Here’s How I Define The Third Age of Life
I get questions about this regularly and thought I could save myself a lot of replies by putting this down in writing and making it accessible!
It’s simple really. Shakespeare had his famous “Seven Ages of Man” (As You Like It; Act II Scene VII). I have just three:
First Age: infancy, childhood, growing up and schooling.
Second Age: work life, career and calling.
Third Age: retirement onwards. That’s including people who will never retire! But basically 65 years old and beyond.
I notice that some medical sites have a negative caveat… the Third Age lasts only while the person is active and engaged in life. In other words, when infirmity and loss of mobility sets in, it’s all over!
I find this extraordinarily foolish and damning. To begin with, any good physician should be able to keep his patients healthy and active till very near the end. You know my saying: We Boomers want to party right till our last day on earth!
But also, I cannot accept dismissing a person whose health has taken a sharp downturn. That’s when we doctors are ESPECIALLY needed!
The buzzword today is “healthspan”, as opposed to mere lifespan. Health span is your accumulated healthy and active years. We want the healthspan to be close to the lifespan, if not exactly the same!
Changes in lifespan: At the start of the 20th century, the average life expectancy was around 40 years. At the end of the 20th century, it was 75-plus. But what you have to bear in mind is these figures, usually quoted, are for life expectancy at birth. In Victorian times, one in four children died before the age of 5. But once past childhood, Victorian life expectancy rose sharply, to almost what we enjoy today. Plenty of Victorians made it to 80 and beyond.
The best part: Here’s a cheerful note for you—once you reach the age of 60, average life expectancy goes up to 85 years! By the time you reach 60, you’ve proved you are a survivor. The reward is 25 more years of good living! But that’s only an average; for every person who dies on or about their 60th birthday, someone else gets promoted to 110 years! (it’s not quite that simple but you get the point).
