Bring on the tartan blankets and half a shandy, I ’m happy to embrace later life | Kevin McKenna

As a survey reveals that the over-50s are joining gyms and having sex, the reality is something rather more comfortableThe psychological challenges that arrive with your 50th birthday are rarely addressed in debates about Scotland ’s health. To be honest, they’d all been pulsing and fermenting away for a few years before then anyway. Many of us choose to put them in one of those wee mental boxes that psychologists tell their patients to imagine when they want to dodge bad memories and negative vibes. We then mark it with big virtual red capital letters: “NOT TO BE OPENED UNTIL YOU’RE 50.” These little red flags range from twinges in your body’s fundamental areas to framing the appropriate reply when the barber asks you how you want your hair cut.The biggest mental and emotional challenge comes, though, when you realise that it can take up to three days for the effects of a hangover to subside. You find yourself having to think very carefully before you embark on one of the great and uncomplicated pleasures of being human: the afternoon bevvy session. Can I cancel the next day and perhaps the day after that? Can I getBargain Hunt on catch-up? Is there enough mould-free cheese, breaded ham and white bread to see out a couple of days in the dark?Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Scotland Ageing Science Middle age UK news Society Source Type: news