not be healthy and can raise your risk of chronic disease.” Fudyma says that doesn’t mean you need to stop drinking entirely, but it’s a good idea to make alcohol something you do on occasion vs. every day.

• Exercise regularly. Along with cardiovascular exercises like walking (which can add years to your life), it includes strength training to help counter the natural muscle loss that happens with aging. Experts say it’s never too late to start.

• Prioritize sleep. Research shows that people who get less than seven hours of sleep are more likely to experience accelerated aging of their hearts and blood vessels, according to the Mayo Clinic. Try these tips to get a better night’s rest, including putting away your phone and having a sleep routine.

• Get stress under control. “Stress reduction is also huge,” Fudyma says. “Stress likely contributes to the aging process.” Practicing deep breathing, doing visualization exercises and even just going for a walk can help.

How to stay healthy if you’ve passed these aging bursts

Doctors assure us that all is not lost if you’ve already passed these aging bursts. In addition to all of the things experts mentioned, Snyder suggests focusing on being active. “When people hit their 60s, they become less mobile,” he says. “You lose muscle mass, and then your health just plummets. It’s really important to keep active to combat that.”

“I’m a big fan of strength training in particular,” he says. “There are all of these great molecules that you get when you do strength training, including exerkines, which are made by muscles and are very valuable for your health.” Exerkines can support good cardiovascular, metabolic, immune and neurological health as you get older, Snyder says.

Focusing on your fiber intake is also important to support a good gut microbiome, which can influence your body’s ability to absorb certain nutrients, your metabolism and your immune system, according to Snyder. That means having about 30 grams of fiber on a daily basis. (Here are six ways to get in more fiber.)

Snyder says that even if you’re approaching 36, 44 and 60, there’s no need to stress — just be aware that you may go through some faster aging around this time. “Everyone does age differently,” he says. “Just do your best to be healthy.”