A new survey on adventurous sex drive

Good news for those of us on the wrong side of 50. It seems that your sex life doesn’t dry up as you get older after all, at least not in Canada! The research was conducted online and more than 494 people over the age of 50 participated in an in-depth interview about their sex lives and sexual desires. The results indicated that many of the older participants were anything but past it. The survey found that many Canadians over the age of 50 reported having adventurous and frisky sex as they have grown older. The word ‘ferocious’ was also used to describe some of their sexual encounters. This stands in stark contrast to the common attitude that sexual desire and activity decreases with age. Nearly half of the people surveyed said their sexual inhibitions had decreased since they turned 50, and more than a quarter said the quality of their sex life has improved since turning 50. Also more than half of the respondents said they wished their sex life was more spontaneous. One possible explanation of the significant increase in sexual activity in the over 50’s is that the life stresses are often reduced dramatically with retirement and with children leaving home. The reduction in these day to day stresses could have a direct influence on the renewed interest in sex.

Fighting against 'still'

I have just come across a lovely quotation from the great economist and social commentator, JK Galbraith at the age of 87. He talks about the 'still syndrome', which is when older people are taunted with questions such as, 'are you still working?', or 'Are you still exercising then?' and many more examples that I am sure that you have heard. His response to these questions was, ' I see that you are still rather immature'. Right on!!

Default retirement age - has the penny finally dropped?

Well to 2010 at least. The new equality bill is creating problems as clearly kicking someone out of their job at 65 is to put it mildly discrimination based on age. Explaining the change in the timing of the review, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "Evidence suggests that allowing older people to continue working, unfettered by negative views about ageing, could be a big factor in the success of Britain's businesses and our future economic growth." Has the penny finally dropped? Well the TUC think so. The IOD think so. The Tories and Lib Dems think so. We are just left with the Taliban in the CBI still disapproving. They say its research had suggested that 81% of those who asked their employer to keep working had been allowed to do so. In which case why make such a fuss. Listening to their comments about the workplace, the workforce and management practices remind me of a living model of employment in the 1950's. Many legal cases are queuing up to be heard on this so abandoning this will also keep a great deal of money outside of lawyers pockets - which must be a good thing also!

Are boomers and Gen Y's really so different?

A fascinating article in the FT describes 2 studies, one from the US and the other from the UK, which shows a remarkable convergence of values between the over 50's and the Gen Y's. The US study showed that : *More than 90 per cent of Gen Ys and 85 per cent of boomers seek new experiences at work *Flexible work is important to 89 per cent of Gen Ys and 87 per cent of boomers *Almost as many boomers as Gen Ys want to work remotely some of the time (63 per cent and 69 per cent respectively) *Only 14 per cent of boomers and Gen Y are work-centric *Over 60 per cent of Gen Ys and boomers see a parent-child dynamic in work relationships between their generations *Some 58 per cent of Gen Ys look to boomers for advice and 58 per cent of boomers like helping them "navigate" work.
This is great news for organisations who are wishing to use older workers as mentors and coaches and also for those who fear that these 2 huge population groups have little in common.

How do you address the over 50's?

Discovered this fascinating piece on Dick Strouds blog which raises all the issues as to what we like to be called. he came across this from a the recent Older Richer Wiser conference at which there was a presentation from Warner Leisure Hotels. I have posted on this before but just what do you like or not like to be called?

How to stay mentally alert

An 8 year study from the University of San Fransisco of more than 2,500 men and women through their seventies and eighties has found that the four key factors involved in preventing mental decline were e exercise, education, social activity and not smoking.

Just over half the participants showed a normal rate of age-related decline while 16% suffered a major reduction in their mental faculties. However, 30% of the study volunteers remained unchanged and in some cases even showed an improvement in performance over the years.

The researchers then examined what lifestyle factors stood out among those people who were able to remain quick-witted in old age.

Study leader Dr Alexandra Fiocco, from the University of California at San Francisco, said: "To this day, the majority of past research has focused on factors that put people at greater risk to lose their cognitive skills over time, but much less is known about what factors help people maintain their skills."

The research, published in the journal Neurology, revealed a unique profile that distinguished people who avoided mental decline with the passing years. Those who exercised moderately or vigorously at least once a week were 30% more likely to "stay sharp" than people who did not.

Individuals with a good education were nearly three times more likely to maintain their mental faculties than those with less education. Likewise, high levels of literacy were associated with a five-fold better chance of side-stepping age-related mental decline.

Non-smokers were nearly twice as likely to remain mentally fit than smokers. And people who were socially active - either by working or volunteering, or by living with someone - were 24% more likely to avoid mental deterioration in later life.

Not surprising perhaps but more confirmation of what we need to do to stay sane, fit and healthy.

We are now the fastest growing age group of internet users

Once they were regarded as the “technophobe generation” but, according to a new report, the over 50s are now the UK’s fastest-growing age group of Internet users.

And the affluent ’silver surfers’ are starting to change the way that advertisers sell their products and services on the worldwide web.

For they belong to an age group that controls 80% of the country’s personal wealth, and accounts for 40% of consumer spending.

“That,”; says mature marketing expert Fiona Hought, “makes them one of the most powerful consumer forces in Internet shopping. And they are starting to flex their muscles.”

Fiona is managing director of Millennium, mature marketing specialists that have been tracking Internet usage among the over 50s.

New research has revealed that the over 50s now make up over a quarter of web users in the UK and 14% are over 70. This is a figure that has continued to grow over the last four years.

Beware June 6th

June 6th is the day of the year when the highest number of home burglaries are reported by Saga customers, according to analysis of theft claims data from the past decade by Saga Home Insurance. Nearly half of all burglaries happen when a home is empty and considerably more burglaries happen during the evening or at night. June is a vulnerable time of year as many over 50s are jetting off on holidays to avoid the school holiday price hikes and going out in the evenings, taking advantage of the longer, sunnier days. Interestingly, contrary to predictions that recession would result in an increase in burglaries, the number of home theft claims made by the Saga customers has decreased by 18%. This suggests that vigilant over 50s have proactively stepped up their home security following news of a burglary crime wave set to sweep the nation earlier this year. So if you plan to venture out on the 6th of June you have been warned......

Britain’s population time bomb? The challenges and opportunities of an ageing society

This is the title of an expert panel meeting at the Royal Geographical Society on Tuesday 16 June at 19.00 until 20.00. Doors open at 18.00

Britain’s 17 million baby boomers are fast approaching retirement age, with over 65’s now outnumbering under 16’s for the first time. What are the challenges and opportunities that this presents Britain?

The expert panel will explore issues such as the changing nature of retirement; the importance of older people in the workforce; the increasing pressures on public services; and how Britain is adapting to an ageing society.

Chair:

• Samira Ahmed, Channel 4 News Presenter and Correspondent

Speakers:

• Rosie Winterton MP, Minister of State for Pensions and the Ageing Society, and Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber
• George Magnus, author of The Age of Ageing (2009)

Booking & tickets: RGS-IBG members £7, non-members £10. Call the Events Office on 020 7591 3100

Volunteers wanted for ageing research

EXPERTS at the University of Sheffield are looking for volunteers to aid its pioneering research into ageing.

The South Yorkshire Ageing Study was launched in 2005 to help explore the changes which occur with normal ageing and to help better understand memory loss, dementia and physical disability in older people. It is also running a clinical trial to investigate the

"Over the past 50 years medicine has advanced at an almost unrecognisably fast pace and as a result people are staying physically fitter well into old age. Unfortunately with increased age comes an increased risk of developing problems such as memory loss and concentration difficulties.''

Anyone aged 40 or older can take part in the study. There is no upper age limit but volunteers need to be 55 or older to take part in the clinical trial.

Testing takes place at Western Bank and the initial appointment takes around two hours. It involves a series of simple questions and checks on memory, balance, hearing, vision and blood pressure. Those taking part in the omega-3 trial will be provided with a year's supply of fish oil and asked to return for a re-test between six months and one year after the initial appointment.

All participants will be entered into a prize draw (first prize £100).

Contact 222 4707 or 0773 683 8606 or email d.tarmey@sheffield.as.uk

Myths about ageing

Came across this website which outlines a series of myths about ageing and the evidence to disparage each one. We do this in our book but it is interesting to see US data pinpointing the same issues. We discovered this from a very informative Malaysian site which is worth a look and called Seniors Aloud . A focus on 50+ is increasingly a worldwide phenomenon!