12 May Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number- George Timberlake
I am entering the Amnesty International Media Awards under the student journalist category:
“We all love to dance and jig, whatever age. Everyone is beaming with joy whenever they are here” explains Iris Thoday, 93, who has been a regular of the ‘Active over Sixty’ group for nearly a year. “Being old has its moments. But for the hour or so you forget that you’re away from your health or social needs.”
Growing Old Disgracefully is a group that meets once a week for different activities in order to improve local OAPs lifestyle and health in North London. Set up in 2001, the group alternates between its popular ‘Active over Sixty’ and ‘Sing over Sixty’ classes weekly. This Thursday morning was no exception, the small room is full with the participants sat on chairs in a circle, all chatting between themselves. A steady warm-up follows, mainly focusing on the legs; lifting, side-stepping and crossing to the mellow beat. Its followed by suggestions of what the OAPs wanted to be included in the mornings session, such as pace, music and intensity of the programme. The instructor, Marie (64), explains each exercise before undertaking a 90-second mini workout with beginner, intermediate and challenging levels for the OAPs to choose.
“It’s probably the most rewarding event I’ve ever been involved with,” says Marie, since retiring as a nurse last year she has been involved in trying to keep active whatever age. “What we’re doing is really an anti-loneliness campaign and a fitness class mixed together. A lot of the people that come maybe don’t get out as much as they once did and don’t see friends as often. However, this provides an alternative way to do both, whilst having so much fun. I really do believe that whatever age you are you can still have fun. I think society thinks the older you get the less fun you can have, but that’s not the case. I am sure that if every elderly person had some fun and a little dance every now and then, GP waiting lists would be reduced massively. I will always keep teaching; I just love it!”
Stretching legs and arms out to a remix of Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’, my eyes are drawn to a very glamorous lady, Brie D’Agostino , a well-dressed 88-year-old (still wearing her pearl earrings and necklace, along with activewear), she grins as she plays catch with a ball across the circle. After moving to the UK following a career working for the Italian government in Rome, being part of this group is a rejuvenating experience. “It brings me great joy coming here. They really get us all going,” Brie giggles with a broad smile across her face. “It’s such a joy to see everyone having so much fun. I never had children of my own. I’ve been out of the country all my working life, I haven’t even really had my sister’s family, so this is like being completely reborn, in my late eighties!”
All this fun comes as a new report by the Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH) has said feeling good and being emotionally well is linked with better brain health among over-50s. Whereas, poor mental wellbeing like having pessimistic feelings may cause the brain to interfere with the ability to think and reason with ageing. In the report, findings showed that greater mental wellbeing is associated with reduced risk of dementia, while there has been considerable and welcome attention in the area of dementia over recent years, the mental health of people in later life, and specifically the complex relationship between dementia and mental health problems, is a neglected area in public discourse, policy and service.
Age is the key known risk factor for dementia, although between 2-10% of cases start before the age of 65 years, Depression is the most common mental health problem in later life, affecting 20% of older people in the general community, and up to 40% of older people in care homes. Speaking to Dr Ula Howe, who has recently conducted research into this topic, she said “The population of the UK is ageing, with the average age of the population on the rise and the number of older people increasing, the UKs population over the age of 50 makes up over a third of the population, with latest statistics putting it at 23.2 million. The number of people aged 75 and over has increased by 89% since 1974. An ageing population presents new health challenges for the health and social care systems to manage. One such challenge is the increasing number of people living with dementia, including the sometimes forgotten proportion of people who develop early onset dementia. Another is the number of older people living with mental health problems. A third, but often overlooked challenge is the population of people living with a combination of both dementia and poor mental health.”
“Until relatively recently it was thought that prevention of dementia was not possible. However, there is emerging evidence that physical health plays a significant role in the development of mental health problems and some cares of dementia. Emerging research has shown that keeping vascular risk factors under control can prevent a proportion of new cases of dementia, as cardiovascular disease and diabetes are risk factors for the development of mild cognitive impairment, as well as Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Lifestyle changes, such as a healthy diet and regular exercise can help reduce the risk of stroke and hypertension, as well as having a positive impact on mental wellbeing. These changes can be supported through population-wide policies targeting sugar in food, smoking and alcohol consumption. It has been estimated that if it was possible to delay the onset of dementia by as little as 1 year, that would reduce the prevalence of dementia by 12 million fewer cases worldwide in 2050.”
Carol Manning, from Camden’s Memory Service, says she has seen a 64% increase in the number of patients using the service in the past 3 years, she says it’s down to ageing population. “Groups such as Growing Old Disgracefully are brilliant to refer patients to, those whom I have referred and have attended the group tend to be using less of our service and it’s a case of that I am now calling them rather than them calling us regularly.” Camden memory service offers advice, support and care for those suffering with dementia in North London, they visit patients at home, carry out assessments and have a friendly team that offers support via phone. “The service is stretched as demand has increased considerably,” Carol says, “Many calls are just for a chat as they feel lonely and just need a friendly voice to speak to.”
Growing Old Disgracefully seems to bring the community together and offer some much-needed fun to people that need it the most. Having a jive and prancing around the room whatever the age will always put a smile across the face.
