5 easy habits for a longer, healthier, happier life: the OU announces national challenge empowering the UK to Age Well

Posted on 7 April 2025 • Health

• The Open University (OU) is launching a UK-wide month-long national challenge, similar to Dry January but for ageing well, Take Five to Age Well.
• As our Ambassador Professor Rose Anne Kenny demonstrates in her book Age Proof, research has shown that until we reach 80 years, 70-80% of ageing rate is largely determined by environmental factors (non-genetic) and many of these are within our gift; we can live longer, healthier lives by making small changes. The earlier the better and never too late.
• Attitude matters – having a positive view of ageing keeps you young. We need to challenge negative stereotypes of ageing as they damage health and wellbeing.
• Age UK and 400+ other collaborators are supporting the Take Five challenge and encouraging participation.
• Anyone can sign up to a month of healthy habits that will boost their health and wellbeing. The University will empower participants with top tips and interesting facts to encourage them along the way.
• Launching on 1 May and taking place during the UN’s Decade of Healthy Ageing, the Take Five to Age Well challenge will build a UK-wide movement of people committed to ageing well behaviours, with a lasting impact on their health and wellbeing.
• Part of the movement: The Open University ran a pilot in 2023 with great success – many of the participants surveyed have kept up the healthy habits they adopted. The OU are building on this with a UK wide campaign to support the population at a time when nearly 1 in 5 people in the UK are over 65 and this is projected to rise.
• Sign up today! Check out our website for more details.

Akin to the tried and tested Dry January and Stoptober models, Take Five to Age Well challenges people to sign up (online) to a choice of commitments in 5 areas: Eat, Drink, Move, Connect and Engage, and Think. Robustly scientific, everyone will be supported via email and an optional webchat ‘coach’.

With a cash strapped NHS and the ever-rising demand on adult social care services, ageing well, prevention and self-management is top of the government agendas across the four nations ; proactive care and social prescribing are strategies being adopted by the NHS and Take Five to Age Well ticks the boxes.

Take Five to Age Well builds upon the Five Pillars of Ageing Well, devised by Dr. Jitka Vseteckova at The Open University. Having run Ageing Well public talks, she wanted to bring the growing research in this area to a larger audience:

“This campaign tackles an urgent national health challenge; we have an ageing population in a landscape of overwhelmed social care and NHS services. Through the Take Five to Age Well pledge we hope to engage people across the UK with their health and wellbeing. This will support the sustainability of existing interventions and contribute to our understanding of how we can effectively change our health-related behaviours. We want to build a healthy population for a happier society.”

Alan is almost 81 and has attended almost all of Dr. Vseteckova’s talks,

“I was a project manager, and I treat my health like a project. It’s important to me because I want to remain active and to avoid being in the healthcare system for as long as possible as there are many people more in need of appointments than me. I fully support the Ageing Well series and the Take Five to Age Well initiative. They have given me information and ideas, which as an older person, have definitely enabled me to learn a lot about staying active and healthier in body and mind.”

Professor Rose Anne Kenny, Chair of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin and author of bestselling book ‘Age Proof’ is a supporter of Take Five to Age Well – she says:

“One of the most important factors which influences ageing is keeping interested, staying engaged and ensuring variety in your life”.

Take Five to Age Well hopes to inspire people of all ages up and down the UK to think about their futures and stay engaged. Take action to give your body and mind the best chance of a long, healthy life.

Kaye Adams, TV presenter and author said:

“I am signing up to Take Five To Age Well because every age and stage of life is unique and precious. The privilege of getting older is a great gift and I want to make the most of every moment!”

Sir Muir Gray, internationally renowned authority on healthcare commented on the 2023 pilot:

“VERY good work”

Former athlete, Lady Mary Peters, commented:

“I’ve been delighted to be part of the Take Five to Age Well initiative from the very start. Small changes through the Take Five to Age Well Challenge in how we Eat, Drink, Move, Connect and Engage and Think can make a big differences at any age but particularly as we get older. I would encourage everyone to take up the Challenge and help yourself to a better life. Take every day and enjoy it, yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift.”

And Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director, Age UK said,

“Take Five to Age Well is a great way to learn about and try out the many ways in which you can age better. There’s something for everyone and you decide what works for you. So, join us and sign up today!”

So, sign up today! Check out our website for more details.

www.bit.ly/takefivetoagewell

Top take home tips include:

• Stand on one leg whilst brushing your teeth – this is great for balance that becomes more and more important to avoid falls.
• Drink a glass of water before every snack and meal – this will help you stay hydrated (our thirst response weakens with age due to cognitive changes and so you need to proactively drink water even if you don’t feel thirsty).
• Choose a new vegetable you wouldn’t normally buy from the supermarket and look up a recipe that uses it.
• Mix your nuts – have a helping of mixed nuts and seeds that you eat over the day.
• Spend 5 minutes doing something creative: draw a picture, play an instrument, do an origami online tutorial.
• Offer to walk someone’s dog – spending time with animals is calming and walking in nature is good for the body and brain.
• Learn something new! Check out Open Learn for a range of courses for everyone.
• Suggest a regular neighbourly meet up – invite people (this could be existing local friends) over for a cup of tea or sit outside for a natter – knowing your neighbours keeps you connected and builds a safer, happier community.
• Have a laugh! Laughter is great for our brain – the dose of dopamine stimulates the synthesis of new proteins in the brain, it also reduces stress and boosts mood. The average 4-year-old laughs 300 times a day, whereas the average 40-year-old laughs 4. Do something fun!
• Have a positive attitude: we know a positive attitude to ageing is beneficial but don’t worry if you don’t yet feel that way. Our mindsets can change; by learning to reject fatalistic beliefs and embrace some of the changes that come with age, we might mitigate increased stress responses that arise from exposure to negative ageing stereotypes and we could become more motivated to exercise our bodies and minds and to embrace new challenges.

 

Header image from FreePik.