How to live to 100 - secrets from centenarians
With more people than ever living to 100, centenarian Saga readers share what keeps them thriving.
Image credit: Abbey Lossing
With more people than ever living to 100, centenarian Saga readers share what keeps them thriving.
You might feel like time is charging away from you, but the truth is that statistically we have more of it than ever before.
"Over the past 150 years, there has been a remarkable change,’ says economist Andrew Scott, author of The Longevity Imperative.
"In high-income countries, life expectancy has increased by two or three years every decade. That’s like saying to someone at the end of the day, here’s another six to eight hours."
In short, we are now likely to become very old.
Here’s what some of our centenarian readers said when asked the secret to their longevity:
Read the full article, with advice from more of our centenarian readers in April's Saga Magazine.
“Getting along with others is vital - I can’t remember falling out with anyone, ever. Life is too short. I’m sure happy, positive people have a greater chance of living into old age than those who worry constantly.”
“I get up when I wake up, whether that’s at eight or 11. I do Wordle on my laptop, then play Spider Solitaire for a couple of hours. I must keep the brain working.”
"The secret is luck. I was fortunate that I was good at games, playing rugby and cricket for the Navy without injury (I joined at 13; I’m one of the few remaining D-Day veterans).
I played my last rugby match aged 61 and spent the next day in bed. 'Serves you right,' said the doctor.”
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“Make the most of your friendships and meet up while you still can. Keep a diary. Take photographs, and don’t underestimate the importance of captions.
"That’s the trouble these days - you can’t scribble details on the back of digital photos. Your family will want to know who those people were, and what you were doing”.
The oldest living person in the UK is Ethel Caterham, 115, from Hampshire.
Her secret to longevity is "taking everything in my stride, the highs and the lows".
The oldest person alive in the world is Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas. She is 116.
“A long, happy relationship doesn’t hurt”“Love and Family is everything - what more do you need? Don’t try for perfection, just do the best you can.
"Worrying is futile, and I’d like to see more kindness in the world.”
Five ‘blue zones’ have been identified by longevity researcher Dan Buettner with an unusually high proportion of centenarians:
These populations are highly active, eat plant-based diets and have a strong sense of community. If you want to live a longer and healthier life we looked at what tips you can learn from the blue zones.
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