So, I'm here in Milton Keynes looking like a badly dressed extra from a low-budget science fiction film, feeling stuffy, claustrophobic and a little disorientated.

Feels a little like a typical Sunday morning after a night on the tiles, but in reality I'm wearing a suit that simulates how an average 70-year-old feels everyday.

I have been invited to try out Blum's Age Explorer suit, a tool the company uses to develop and design products to make life easier in the kitchen. I'm slightly apprehensive, and it's not just because I know I'm going to look ridiculous, but because I'm not entirely sure I want to know just how difficult life is going to get for me in 40 years or so - after all,
isn't ignorance bliss?

Worryingly though, the deterioration in the functionalities of our bodies actually starts at the ripe old age of 21 and as
I'm already seven years in I thought 'what the hell, I'll give it a go'.

The Age Explorer is an age simulator suit that enables young people to feel the physical effects of the ageing process. It was developed in 1994 by the Meyer Hentschel Institute in Germany, which specialises in research into the over 50s sector.

A year ago Blum bought exclusive rights to the suit, for two years, within the fittings industry, to use it as a research and development tool to investigate the requirements of kitchen users and to help it produce products that consider the needs of all age groups.

The suit has been designed to demonstrate the physical limitations we experience during the ageing process and is made up of a number of elements that restrict and limit sight, hearing and mobility and I'm not looking forward to this one bit.

The elbow and knee pads go on first, with extra strong Velcro straps over the top ('just to make it even harder' I'm told - great). I don't feel too bad yet although I can't bend my limbs at all and don't think I'll be taking up skateboarding any time soon. The suit is next and orange really isn't my colour but there is a serious side to this experiment so I put all thoughts of vanity to the back of my mind while Blum's suit experts help me step in to it, because I really can't bend my knees.

The suit has a series of pockets on the arms and legs that will hold 12 weights, each weighing 450g, so a total combined weight of 5.4kg. When the weights are in, I immediately feel, without stating the obvious, heavily weighed down and even slight movements are really difficult. Not only am I weighed down to demonstrate the decrease in muscle strength, but the suit also has special high stitching, which adds to the difficulty I'm already having straightening my arms.

I'm now also wearing gloves that not only simulate difficulty with grip, but have Velcro inside, sharp side to skin, which imitates the pain of arthritis.

I'm not finding this funny anymore, but it's about to get even worse. This is the bit I've been dreading, the goggles and ear defenders. I'm very lucky to have very good eye sight, touch wood, and not being able to see properly is a fear of mine. As soon as the goggles go on I experience a severe decrease in the ability to see clearly. I can see but everything is very blurry unless I go right up close. The head phones mimic hearing limitations and these actually make me feel quite disorientated; I can hear noise around me but its muffled and I feel like I have to shout because I can't really hear my own voice very well - a good thing some might say.

The visor is the final piece of the jigsaw and this just makes me feel extremely claustrophobic. Obviously Blum isn't
saying that when you get to 70 you suddenly grow a big visor on your head, but this actually simulates the field of vision and clouding of the eyeball that can occur as we age.

Apart from the sight problems the biggest thing I notice is how difficult it is to walk, and even small distances are tough. Ok, so tottering around on stiletto heels doesn't help matters but I am a 28-year-old stuck inside the body of a 70-year-old after all. Actually it's all a little reminiscent of the film Freaky Friday.

Anyway, where was I...?

Blum asks me to carry out a series of tasks so that I can really experience life at 70. I'm asked to pick the right coins out of a wallet and make a phone call, and to see any detail on these objects I literally have to put it right up close otherwise it's a blurry mess. I'm then asked to try retrieving  the same object from two different cabinets. One has been fitted withBlummotion and the other is a bogstandardcabinet with shelves.

I open the standard cupboard first and immediately notice how difficult bendingdown to look in cupboards could be. A major hurdle for someone in the 50+ age bracket. I can't even see most of the contents until I'm kneeling on the floor. It was hard enough to get down there and you can only imagine how hard it was getting up again.

I've experienced Blummotion several times and realised the significant benefi ts, but my understanding of exactly how and why it benefits users is far more obvious from inside this suit. Opening the second cabinet was far easier because the contents came to me and I didn't have to bend far to find the item I was looking for.

So the tests are over and I can finally get back to being 28 again. Apart from giggling throughout the entire experiment and at the photographicevidence, what have I actually learnt? It's definitely opened my eyes to the difficulties some people face carrying out the daily tasks that I take for granted. In relation to this industry it equates to why it's important
for manufacturers and retailers to consider the differences in body functionality experienced by different age groups so that they can relate to their customers' needs.

But don't start by offering a free orange jump suit to every customer; I don't think that would really catch on...