Some grey advice

Life lessons from women of 50-plus reveal some things improve with age..

ENJOY life to the full, don’t quit carbs... and rock a bikini at any age.

These are among the life lessons from women aged 50-plus who were asked to share their pearls of wisdom.

And it seems that some things in life definitely improve with age.

Almost half said their sense of selfworth had increased over time, and four in 10 were happier and more confident in their 50s than at any other age.

The poll of 2,000 found sex improves with age and, perhaps not unrelatedly, second marriages tend to be better.

More than two-thirds would tell their younger selves that life is too short to waste it, and a fifth would add that it is also too short to give up carbohydrates.

They also said style increases in midlife – borne out by 50-year-old Helena Christensen, who caused a stir by going to a party in a skimpy bustier last month, looking great and defying critics who said she was too old for it.

Supermodel Helena is also the perfect illustration of the advice of the one in four who said long hair can look good whatever your age.

Half of those polled said it is important to plan for the future, and the same proportion said nothing in life is more important than family.

And with the benefit of hindsight, four in 10 warned younger women to look after their skin, with a fifth urging them never to use sunbeds.

Eight in 10 said they wished they could talk more openly about menopause, according to the poll by menopause supplement Femal.

The firm has launched the Expressyourfemal campaign to encourage women to do just that.

A spokesman said: “Women want to open up the conversation on menopause. We hope they’ll have frank and honest conversations about their experiences, helping each other to feel more prepared about what to expect.”

The survey also found that at the age of 34.9 women had started to appreciate everything their mother had taught them, and by the age of 36.6 they felt they really knew themselves.

Nine in 10 said they wanted to pass their own nuggets of knowledge to their daughters – but four in 10 felt the younger generation would not listen.

PASS IT ON Women in midlife were asked to share their life lessons DEFIANT Helena Christensen, 50