Over 50 with huge amounts of energy?

[Serendo]

Musing about a friend in her mid 50's. Not a close friend, we see each other at a social event regularly. She works full time as a surgeon, has 2 children she is very hands on with and she entertains or hosts guests or travels to somewhere new almost every single week end.

She is always 'on', never misses a beat and always the first to respond to texts, organise things, etc. I'm a similar age and have nowhere near those energy levels. Do you know anyone like this and wonder how they do it?

Cocaine? 😂

In my "line" of work, yes, and that helps with them being so thin.

but there are some people in my friends groups who are the marathon running types and can't watch TV unless they knit or something at the same time, just naturally hyper.

i'm introverted and too much people contact can be hard for me in terms of sensiry overload which then feels it's affecting your energy.

My mum is like this, she's 60, runs a successful business, exercises every day, has a dog, looks after grandsons, she's always on the go and has boundless energy

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Maybe we are not all as brilliant as you

Why do you have to be so sarcastic @Screamingabdabz ?

You know nothing about my struggles or anxieties. Like I say, I just get on with life like many others aged 50 plus.

I am 56. Run my own business. Always out and about. Gym 3 times a week. Travel very regularly for business and pleasure. Lots of socialising.

a few things. My partner is 150% supportive. I do know how to rest / take a step back. I sometimes force myself to do things if I’m tired and not feeling it. I rarely regret it.

I know a few people like this and they just seem to love to be 'busy' .. if that makes you happy then great but often they have FOMO and can't cope with 'doing nothing'.
I don't think I've ever been a really 'busy' person & I organised my life so that I didn't need to be endlessly active, work part time, conscious decision to have one DC, would never have a house/garden that needed endless upkeep, no pets .. rarely socialise apart from very low key events (ie meeting one friend for coffee), volunteering but on my terms, I enjoy a very 'simple' lifestyle - perhaps that would be boring to many .

Sarcasm is the only thing I have the energy for.

I'm mid 50s, peri menopausal, fairly fit and healthy but have much less energy than in my 40s.

Could easily have a nap every afternoon if it were possible. And my friends are the same.

Keeping fingers crossed for a post menopausal revival.

Yeah, I don’t think this is wildly unusual. I’m 51 and do all the things the OP mentions, as do most of the people I know. Some of them swim in the sea daily and do ultramarathons or are Samaritans as well.

I sometimes think that as well as being numerically dominated by misanthropes, Mn also has a high proportion of people with unusually low energy.

I know several female medics in their late forties/fifties and they are almost without exception very similar to the person described in the OP. Very hands on with two, three or four DC apiece. Super sporty (anything from wild swimming to football to yoga to triathlons and the like) and push their DC hard to be super sporty as well. Busy social lives (for both adults and DC). Very often they are keen cooks as well, and just because they don't have enough in their lives already they get a puppy. It's the superwoman dynamic.

I have a theory that because medicine is so utterly brutal and demanding as a career it is a bit of a 'survival of the fittest' thing. So by definition any woman who has a successful medical career is likely to be supremely confident,self-assured, organised, full of energy and fairly 'alpha' in her outlook.

She is also (and this certainly applies to the female medics I know) someone who is utterly blithe about outsourcing, whether that be childcare, cleaning, gardening, doggy daycare or whatever.

So a combination of personality, resilience and an income level that then enables them to pay staff to do stuff.

Tbh I feel knackered just having typed it all out

Yes, I’m irritatingly like this. Lots of people think I do too much but I would get bored otherwise. On third career…

in terms of theories, I do have ADHD and am through menopause, but am an introvert (lots of my work is sitting at home in front of a computer). Not a medic; two arts degrees!

This is definitely true!

I know a woman like this. She’s a very successful, wealthy professional with a cocaine habit.

Which supplements do you take?

Interesting... I am 52, loads of energy! Take supplements, collano gen etc. Work FT, demanding career, 2 teen dc, single parent. I have a gardener, no other help.
Gym , walking, Pilatus, no booze, no late nights, very socially active.
Can't imagine slowing
down ¡ ,,, dating as well. But I find most men boring snd inactive !!

Beat me too it.. 🤣

It must be just us then @Serendo ? All these thrusting, energy driven 50 somethings… fucking hell 🙄 where’s the cocaine? I should probably have some…

53, single, 3 kids - I tend to have the energy for things I find important - kids, work, friends, gym

so I look active but I balance it out with a lot of down time - which I need!

I'm one of those women...no I don't put source much, I work ft ( medic but not a surgeon), travel, run two homes, three dogs, lots of logistical stuff to organise, I am learning a language and doing a master's in ethics...just always believed in "getting on with it"
I don't take supplements legal or otherwise.
I eat ok, I drink alcohol and I am training for a marathon.
We only get one life...I want to pack it with asuch as possible.
I agree with @TheDaphne .. Mumsnet does seem to have large numbers of people on their knees or exhausted by life...I do find it hard to really understand..I get tired but never feel so despairing.

I hardly ever watch TV...my friends who are like me are the same...I wonder if there is correlation?

I feel tired just reading this thread. Wake me when the menopause is over.

I'm going to push two things - HRT and regular exercise (mixed / varied). Honestly, there's only gains & massive preventative health benefits from both - regardless of whether you have symptoms or not.

I have high energy levels. It’s hereditary and my father is exactly the same. I’m in bed for 10pm these days and up at 4am. My ex husband worked hard while we were married but since I left him he has slowed down a lot. He sleeps in until 6:30am whereas he used to leave for the plane by 5am. I still have times when I will work until 2-3am and I’m back up at 5am to get everyone off to school.

I exercise daily and there are times when I get tired. Last week I got sick with what I thought was a cold. I’m really tired so adjusted my supplements to increase my zinc.

Health wise, I exercise, have annual check ups, watch my weight and eat a lot of veggies. I take supplements too (omega 3, complex b, magnesium and a multivitamin). Diet is important. I eat fish, which while expensive, is very low in fat compared to beef or chicken.

The people reporting that they have plenty of energy and are very active have also have a very energetic writing style. Makes me tired just reading it!

I have lost energy since peri started 3 years ago, I'm 49. Trying to boost it with vitamins and walking more but still could nap a couple of times a day and can't wait for the weekend. I can sleep for 10 hours straight nowadays.