MIDLIFE - A HEALTH HANDBOOK 

Firstly, despite what people think, there is no age at which ‘midlife’ starts. Broadly speaking, though, the term is used for people who are aged between forty and sixty.  But, don’t worry, you won’t wake up on the morning of your fortieth birthday and become suddenly middle-aged. It’s just a broad term that is used to identify a certain demographic. Even so, there is no escaping ‘midlife’. From books to magazine articles, blogs to news reports, everyone is talking about midlife and everyone seems to offer something to help you during this stage of your life.   Midlife was even the focus of a recent report by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the key government body advising us what works and what doesn’t work to improve our health.

It used to be the case that when you reached your forties or fifties, you were half way through your working life. People were very aware and very concerned about whether or not they had ‘made it’, or ‘would make it’, or, perhaps, ‘would never make it.’ Often the ‘it’ is not quite clear. To make matters worse, you may see younger people being promoted ahead of you. The pressure that can build on people to succeed before they have retired can be overwhelming. The crisis that we’re so often told about is more of a social element, than a medical one. Your doctor, for example, won’t diagnose you with the ‘midlife crises’. The ‘Midlife Crisis’ has its origin in the simple Three Stage Model of life that has dominated much of the 20th century. Midlife has been called the Sandwich Generation squeezed between dependent children on one side and dependent parents on the other!

When we think about midlife or, rather, are told about midlife, it is usually partnered by the ‘crisis’. For many people, my friend included, midlife is the time when the heart begins to sink, the time when it looks as though it’s downhill all the way to old age. But a ‘crisis’ can happen at any time – it’s not explicitly related to age. A career setback, an illness, a divorce, or a death in the family, are all events that have nothing to do with ageing. They can happen at any time. One of the popular misconceptions about a midlife crisis is that they are spurred by the sudden realisation that you are no longer as young as you used to be and the aspirations you once had, are not achievable now you are in midlife. However, this simple Three Stage Model is vanishing fast as a result of dramatic changes taking place in society. The Age of Longevity has begun. Whilst midlife is a time in which we take on new responsibilities, it is also a time to look for new adventures. Midlife is a time to be celebrated and embraced.

This book is not meant to fill you with dread, or highlight the problems with ageing. No, this book is a kickstarter. Midlife is a time to begin a new lifestyle. It is a time to make the appropriate changes in your life that will leave you feeling healthier, happier, and more energetic. 


 CONTENTS 
  1. Forty to Sixty, the midlife challenge
  2. The science of midlife
    1. How is it going so far?
    2. Understanding the ageing process
    3. Staying positive
    4. Closing the fitness gap
    5. Reducing your risk of disease
    6. Developing your assets
  3. Reducing your stress
  4. Sleeping better
  5. Getting fitter
    1. How fit are you?
    2. How inactive are you?
    3. How much can getting fitter reduce your risk?
    4. Improving your strength and suppleness
    5. Improving your Stamina
    6. Improving your Skill
    7. Getting Fitter through Walking
    8. Getting Fitter through Running and High Intensity Training
    9. Getting Fitter through Team Sports
    10. Getting Fitter through Dancing
    11. Getting Fitter through Swimming
    12. Getting Fitter through Cycling
    13. Getting Fitter through Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi and the Alexander Technique
    14. Getting Fitter in a Gym
    15. Getting Fitter with a personal trainer
    16. Getting Fitter with a dog
  6. Eating better
    1. How well are you eating?
    2. How is your weight?
    3. How about alcohol?
    4. Eating more good stuff
    5. Eating less not so good  stuff
    6. Eating more thoughtfully
    7. Finding support for eating better
    8. Don’t dig your grave with your teeth

  1. Look After Your Body
    1. Your heart and bloodvessels
    2. Your brain
    3. Your lungs
    4. Your guts and liver
    5. Your skin
    6. Your bones joints and muscles
    7. Your metabolism
    8. Your teeth and gums
    9. The ‘manopause’
    10. The menopause
  2. Your NHS Services
    1. The One You Programme
    2. The NHS Health Checks Programme
      1. Your BMI and Blood Sugar
      2. Your blood pressure and pulse
      3. Your Blood Cholesterol
    3. NHS Cancer Screening Programmes
      1. Cancer screening for women
      2. Cancer screening for men
      3. Bowel cancer screening in midlife
    4. Living with a long term health problem
    5. Getting Right care for you
    6. Using other  health services
  3. The Road Ahead
    1. Avoiding a Bad Death
    2. Join the Revolution