Middle-aged women ‘spend less than five hours a week on their own needs, self-care and hobbies’

Middle-aged women spend less than five hours a week on their own needs, personal care and hobbies, a survey suggests.

A new survey has revealed that the ‘sandwich generation’ lifestyle is leaving most women over 40 with little time for themselves.

Caring for children and elderly parents means women are caught in an “emotional tug of war” that leads to “exhaustion and exhaustion.”

Menopause activist Katie Taylor, who runs the Latte Lounge online community for middle-aged women, organized the survey.

Of the 1,309 middle-aged women who responded, 70 percent said they spent less than five hours a week on their own needs, personal care and hobbies, the equivalent of less than an hour a day.

The same number said they spend less than three hours a week socializing with their friends or partners.

Meanwhile, only 11 percent said they spend more than 10 hours a week on themselves.

Instead, women reported spending their time on the responsibilities of parenting, caring for elderly parents, and working.

One woman said: “The emotional push and pull over fragments of my time is overwhelming and you feel like you are constantly letting someone you love down.”

Another said: ‘It’s a pressure cooker between work, an elderly and recently widowed father, two children under five and everything else. Like many, my own needs have to come last.’

Others described their generation as “doing it all,” while others said it was becoming increasingly difficult to find time to rest, relax and enjoy themselves while “having to deal with the challenges associated with the menopause transition.”

The survey was published before the Midlife Festivala week-long online women’s health and wellness event taking place October 9-13.

Ms Taylor, founder of the festival, said: “Our data shows that women are putting themselves at the bottom of the household to-do list.

‘Once perimenopause and menopause are added to the mix, I know from personal experience that this can leave many of us feeling exhausted and struggling to cope with the many demands placed on us.

“That’s why it’s critical that women of the ‘sandwich generation’ spend more time tending to their own needs, so they can not only be there for their loved ones, but also thrive personally through midlife, menopause, and beyond.” .