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Life expectancy is at record highs, but a long life isn’t always a better one. Three super-agers share their secrets to ageing well
Human lifespans are increasing.
In 2015, biologist David Sinclair made waves when he claimed “the first person to live to 150 has already been born.” Average life expectancy in the UK has increased by a decade since the 1960s.
Even so, a longer life doesn’t always mean a better one. The threat of mental and physical deterioration has always been a worry for people getting older.
It is an inevitable consequence of ageing that our bodies start to slow down. Muscle tone starts to decrease from the mid-30s and continues even faster in the 60s. After a person hits their mid-60s, their risk of dementia increases exponentially.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean we can’t live healthily into our 90s and beyond with a bit of work, planning, and a touch of luck. The Telegraph spoke to three super-agers who maintain active, social and independent lifestyles despite their advanced years. Here are their secrets…
“I’ve had the same breakfast ever since I was a child: half a white grapefruit, a boiled egg, a cup of orange juice, and two slices of brown seeded toast with homemade marmalade. That’s my main meal.
“At lunch, I eat a lot of microwave ready meals. I’ve started doing that as I’ve gotten older. My family recently bought me an air fryer, so sometimes I make some chips. I always make sure I have meat in the middle of the day, and a lot of vegetables; my favourites are cabbage and runner beans. When I was a child we had a big vegetable garden, so I’ve always been very fond of vegetables. I was a child of Victorian parents and you had to eat what you were given, so I’ve never been a fussy eater.
“Every day I knit. I make a lot of mittens for charity, which gives me a purpose and keeps my hands active. I did get some arthritis in my fingertips and knitting has helped.
“If it’s a nice day I’ll get outside and go around the block for some fresh air. I speak to everyone I see. It’s good for me to have social connection. I’ve lost all of my friends at my age. I used to play a lot of bridge, but all the ladies I played with have died now, so I chat to everyone. My grandchildren have got me on Instagram so I can keep up with them.
“I’ve always been a keen sportswoman, so I watch a lot of sports on television. Sport was everything to me. I played cricket and hockey at school, I played a lot of tennis (my family had our own tennis court). It didn’t matter what the sport was, I was interested in doing it. I have always loved being outdoors, anything that kept me outside I would do.
“It has also always been very important to me to keep up my mental sharpness. Every day I do word puzzles and anagrams in the paper.
“When the [Second World] War came, I was in the land army, in the FANYs (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry). I applied as a driver. I had been driving for a scientist at Marconi’s Research Laboratory in the village I came from in Essex. They thought that was interesting so I was selected to go on a course. We had to scrub floors, do awful cleaning jobs, and the soldiers were dreadful to us. They were seeing if we could stick it out. When I did, they sent me on a six-month Morse coding course. It was solid training, 9-6. Then I went on operations that I still can’t talk about – Bletchley was part of it.
“I started smoking in the war because it was the only way I could stay awake on night shifts. I smoked solidly to be able to do my messages. That was a habit for the next 30 years.
“I met my husband, Douglas, during the war. He was in the Scottish regiment and we married at 19, before he went to Burma for three years. When he returned we moved up to Edinburgh.
“In my 30s, I had three boys in five years, then I took up golf. All my life, I’ve played golf two or three times per week. When I was pregnant with my daughter I played golf until I couldn’t see the golf ball when I was swinging. I kept that up well into my 60s.
“I have spent my life looking on the positive side – I think that’s vital. The war was such a dreadful time and I had to keep thinking of the good things. When bad things happen, the only way I’ve been able to cope is by staying positive.
“My husband died shortly after we’d moved out of our house and into the flat I live in today. We were half way through renovating it, we’d just done the living room ceiling, when he dropped dead of a heart attack, aged 57. Trying to keep up a positive attitude is the only way I’ve coped.
“When my husband died 50 years ago, I stopped drinking. We’d drink together, a normal amount – a glass of wine with dinner, he was fond of whisky and I sometimes joined him for one. But I’d seen far too many people lose their husbands and turn to alcohol. I still have an occasional glass of wine with a meal during a family occasion, but I don’t miss it. Smoking was harder to give up, but again, when my husband died I thought ‘If I must do without my beloved husband, I can do without cigarettes.’ It wasn’t easy, but I was in my fifties and had a lot of determination.
“I try to stay very independent. I live alone, but family and friends drop in – my daughter is a lifeline to me. If I drop something, I pick it up – that’s good for my back. I never sit too long either, I get up and walk around as much as I can.
“Sleep is important to me. I only have a little food in the evening, perhaps some salted peanuts and a little glass of hot chocolate, some crisps, or some cheese. Otherwise, I’m up and down all night. I set my electric blanket on at 9.15pm and then it’s light’s out by half past.
“I don’t live a grand life but I’m happy, never lonely, and I still feel useful and glad to be here.”
“My internal alarm clock wakes me up at 7am every day, after I’ve gone to bed around 10pm and had lights out by 11.
“I follow a healthy mental and physical diet, and my routine is fairly consistent. I make no exceptions. I follow an organic diet whenever possible. Yogurt, grains and bananas for breakfast, salad with protein for lunch, and fish (usually halibut or trout) with vegetables for dinner. Occasionally, I’ll have baked potatoes or rice. My meals are breakfast, lunch, and dinner; I don’t snack.
“When I’m at home, I’ll have dessert after dinner, something small like a miniature ice cream cone. I drink wine with friends about once a week.
“Three days a week, I work at Rancho La Puerta, a luxury retreat I founded in 1940, which has been widely credited for generating the entire wellness industry. I speak with guests, staff, and presenters and host a weekly Q&A. On my days off, I see friends, and we see opera, theatre and movies, or go for dinners. Friends are very important in my life; I have standing dates with various friends.
“I have always thought one of the most important things in life is to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. That’s where I got my education. Some of my friends today are still my role models and teachers. Cultivate a few best friends and support one another. A true friend is one who you can call in the middle of the night and say “I need help!” and they will be at your side in ten minutes. True friendship involves loyalty. The friend becomes family, perhaps more than your own relatives.
“I read a lot, usually murder mysteries, to relax. I watch one newscast a day, always in the morning, to keep me informed. But not after dinner – I don’t watch anything that will affect my sleep.
“I think I’ve probably (and this is probably) done the right things when it comes to food, sleep, and exercise. I walk a lot, I aim to do at least 2,000 steps per day, and I did pilates four times a week until I was in my 90s. But the most important thing in my life, although I have often dealt with uncertainty and stress, has been that I’ve been protected by my Pollyanna attitude. I just know things will work out, and usually they do. My husband Edmond [Bordeaux Szekely] was burned terribly and not expected to recover, but he did.
“I appreciate everything. Every day after 100 is amazing. Of course, there have been more specific examples – I shook the hand of Eleanor Roosevelt, a great lady I could not have admired more. Seeing the forest in Mexico where millions of monarch butterflies from North America spend every winter is a thing of sheer beauty, which I will never not be inspired by.”
“I go to bed quite early, usually around nine o’clock, but then I wake up at seven o’clock sharp every morning, usually when the dog starts barking for breakfast. Once I’ve fed him, I’ll have breakfast myself, not a big one – occasionally a bowl of cereal or a slice of brown toast, then it’s off to the gym.
“I ran marathons from 53 right up until 2018, when I was 87, so fitness is important to me. I have quite a competitive nature. I started running to keep up with my younger brother, David, who won silver and bronze medals in judo at the Munich and Montreal Olympic games.
When I heard on the radio in 1983 that it was the last day to sign up for the London Marathon, I thought ‘why not?’ My missus said I’d never do it, I was 53 and hadn’t done a marathon before, so that was my challenge. Since then I’ve run 52 marathons in London, New York, Chicago, Barbados, Los Angeles and Berlin, among other places. I’ve raised £50,000 for charities, most of that for Age UK. That makes me feel useful. I still run a bit, though I’ve retired from doing marathons – I’d rather swim and play water polo.
“I live with my wife of 60 years, Judy, with whom I have three children and four grandchildren. Before I retired I had a varied career assisting with building a power station, working in shops, and even 25 years delivering eggs to businesses around the Heathrow area.
“I do a daily spin class. There are different grades of how hard you go – it’s up to you to push yourself, and I try to keep up with the instructor. It can be quite strenuous, but it doesn’t bash your bones. You’re just cycling, so you don’t feel any impact on your knees. I’ve never had an injury and I don’t feel sore afterwards, so it works for me.
“To make sure I’m not sore, I’ll do a little bit of stretching then head to the shower before going home for a rest.
“You don’t realise it but you get tired when you’re older, so I have a little sleep after the gym for about a quarter of an hour, no longer than that. Then I take the dog for a short walk to the local park, normally that’s two or three miles.
“I have a small lunch around noon, maybe a bit of fruit, a sandwich, then maybe a slice of cake. I’ve always had a weakness for cake. I don’t eat a lot of sweet things, but I will always have a slice of cake if I can get my hands on it. My wife makes very good cakes.
“I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth, so I could get into trouble over that. I drink coffee and tea (I don’t take milk with those). I’ve never smoked and don’t drink too much alcohol. I keep my weight down – I’m just under 12 stone and have always weighed roughly the same.
“In the afternoon, I might do some housework – I still do it all myself, though I avoid ladders for fear of hurting myself. If I fell and slipped over something that was a foot high I’d mess up my life and wouldn’t be able to do anything. It’d drive me mad if I had to sit down all day long. You don’t want to make a nuisance of yourself to other people.
“I might also go back to the gym. I’ll either go for a swim – 50 or 60 lengths; breast stroke and butterfly stroke – or I’ll head up into the weight room. Weights are my favourite exercise, I focus on low weights and a high number of reps. I do a lot of bench presses, dumbbell presses, and a few squats. There are plenty of instructors who come and help and keep an eye on me. You can so easily hurt yourself, so I just keep within what I can manage and don’t push myself too hard. Sometimes when I do press-ups or whatever, I have to do them by the wall so I can get up off the floor.
“I do a weight session three or four times per week, and then I reward myself with a good long soak in the hot tub.
“I eat dinner around 5pm; it’s nothing special but good home-cooked food. My wife cooks proper food with a lot of fresh greens, and we don’t eat out too often. I don’t do any of this vegan stuff or anything like that, just normal good meat and veg, nothing too spicy.
“Some people think I’m a bit stupid. They ask me why I don’t sit down and read a book rather than go to the gym, but I do that too. I’ll read in the evening or after the gym. It’s not an either/or, you can do both. Once you’re retired you’ve got a lot more time on your hands.
“The only day I deviate from that routine is Sunday. That’s my day to rest and relax. I’ll take the dog for a big walk, then I go down to the local open air pool and play about half an hour of water polo. They call me ‘The Legend’, which is a good incentive to keep going.
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