Relax...you’re not middle-aged until 53
ATTITUDES towards middle age are changing fast – and most people do not believe it strikes until 53 on average, researchers have found.
Rising life expectancy and healthier lifestyles mean the average person no longer expects to feel they are going downhill in their 40s.
People also said they notice less difference between age groups these days, with social media and lives increasingly led online contributing to the blurring of divisions between young and old.
In fact 53 per cent of Britons in a survey of 2,000 men and women said they do not even believe middle age exists anymore.
But the research, commissioned by Benenden Health, came up with a familiar top 40 signs of approaching middle age.
People listed frustration with modern technology as the top sign of ageing, followed by a tendency not to have a clue what young people are talking about.
Aching joints, needing naps, hating noisy pubs, not knowing what is in the charts and choosing clothes for comfort over style were also on the list, printed in full on the right.
As ever, thinking policemen look young and taking a comforting flask of tea when you go out are seen as sure signs of middle age.
Paul Keenan, communications chief at Benenden Health, said: “Britons are happily skipping over traditional notions of middle age. It’s a term with less significance and is no longer a numerical milestone. A variety of factors are involved, including more active lifestyles.
“It’s clear that what age you are has become less important in determining how young you feel.
“Being old appears to be a state of mind rather than being a specific age.” Eight in ten people polled agreed that the term middle age is much harder to define now than it used to be. The same number think it is mostly a state of mind.
Among over-50s, 43 per cent felt they had not experienced middle age yet. Nearly three quarters said there was less of a divide between the age groups than in the past, with improved health care seen as the main reason.
Illness and memory loss were named as the threats people fear most in growing old. But a massive 84 per cent of those surveyed were of the belief that if you think of yourself as old, you will naturally start to feel old.
Paul Keenan admitted: “I’m 54, with the mindset of a 30-something – and sometimes of a teenager!"
TOP 40 SIGNS OF GETTING ON
1. Losing touch with everyday technology such as tablets and TVs
2. Finding you have no idea what 'young people' are talking about
3. Feeling stiff
4. Needing an afternoon nap
5. Groaning when you bend down
6. Not remembering the name of any modern bands
7. Talking a lot about your joints/ailments
8. Hating noisy pubs
9. Getting more hairy - ears, eyebrows, nose and face
10. Thinking policemen/teachers/doctors look really young
11. Preferring a night in with a board game than a night on the town
12. You don't know any songs in the top 10
13. Choosing clothes and shoes for comfort rather than style
14. Taking a flask of tea on a day out
15. Obsessive gardening or bird feeding
16. Thinking there is nothing wrong with wearing an anorak
17. Forgetting people's names
18. Booking on to a cruise
19. Misplacing your glasses/bag/car keys etc.
20. Complaining about the rubbish on television these days
21. Gasping for a cup of tea
22. Getting bed socks for Christmas and being very grateful
23. Taking a keen interest in The Antiques Road Show
24. When you start complaining about more things
25. Listening to the Archers
26. You move from Radio 1 to Radio 2
27. Joining the National Trust
28. Being told off for politically incorrect opinions
29. Flogging the family car for something sportier
30. When you can't lose six pounds in two days anymore
31. You get shocked by how racy music videos are
32. Taking a keen interest in the garden
33. Buying travel sweets for the car
34. Considering going on a 'no children' cruise for a holiday
35. When you know your alcohol limit
36. Obsessively recycling/knowing the collection dates
37. Always carrying a handy pack of tissues
38. Falling asleep after one glass of wine
39. Spending more money on face creams/anti-ageing products
40. Preferring a Sunday walk to a lie in
