- Sheila Stothard, 80, never drives and walks everywhere.
- She shared her tips for staying active and healthy as you age with Business Insider.
- This includes incorporating walking into your day and incorporating a healthy diet.
At 80, Sheila Stothard can’t imagine not being able to run around with her great-grandchildren.
Stothard, who lives in Ontario, Canada, has remained active and never slowed down, even though she was over 80 years old. “She’s the most inspiring person I’ve ever met,” her grandson, fitness influencer Phil McKenzie, told Business Insider. ”
Trying to stay active as we age is becoming a huge business opportunity. Longevity and related treatments were a $25.1 billion market in 2020 and are projected to reach $44.2 billion by 2030. According to Go to Allied Market Research.
Research shows that a healthy lifestyle like Stothard’s is the most likely to keep you active into your 80s. BI recently reported a study showing that people who lead unhealthy lifestyles are 78% more likely to die prematurely than those who have healthier habits. .
Ms Stothard shared how she believes a healthy lifestyle has helped her stay healthy into her 80s.
Phil McKenzie’s grandparents are 80 and 84 years old and still very healthy. phil mackenzie
Incorporate walking into your life
Stothard doesn’t drive or take public transport, instead walking everywhere.
“I don’t do the gym or anything to stay healthy, but I just feel like at this age there’s a lot of that,” she said. “I just walk everywhere. We have a lot of hills here in Toronto. I feel like that’s enough for me.”
2017 study A paper published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that people who walked five to 10 hours a week at an average or fast pace had a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and other causes.
And you don’t have to walk very long to reap the benefits of walking. BI reported on a 2023 study by researchers at the University of Cambridge. The study found that 11 minutes of exercise a day can reduce the risk of death from chronic diseases, including: heart disease and cancer.
eat home cooked food
Stothard cooks everything at home from scratch and strives to eat healthy, unprocessed foods. She eats lots of fruits and vegetables, nuts, chicken, fish (“at least once a week”), baked potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
She also said she tries not to eat too much.
Both habits lead to longevity. In a 2023 study, participants who ate a healthy, whole-food-rich diet similar to Stothard’s lived an average of 10 years longer than those who ate an unhealthy diet, BI previously reported.
And stopping eating before you’re completely full is a common habit among Japanese supercentenarians. the study The question of whether long-term caloric restriction is beneficial for human longevity is still in its early stages.
Get enough sleep
“If I had woken up after 6 a.m., I think I would have gone to sleep,” Stothard said. She follows her sleep habits closely, never staying late at night, preferring to go to bed by 9:30 p.m.
While you don’t have to wake up early to live longer, research shows that consistently getting 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night is essential for longevity.
And that’s good news for those who like to lie down on the weekends. Research presented at a conference earlier this year suggests that catching up on sleep during the holidays can help lower your risk of heart disease, BI previously reported.
