Growing older is inevitable – for the moment at least. Accepting those numbers creeping up and the changes in your body and lifestyle can be a hard pill to swallow for some.
In fact, in the UK there are an average of 5,400 Google searches for “best anti-ageing cream” and 2,900 for “anti-ageing” every month.
But what are the positives of ageing? Is anybody shouting about them?
The Office for National Statistics recently revealed that the number of over-85s in the UK is set to increase from 1.6 million in 2018 to 3 million by 2043*. So, perhaps the time has come to celebrate ageing and the benefits it brings.
HSL has commissioned a survey**, of 2,000 over-50-year-olds in the UK, to discover perceptions of age, but more importantly, to find out what the best things about ageing are. The stuff we all have to look forward to.
The results revealed that only 25% of over-50-year-olds in the UK feel positive about ageing. What’s more, 31% of those that feel negatively about ageing say it impacts their mood daily.
The majority (73%) of respondents either agree, or somewhat agree that people have become obsessed with anti-ageing.
To figure out what the best things about ageing are, respondents were given a set of questions and a list of aspects of ageing to choose from.
The cities that proved to have the most positive outlook on ageing might surprise you; Belfast came out on top, closely followed by Newcastle and Leicester.
Check out the list of the best things about ageing below:
1. Life experience
2. Being comfortable in your own skin
3. Having a greater sense of gratitude for the smaller things in life
4. Independence and freedom
5. Learning to let things go
More results from the survey revealed that 47% of UK women over-50 either agreed, or somewhat agreed that their self-confidence has grown with age; 41% also felt their sense of fulfilment has grown too.
Meanwhile, 43% of UK men over-50 either agreed or somewhat agreed that their self-confidence has grown and 40% believed their sense of fulfilment has grown too.
Julie Jennings Dip COT HCPC, independent occupational therapist has offered tips on how to maintain a healthy and happy mind-set as you age here.
References
*Office for National Statistics – National population projections: 2018-based – Released 21 October 2019.
**The research was conducted on behalf of HSL by One Poll. Survey sample of 2,000 aged 50 and over in the United Kingdom. The research fieldwork took place in September 2019.
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