The Open University (OU) is launching a UK-wide month-long national challenge, similar to Dry January but for ageing well: Take Five to Age Well.
With a cash strapped NHS and the ever-rising demand on adult social care services, ageing well, prevention and self-management is top of the government agendas across the four nations; proactive care and social prescribing are strategies being adopted by the NHS and Take Five to Age Well ticks the boxes.
Launching on 1 May and taking place during the UN’s Decade of Healthy Ageing, the Take Five to Age Well challenge will build a UK-wide movement of people committed to ageing well behaviours with a lasting impact on their health and wellbeing.
Take Five to Age Well builds upon the Five Pillars of Ageing Well, devised by Dr. Jitka Vseteckova at The Open University. Having run Ageing Well public talks, she wanted to bring the growing research in this area to a larger audience:
“This campaign tackles an urgent national health challenge; we have an ageing population in a landscape of overwhelmed social care and NHS services,” she says.
“Through the Take Five to Age Well pledge we hope to engage people across the UK with their health and wellbeing. This will support the sustainability of existing interventions and contribute to our understanding of how we can effectively change our health-related behaviours. We want to build a healthy population for a happier society.”
Top take home tips include:
• Stand on one leg whilst brushing your teeth – this is great for balance that becomes more and more important to avoid falls.
• Drink a glass of water before every snack and meal – this will help you stay hydrated (our thirst response weakens with age due to cognitive changes and so you need to proactively drink water even if you don’t feel thirsty).
• Choose a new vegetable you wouldn’t normally buy from the supermarket and look up a recipe that uses it.
• Mix your nuts – have a helping of mixed nuts and seeds that you eat over the day.
• Spend 5 minutes doing something creative: draw a picture, play an instrument, do an origami online tutorial.
• Offer to walk someone’s dog – spending time with animals is calming and walking in nature is good for the body and brain.
• Learn something new! Check out Open Learn for a range of courses for everyone.
• Suggest a regular neighbourly meet up – invite people (this could be existing local friends) over for a cup of tea or sit outside for a natter – knowing your neighbours keeps you connected and builds a safer, happier community.
• Have a laugh! Laughter is great for our brain – the dose of dopamine stimulates the synthesis of new proteins in the brain, it also reduces stress and boosts mood. The average 4-year-old laughs 300 times a day, whereas the average 40-year-old laughs 4. Do something fun!
• Have a positive attitude: we know a positive attitude to ageing is beneficial but don’t worry if you don’t yet feel that way. Our mindsets can change; by learning to reject fatalistic beliefs and embrace some of the changes that come with age, we might mitigate increased stress responses that arise from exposure to negative ageing stereotypes and we could become more motivated to exercise our bodies and minds and to embrace new challenges.
So, sign up today! Check out OU’s website for more details.
