Our programme is based on knowledge and if anything can be called the Elixir of Life it is knowledge, and the Optimal Ageing Library is our power base. You can try our books for
The ageing process affects everyone and really picks up steam at about the age of forty on but by itself does not cause major problems until after ninety, just look at David Attenborough. There is increasingly strong evidence that simple steps can prevent the problems that most people fear, notably dementia and frailty and dependence on other people. NICE the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, a highly influential body, has published a report on the Prevention of Disability, Dementia and Frailty. They call the ability to adapt 'successful ageing' but there are three inter related causes of the problems that occur more frequently as people live longer, summarised in our Kindle the Antidote to Ageing
*Loss of fitness
*Disease, the majority of which is preventable and
*Pessimistic and negative beliefs and attitudes
You can influence all of these by
*Getting fitter, both physically and mentally, or as we think of it increasing your activity levels , physical, emotional and cognitive.
*Reducing your risk not only of disease, but also of dementia, disability, frailty and the need for long term care
*Understanding what is happening to you and around you so that you can be more positive and believe that action can reduce the impact of what most people think is the effect of ageing.
These issues are summarised in our Kindle the Antidote to Ageing, and there are a number of other excellent books
It is also important to bear in mind that there has never been a better time to be older. As the historian Sir Keith Thomas, deservedly a Companion of Honour, described in his book on the history of witchcraft titled Religion and the Decline of Magic. In this book, widely regarded as one of the most important works on history in the 20th century he described how rich old people had authority and managed quite well, but had to be careful when to hand over power to their children, with King Lear's fate as a warning. Poor old people, and in the era before pensions they were the great majority, had it very tough and were often dependent on parish charity as their children had to choose between feeding their parents or their own numerous offspring
OUR FOCUS IS COACHING NOT TRAINING
We are not just an information service, although the advice is based on best current scientific evidence. Think of us more as a coach, with coaching being, in the definition from the Oxford English Dictionary, "to prepare someone for an examination" or " to train someone for an athletic contest" Teachers focus on knowledge, trainers focus on performance, coaches focus on winning, giving not just knowledge but also skills and motivation and know-how related to a particular challenge. In our case the challenge of living longer in a society in which people are ignorant or confused about what is going on and how to cope with it.
ACTIVITY IS THE KEY
Activity, physical, mental and social, is of vital importance in achieving optimal ageing, that is, to keep the gap between your actual level of ability and your best possible level of ability - the Fitness Gap - as narrow as possible. The benefits of physical activity are obvious. Mental activity increases your ability to think clearly and logically, increasing cognitive fitness and the social activity will help emotional fitness, not just feeling better because people have done something nice for you but because you have done something good for other people.
THE OPTIMAL AGEING REVOLUTION
It is important to emphasise that what happens to you is not always your fault . The world in which we live is a dangerous place, with many factors, social and physical, from low income to air pollution causing the problems that surface as the decades pass. As well as offering coaching to individuals we want to change the way society and the health service thinks about ageing and growing older. Obviously we need to change the environment , both physical and social, and our social objectives are
- people in Midlife, the sandwich generation aged 40- 60
- people in their 60s - Sod60!, and
- people 70 and beyond - Sod70!
The ageing process affects everyone and really picks up steam at about the age of forty on but by itself does not cause major problems until after ninety, just look at David Attenborough. There is increasingly strong evidence that simple steps can prevent the problems that most people fear, notably dementia and frailty and dependence on other people. NICE the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, a highly influential body, has published a report on the Prevention of Disability, Dementia and Frailty. They call the ability to adapt 'successful ageing' but there are three inter related causes of the problems that occur more frequently as people live longer, summarised in our Kindle the Antidote to Ageing
*Loss of fitness
*Disease, the majority of which is preventable and
*Pessimistic and negative beliefs and attitudes
You can influence all of these by
*Getting fitter, both physically and mentally, or as we think of it increasing your activity levels , physical, emotional and cognitive.
*Reducing your risk not only of disease, but also of dementia, disability, frailty and the need for long term care
*Understanding what is happening to you and around you so that you can be more positive and believe that action can reduce the impact of what most people think is the effect of ageing.
These issues are summarised in our Kindle the Antidote to Ageing, and there are a number of other excellent books
- Extra Time by Camilla Cavendish
- The Hundred Year Life by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott
- How To Age Joyfully by Maggy Piggott
- When We're 64 by Louise Ansari
It is also important to bear in mind that there has never been a better time to be older. As the historian Sir Keith Thomas, deservedly a Companion of Honour, described in his book on the history of witchcraft titled Religion and the Decline of Magic. In this book, widely regarded as one of the most important works on history in the 20th century he described how rich old people had authority and managed quite well, but had to be careful when to hand over power to their children, with King Lear's fate as a warning. Poor old people, and in the era before pensions they were the great majority, had it very tough and were often dependent on parish charity as their children had to choose between feeding their parents or their own numerous offspring
OUR FOCUS IS COACHING NOT TRAINING
We are not just an information service, although the advice is based on best current scientific evidence. Think of us more as a coach, with coaching being, in the definition from the Oxford English Dictionary, "to prepare someone for an examination" or " to train someone for an athletic contest" Teachers focus on knowledge, trainers focus on performance, coaches focus on winning, giving not just knowledge but also skills and motivation and know-how related to a particular challenge. In our case the challenge of living longer in a society in which people are ignorant or confused about what is going on and how to cope with it.
ACTIVITY IS THE KEY
Activity, physical, mental and social, is of vital importance in achieving optimal ageing, that is, to keep the gap between your actual level of ability and your best possible level of ability - the Fitness Gap - as narrow as possible. The benefits of physical activity are obvious. Mental activity increases your ability to think clearly and logically, increasing cognitive fitness and the social activity will help emotional fitness, not just feeling better because people have done something nice for you but because you have done something good for other people.
THE OPTIMAL AGEING REVOLUTION
It is important to emphasise that what happens to you is not always your fault . The world in which we live is a dangerous place, with many factors, social and physical, from low income to air pollution causing the problems that surface as the decades pass. As well as offering coaching to individuals we want to change the way society and the health service thinks about ageing and growing older. Obviously we need to change the environment , both physical and social, and our social objectives are
- To inform people about the relationship between ageing, loss of fitness, disease and the beliefs and attitudes of society
- To support people who would benefit to overcome the obstacles to increased social, mental and physical activity
- To promote the positive contribution that older people make to society
- To help the NHS play a leading role in promoting a culture in which activity is seen as of increasing relevance with increasing age and the diagnosis of disease, for example by prescribing activity therapy as well as drug therapy, operative therapy and psychological therapy for everyone with long term conditions
- To help the fitness industry reach those who would benefit most from its resources
- To help people of all ages use online services as easily as they use electricity