• 80-year-old Sheila Stothard never drives and doesn’t walk everywhere.
• He shared his tips for staying active and healthy in older ages with Business Insider.
• These include adding walking and healthy eating to your day.

80-year-old Sheila Stothard can’t imagine her grandchildren not being able to run with her children.

Stothard, who lives in Ontario, Canada, has always been active and hasn’t slowed down since turning 80. Fitness influencer Phil MackenzieHe told Business Insider that he “acted the best of anyone I’ve ever met.”

I’m trying Stay active into old age It becomes 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. based on To Allied Market Research.

Research shows that a healthy lifestyle like Stothard’s gives you the best chance of being so active at age 80. BI recently reported on a study; unhealthy lifestyle They were 78% more likely to die early than people with healthy habits.

Stothard shared his own pieces healthy lifestyle He credits it with helping him stay alive at 80.

Build walking into your life

Stothard never drives or uses public transportation; instead he walks everywhere.

“I don’t go to the gym or anything to keep in shape. I just feel like it’s a lot to do at this age,” he said. “I walk everywhere and we’re in Toronto where there are a lot of hills. I think that’s good enough for me.”

2017 to work A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that people who walked at a moderate or brisk pace for 5 to 10 hours a week had a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and other causes.

You don’t have to walk that long to reap the benefits of walking, either – BI found this, according to a 2023 study by researchers at the University of Cambridge. 11 minutes of exercise a day It may reduce the risk of dying from chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Eat home-cooked meals

Stothard cooks everything from scratch at home and tries to eat whole, unprocessed foods. She eats plenty of fruits and vegetables, nuts, chicken, fish (“at least once a week”), baked potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

He also said he tries not to overeat.

Both habits are associated with longevity. In a 2023 study, participants who followed a healthy, whole-foods diet similar to Stothard’s Lived 10 years longer on average BI had previously reported more than participants who ate an unhealthy diet.

And stopping eating before you’re full is a common habit among supercentenarians Even though it’s in Japan research Whether long-term calorie restriction is beneficial for longevity in humans is still in its early stages.

Get enough sleep

“I used to think that if I got up after six in the morning, I could sleep,” Stothard said. He is very consistent about his sleep routine and is never late at night, preferring to be in bed by 9.30pm.

You don’t have to be an early riser to live longer, but research shows that getting seven to eight hours of quality sleep every night necessary for longevity.

Good news for people who like to lounge on the weekends; Research presented at a conference earlier this year shows that: catch up on sleep You may reduce your risk of heart disease on days off, BI previously reported.