Mental well being
Dame Joan Harbison attended a day in the Long Gallery at Stormont to recognise and promote the mental well being of Older People.
The British Psychological Society recently presented psychological perspectives on ageing well. Professor Ian Robertson from Trinity College Dublin's institute of neuroscience described that, ‘just as physical health and lifespan are shaped by diet and physical fitness, so our brain fitness is shaped by lifestyle factors over which we potentially have control.’
Prof. Robertson maintains there are seven key factors which strongly influence brain health and fitness at all ages but increasingly as people get older.
These are:-
- physical exercise,
- mental stimulation,
- new learning,
- reduced stress,
- social connection,
- diet,
- mental attitude.
Mental ill-health is more wide spread than many realise and the annual costs of responding to mental ill-health in England alone are about £36 billion. The UK Office of National Statistics estimates that by 2071 the number of people older than 65 could double to nearly 2.13 million and those aged 80 and over could more than treble to 9.5 million.
Professor Christine Liddell from the Psychology Dept of University of Ulster indicated that the current investment strategy for safeguarding mental capacity becomes virtually zero from 65 years and over.