We celebrated International Day for Older Persons by surveying 100 of our residents for some wise life advice.
Posted on October 01, 2018
We’ve all been told to listen to our elders, not necessarily because they are always right, but because they have more life experience than we do.
Celebrating International Day for Older Persons on Monday 1st October, multi award winning, Milesian Manor, Northern Ireland’s first and only lifestyle care home has carried out a survey of 100 residents with an average age of 89 to find out what the secret to a long and happy life is.
The top five findings show that, family is above all, the most important thing in life – 86 per cent of people rated this as the top answer and a whopping 79 per cent of people said that everyone should worry less. Almost everyone surveyed said that we should prioritise socialising with friends more, and that work and money are unimportant. Having a little tipple each day featured in less than 5 per cent of findings.
Milesian Manor Survey Results:
What is the most important thing in life?
• 86% of those surveyed ranked family as the most important thing in their lives
• Family is three times more important than work / money / success
• Family is twice as important as friendship
• Only 2% rated success as the most important thing in their lives while 30% rated it as one of the least important things
• While no-one voted friends as the most important thing in their life, 70% rated good friendships in 2nd or 3rd place.
• Only 2% valued money as the most important thing in their life
• Only 6% valued work as the most important thing in their life while 14% rated it as least important
• 35% of those surveyed rated being kind to others as the second most important thing in their lives
What advice would you give to your 20 year old self?
• 29% said the most important piece of advice they would give their younger selves would be to worry less – 79% said worrying less comes in the top two pieces of advice they would give themselves.
• Only 8% wished they’d travelled more
• 43% wished they’d spent more time with family
• No one wished they’d worked more!
• 23% would like their younger selves to be kind
What is the secret to living a long life?
• 22% said exercise and keeping active is the key to a long life
• 36% ranked being positive in the top two
• 5% ranked having a tipple every day as important
• The highest ranking hobby was to socialise!
• 48% said spending time with family was the secret to a long life.
• Only 6% said having a job you love was important to leading a long life
Cara Macklin, Director of Milesian Manor says the findings are a good reflection of the ethos behind Milesian Manor;
“We are passionate about our residents leading full and active lives and our findings reflect the importance of that. We are a family run business and are passionate about retaining and encouraging the family unit once a person comes to live with us, we regularly host dances, parties and movie nights in our cinema and our residents are very welcome to bring along their own families to enjoy these experiences with them. We’ve also found that many of the people that live with us have forged precious new friendships enjoying each other’s company while getting their nails done in the spa, playing games in the bar or enjoying the wellness garden.”
The expert care on offer at Milesian Manor ranges from residential, respite, nursing and dementia care along with the Milesian Day Club which offers an escape, a relaxing support for residents and their families who need more interaction but are still able to live at home. There are over 50 dedicated staff ranging from specialised nurses, fully-trained carers, and a dedicated lifestyle team along with in-house cooks creating wonderful fresh home-cooked food on a daily basis and housekeeping staff to ensure all resident’s needs are not only met but exceeded.
To find out more about Milesian Manor Lifestyle Care home please call 028 7963 1842 to arrange a visit.
