January 22, 2013
In a national survey of more than 500 Americans age 50 to 65,Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, a Liberty Mutual Insurance company, found that despite Boomers' confidence in how they take care of themselves, they are not focusing sufficiently on their physical well being and many are finding themselves struggling to juggle competing priorities.
To help better manage these priorities, more than half of Boomers surveyed (61 percent) were willing to commit to a New Year's resolution to either pursue the active lifestyle they deserve (50 percent) or to stay healthy in order to continue to help others (49 percent). Unfortunately, the reality remains that four out of five people who make a resolution will eventually break it - with 33 percent of people giving up before the end of January.¹
To help better manage these priorities, more than half of Boomers surveyed (61 percent) were willing to commit to a New Year's resolution to either pursue the active lifestyle they deserve (50 percent) or to stay healthy in order to continue to help others (49 percent). Unfortunately, the reality remains that four out of five people who make a resolution will eventually break it - with 33 percent of people giving up before the end of January.¹
Considering that 74 percent of Boomers who work full-time feel that they do not have enough time to do things they enjoy, it is not surprising that their resolutions quickly fall by the wayside. While the stress of being overscheduled and having conflicting priorities impacts everyone, those who are among the more than 50 million adults² in the U.S. acting as caregivers for both an elderly parent and a child - those in the ''sandwich generation'' - have a heightened stress level.
To help all Boomers reduce stress and improve their physical well-being, Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston has created an online resource, Be Well for Life℠ (http://www.libertymutual.com/life-insurance/be-well-for-life), to provide practical information and commonsense tips needed to live a longer, healthier life. Curated by longevity expert, Dr. Alison Moy, M.D., Be Well for Life℠ distills medical research on stress, nutrition and health into actionable activities.
''Oftentimes the stress people feel is simply the imagination gone wild. By taking a step back and looking at stressors objectively, Boomers can identify windows of opportunity in their day to reduce their stress and improve their health,'' said Dr. Alison Moy. ''First, clarify your specific goal and make it smaller and accomplishable. For example, if the goal is to increase daily exercise and you’re crunched for time, then start by taking the stairs each day at work, not the elevator. If you work on the tenth floor, then take the elevator to the ninth and walk one flight. Once it’s easy, add more floors.''
Dr. Moy continued: ''Controlling stress through small increments of daily exercise is especially important for Boomers who are caregivers as medical researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have found that the type of prolonged caregiving stress Boomers in the 'sandwich generation' are under can shorten the length of telomeres, which are the segment of DNA at the end of a chromosome.³ If telomeres shorten to a critical length, the cell stops dividing - which is believed to be a marker for cellular aging.''
Despite these stresses, Boomers are well known for their optimistic spirit and confidence in their ability to get the most they can out of life and Be Well For Life℠ is there to help.
About Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston's Survey
Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston (http://www.libertymutual.com/life-insurance) surveyed pre-retirement age Boomers to gauge their perceptions about their physical health and well-being and their preparations for retirement. The survey was conducted online in November 2012 by ORC International and surveyed a total of 501 Americans aged 50 to 65.
About Liberty Mutual Insurance
''Helping people live safer, more secure lives'' since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2011 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 84th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2011 revenue. As of December 31, 2011, Liberty Mutual Insurance had $117.1 billion in consolidated assets, $99.3 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $34.7 billion in annual consolidated revenue.
Liberty Mutual Insurance offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, property, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, reinsurance and surety. Liberty Mutual Insurance (www.libertymutualinsurance.com) employs over 50,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.
Press Contact:
Kathleen Slocum
Liberty Mutual Insurance
857-224-1140
- Provided by a poll conducted by FranklinCovey.
- 2010 U.S. Census data as reported in NPR Family Matters Series: Baby boom money squeeze is set to get higher. Marilyn Geewax and Alyson Hurt, NPR, June 5, 2012.
- Epel, Elissa S., et al, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco: Dynamics of telomerase activity in response to acute psychological stress. U.S. National Library of Medicine (NCBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Brain Behav. Immun., May 2010; 24(4): 531-539.
