Winter 2007

Women heading towards retirement may understandably have thoughts of taking it easy, but new research* just published reveals they are in fact embarking on one of the busiest times of their lives.

Despite the inevitable male protests, women have been found to spend far more time working, caring for their family, helping others, and doing the housework than men. As a result they have far less time for relaxing and enjoying hobbies.

The research, commissioned for herbal remedy Quiet Life www.quietlife.com, shows a third of women (34%) over the age of 50 spend time looking after grown-up children, grandchildren and their parents in contrast to only a quarter of men (25%) of a similar age. 

To make matters worse, women spend three hours more than men caring for their family each week (six hours v three hours), but two and half hours less relaxing and enjoying their hobbies. And, it’s obviously all taking its toll as more than a quarter (27%) of over 50s women say they feel stressed or worried most days compared to just 17% of men.

On average a man over 50 will manage to find time for 17 hours of taking it easy each week, whereas a woman will only get to relax for 14 hours. And when it comes to hobbies, there’s a two hour gap, again in favour of the men – 12 hours to 10.

But even this isn’t really enough for most men as they would ideally like to spend an extra five hours a week pursuing their hobbies and an extra hour with their feet up.

In the housework stakes, it probably comes as no surprise that women devote eight hours a week to keeping their homes in order – two more than men say they do … if they’re to be believed, that is.

But, on the other hand, women should be very pleased to learn that men are, in fact, prepared to put in an extra hour of housework a week – perhaps they just need asking. And, as luck would have it, this fits in perfectly with the girls’ desire to cut down their domestic chores time to just four hours a week.

Janet Lane, of Quiet Life, says: “Our findings show that life really doesn’t slow down as you get older – in fact it seems that everyone is busier than ever with three in 10 people saying there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.

“But one thing is for sure, with more than a quarter (27%) of women feeling stressed or worried most days, they are clearly having to bear the brunt of all the pressure – juggling caring for their grandchildren, parents and even their grown-up children alongside working, doing the housework and socialising. So with no sign of any let up for women a herbal remedy like Quiet Life can be used to help them relax and unwind.”

There are, however, two very positive findings from the Quiet Life research. Nearly a third (32%) of the over 50s surveyed feel ‘young at heart’, so much so that both sexes now believe that middle age didn’t really start for them until they moved into their 50s.

Ends

For more information, contact:

Jemma Watkins or Sam Purnell

Bray Leino PR

T: 0117 973 1173

E: j watkins@brayleino.co.uk spurnell@brayleino.co.uk

Notes to Editors

The research was carried out by The Mature Times magazine’s silverPOP online survey. More than 1,200 over 50s were surveyed from 18-31 July 2007.

What is Quiet Life?

For those seeking gentle relief from periods of worry, irritability, stresses and sleeplessness, Quiet Life, a herbal remedy, can help. Quiet Life contains the natural ingredients of Valerian, Hops and Passiflora. The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia recommends this combination brings maximum benefit to the system. Valerian, hops and Passiflora are known for their calming effects and often used as remedies for insomnia, nervousness, anxiety or restlessness. Quiet Life is also rich in important B vitamins.

Quite Life comes in an easy-to take tablet form and is suitable for adults. It is also suitable for vegetarians. Two tablets should be taken two to three times a day.