London, March 27 (IANS) ‘You are as old as you feel’, goes an old saying. A study now says women consider themselves old at 29, half the age of men who feel old only at 58.
A quarter of women say they feel old as soon as they spot their first grey hair. Men, however, tend to think the same only when they can no longer perform in the bedroom, according to the Daily Mail.
The study by Avalon Funeral Plans found 10 percent of women say they feel old when they think their once-youthful skin has started to sag. A further 50 percent say they feel youthful until their ‘assets’ start to droop – often caused by childbirth and breast feeding.
And three percent said behaving like their mother was a definite sign of old age.
Two-thirds of men feel old only when they could no longer perform in the bedroom. Around 22 percent admitted it was when they thought music had become too loud in bars.
Psychologist Cary Cooper from Lancaster University said: ‘In our society the attractiveness of women is quite important. Men don’t have to be good looking but, for some reason, it’s important for women to look presentable.’
‘Magazines are all about youth and are filled with young, attractive women. Women then start to perceive themselves as old when they no longer feel like this, when they don’t feel trendy or fashionable.’
