Lewis Wolpert - You’re Looking Very Well

Exclusion from computers and the web is particularly pronounced for older people‚ with only 30 per cent of people aged 65 and over ever using the internet. Computers are being modified for the old with larger power buttons and easy-to-read menus. But it has been suggested that computer games may be bad for the elderly as they can decrease participation in more effective lifestyle interventions such as exercise. Only 20 per cent of those aged 65 to 74 and just 7 per cent of over 75s do enough exercise—30 minutes, five times a week.

When making choices about how to live, middle-aged and older adults attempt to preserve and maintain existing ways, and they prefer to accomplish this by using strategies tied to their past experiences. This may not always be wise, as a survey in 2006 of pensioners showed. They were asked what in their lives they would change if they could have their time again. While about one fifth would have married a different spouse, about one half would have saved more, and nearly three quarters would have had more sex. Old age can provide a useful excuse for men whose sexual abilities are failing. There are claims that the elderly get less pleasure from sexual intercourse, and they thus seek pleasure in erotic literature and the company of young women, and even voyeurism. Alison Park, co-director of the National Centre for Social Research’s British Social Attitudes survey, says that on issues such as marriage, pre-marital sex and homosexuality, ‘it doesn’t follow that people become more restrictive in their attitudes as they get older. People’s attitudes are shaped when they are quite young and stay with them.’

It is important to dispel the myth that as men get older their sexual abilities will significantly decrease. There’s really no physiological or anatomical reason why a healthy man who takes good care of himself, and who doesn’t have attendant medical problems, shouldn’t be able to have a fulfilling and active sexual life. A comprehensive national survey of senior sexual attitudes, behaviours and problems in the United States has found that most people aged 57 to 85 think of sexuality as an important part of life and that the frequency of sexual activity, for those who are active, declines only slightly from the 50s to the early 70s, and that this activity continues into the 80s.

If the old have energy for sex, they also have sufficient energy for crime. In England and Wales, prisoners aged over 60 are the fastest growing age group in prison. The increase in the elderly prison population is due to harsher sentencing policies, which have resulted in the courts sending a larger proportion of criminals aged over 60 to prison to serve longer sentences. Between 1995 and 2000 the number of elderly males given custodial sentences increased by 55 per cent. In 2007 there were some two thousand prisoners aged over 60 in England and Wales, including about four hundred over 70. The majority of elderly men in prison were there for sex offences. The next highest offence was violence against the person, followed by drug offences. More than half of all elderly prisoners suffer from a mental disorder, mainly depression, which may be caused by or aggravated by imprisonment. In the USA, the number of prisoners over 50 is more than twice as many as a decade earlier.

One of the greatest pleasures of old age is having grandchildren—I have six. They usually need a minimum of care and they are a delight. Perhaps they will help look after me in my very old age—but I would not rely on it. Looking after grandchildren is a possible role for the old. Patsy Drysdale from Stranraer was crowned the UK’s best grandparent in the 2008 Age Concern Grandparent of the Year Awards in association with Specsavers. The annual competition‚ now in its 19th year‚ is a celebration of how important grandparents are to family life. It gives grandchildren the chance to say thank you for all the love and support they receive from their grandparents. Patsy was shortlisted for the national award from hundreds of entries. She was nominated by her granddaughter Gina‚ aged 13‚ to thank her grandma for taking her in when it looked she was going to have to go into care following the death of her mother. Patsy has supported Gina through difficult times and Gina has been there when her grandmother needed her‚ nursing her after a cancerous tumour was removed from her lungs. In 2009 Christine Levin from Falmouth‚ Cornwall‚ was crowned the UK’s best grandparent, again nominated by her granddaughter.

But there are also problems associated with the role of the caring grandparent. A study in London showed that children did better if they went to nursery school than if they were cared for by their grandparents. Their social skills at 3 years were worse and they had more behavioural problems already at 9 months, though their vocabulary was better. Worse still, it was found in the US that grandparents who looked after grandchildren or lived with them were in worse health. A recent study found that for many, friends and hobbies are more satisfying for the old than grandchildren.

With regard to the age of parents, researchers analysed the scores of children who had been tested at regular intervals in a variety of cognitive skills, including thinking and reasoning, memory, understanding, speaking and reading, as well as motor skills. Regardless of their mothers’ ages, the older the fathers, the more likely the children were to have lower scores. By contrast, children with older mothers generally performed higher on the cognitive measures, a finding in line with most other studies, suggesting that these children may benefit from the more nurturing home environments associated with the generally higher income and education levels of older mothers.

There are great benefits to be had from pairing the elderly with pets, but there are also some risks and one has to be careful in the selection of a dog. Companion dogs can be very comforting and can bring much joy to any elderly person, and studies have proved that the overall wellbeing of old people can be improved when sharing love with a four-footed friend. Doctors, social workers, home care workers and nursing homes recommend companion animals to help the elderly, and this includes not just dogs but birds and cats. Dogs can provide more than just affection: studies have shown that they can lower blood pressure, offer a sense of security and safety, and decrease feelings of isolation. There is also good evidence that touch is very important to the wellbeing of humans. A cat curled up in the lap or the friendly touch of a dog’s nose can give a sense of reassurance and satisfaction. Stroking a beloved pet can lower blood pressure and lift depression. The elderly will be kept active by feeding, grooming and caring for their pets. Dogs get them out of their living quarters and into the fresh air and sunshine, and this also helps them to get to know other people in the neighbourhood. Caring for a pet’s needs gives the elderly an incentive to maintain their normal activities.

Ageing is more than an innate physical process; it also reflects patterns and choices made at individual and societal levels. The proportion of older people in England’s rural areas is significantly higher than in urban areas. It is a trend that is likely to continue, as more people move to the countryside for quality-of-life reasons in their middle age, and stay on into retirement. Findings from Age Concern show that almost all older people in rural areas consider their local post office to be ‘a lifeline’‚ with over half of over-60s in the countryside fearing that post office closures would leave them more isolated. Rural post offices provide much more than just a postal service to older people. Many pensioners use their post office as a ‘one-stop shop’ to access their pension and benefits‚ pay their bills‚ get advice and information‚ and meet and socialise with others. Closures leave many older people increasingly financially and socially excluded.