Our immune system protects our bodies by triggering inflammation at times of stress<\/a> \u2013 but it can go into \u201coverdrive\u201d with too much stress or anxiety, causing fatigue and triggering faster ageing.<\/a><\/p>\n Dr Macciochi<\/a>, author of the book Immune to Age, believes that rather than worrying about optimising your diet, taking the right supplements<\/a> or following a strict routine, you should focus on building a supportive community around you. \u201cResearch shows one of the crucial indicators of longevity is how many close friends someone has at the age of 50,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s about quality rather than quantity \u2013 if you get to 50 and there are people you count as close friends, that is a key medicine to support the next phase of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSuper-agers\u201d are people in their 80s and beyond who have the same brain function and memory skills as a middle-aged adult. <\/p>\n A recent study of 31 super-agers by Northwestern University, in Chicago, found the one thing they all had in common was high levels of \u201cpositive social relationships\u201d. <\/p>\n Separate studies have also shown that having a positive mindset and engaging with younger generations, especially helping to bring up grandchildren<\/a>, can be beneficial for physical and mental health in old age.<\/p>\n The i Paper spoke to five inspiring older people to find out how they are ageing positively:<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s so boring when people grumble about their aches and pains\u2019: Ann, 81, from Guildford \u201cI\u2019ve only got 25 minutes to chat before I\u2019m off to my ballroom dancing class,\u201d says Ann Elms, 81, when she picks up the phone, fresh from swimming 40 lengths of the small pool in her garden. <\/p>\n I\u2019m lucky to have caught her at all. In the next week alone, Ann, from Guildford, Surrey, will be heading off on trips to the Isle of Wight and the British Museum; starting a new yoga-style exercise class; attending a history talk, a coffee morning and a jazz evening with old friends<\/a>; hosting a cream tea for her girlfriends; and running an advanced French language class, with her French boyfriend Olivier, 73, dialling in on Zoom to help out. \u201cIt is quite hard to find a slot when I\u2019m free,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n Ann retired from her management role in further education<\/a> when she was 60 and believes keeping up an active social life is \u201cabsolutely\u201d key to ageing well. \u201cI have had a life-long philosophy: if in doubt, do,\u201d she says. She has friends who have \u201cwithdrawn into a corner\u201d as they aged but, although she has had to slow down a little, she keeps positive. \u201cIt\u2019s so boring when people grumble about their aches and pains \u2013 of course we all have them, but do what you can and just get on with it,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n Although she\u2019s otherwise in good health, Ann admits she gets more tired than she used to. And while she used to do about 70 lengths of her pool in her 25-minute morning swim, she now manages 30 to 40. \u201cI don\u2019t stress about it,\u201d she says. \u201cI listen to my body and I don\u2019t over-do it.\u201d<\/p>\n When she takes a break from socialising, Ann loves to \u201cpotter\u201d in her garden, spend time with her daughter and three grandchildren, or drive to France to see Olivier. The couple got together in 2019 after both losing their beloved spouses, but enjoy living apart. She doesn\u2019t follow a specific diet but she is vegetarian <\/a>and makes sure she has three full meals a day. \u201cI\u2019ve never smoked but I do like wine,\u201d she laughs. <\/p>\n \u2018I don\u2019t dwell on old age, I\u2019m just here as long as I can be\u2019 Alice, 87, from London Alice, who will shortly turn 88, keeps active going to the theatre and exhibitions, playing bridge and making and selling jewellery, which she shares on her Instagram account, @myjewellerywardrobe<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to keep myself busy with something creative and different,\u201d she says. After retiring from her job as a marketing manager in 2006, she initially enjoyed ceramics classes but switched to jewellery around 10 years ago as it was easier to do from home.<\/p>\n Originally from the United States, Alice has lived in London since 1974. She and her husband, 89, have been married for 66 years<\/a> and have three children and four grandchildren. Alice also volunteers at a food bank one day a week and plays bridge with her husband and friends two to three days a week. \u201cI have a very positive attitude to life,\u201d she says. \u201cI want to keep busy. If there\u2019s a choice between driving and walking, I will walk. I get out every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Although now well, Alice had treatment for breast cancer<\/a> in 2009. \u201cIt was caught early, I\u2019m lucky to be here,\u201d she adds. \u201cWe all have aches and pains as we get older, some days I\u2019m tired or don\u2019t feel great, but I want to do as much as I can in life. It really helps to feel positive \u2013 I don\u2019t dwell on old age, I\u2019m just here as long as I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n Alice believes cities are the best places for older people to live<\/a>. \u201cA lot of people think you should move to the country as you get older but I think it\u2019s more important to live somewhere you can get about,\u201d she says. \u201cIn a city you can be near medical centres, libraries, cinemas\u2026 it\u2019s important to have access to these things.\u201d She feels incredibly lucky to live in London. \u201cWe are very fortunate, we have opportunities that not everyone has so I think it\u2019s important to that we embrace them,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n \u2018I still get down on the floor with my grandchildren \u2013 but now they lift me up\u2019: Tony, 81, and Christine, 79, from London Tony Mooney, 81, is a retired headteacher <\/a>but he\u2019s never stopped working. He still privately tutors children studying for GCSEs and A Levels in science and maths. \u201cThey keep me going most of the week,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n He and his wife Christine, 79, a retired primary school teacher, enjoy socialising with their neighbours who are in their 20s. \u201cThey have a positive approach to life and more liberal views than many people our age,\u201d says Tony. \u201cWe go to pub quizzes together \u2013 it helps keep our brains active and we make a great team because our knowledge spans generations.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple, from North London, also enjoy going to the cinema, theatre and football matches and are both keen gardeners. Tony keeps up with political news and scientific papers, while Christine likes to visit art galleries, museums and gardens. She is also a member of a poetry group, a wine appreciation group, and a choir. <\/p>\n They see their four grandchildren, aged between four and 15, after school between two and four days a week. And Christine also regularly walks her daughter\u2019s dog, racking up around 8,000 steps a day.<\/p>\n Although still both well for their age, they have had to adapt their social lives around health issues in recent years. Tony has the eye condition macular degeneration, which affects his vision, meaning he can no longer do his favourite hobbies of trout fishing and umpiring cricket matches \u2013 he now listens to matches instead.<\/p>\n He gets frustrated that he can no longer remember all of the A Level physics and maths equations by heart \u2013 but jokes that this is a feeling likely shared by many students a quarter of his age.<\/p>\n \u201cYou do have to change what you do as you get older but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t still be active,\u201d says Christine, who has mild arthritis<\/a> in her fingers. \u201cI can\u2019t reach up high with the hedge trimmer any more, but it doesn\u2019t stop me gardening. And I still get down with my grandchildren on the floor \u2013 but now they lift me up.\u201d <\/p>\n Both Tony and Christine take statins, medication which helps protect against heart attacks and strokes. They eat plenty of home-grown fruit and vegetables<\/a>, and have fish twice a week. \u201cI\u2019m happy I can still jog down the road after the grandchildren or dog,\u201d Christine adds.<\/p>\n \u2018Daytime TV is soul-destroying\u2019: Sylvia, 86, from Hove \u201cI spend a lot of my time with young people and that has been so stimulating,\u201d says 86-year-old Sylvia Holder when she calls me on WhatsApp from near Chennai, in India.<\/p>\n Sylvia, who lives in Hove, East Sussex, has been travelling to India at least twice a year for decades, after first visiting on a business trip in the late 1980s. The former PR business owner retired <\/a>when she was 65 but her retirement \u201conly lasted a few months\u201d before she got busy setting up a charity school in a village near Chennai. She launched the Venkat Trust<\/a> in memory of a boy who she had supported financially throughout his education, but who was killed in a road accident aged 26.<\/p>\n Over the last 21 years, the charity has helped improve the local primary school and build a highly-rated secondary school for 1,000 students. She regularly spends time with the children supported by the charity in India, as well as with her small team in the UK, who are mainly in their 40s. \u201cIt\u2019s terribly rewarding,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to me to socialise with younger people.\u201d<\/p>\n She believes staying busy is key to a healthy body and mind in old age. \u201cDaytime TV is soul-destroying,\u201d she says, adding that anyone considering retiring should find volunteer work they enjoy. She also credits her close friend and business partner of 50 years Lindsay, 73, for keeping her feeling young. \u201cShe has been there for me through everything, I couldn\u2019t have done it without her,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n Sylvia, who was widowed 15 years ago, has had to \u201cslow down a bit\u201d as she has got older and now struggles with her balance. \u201cI can\u2019t go down a flight of stairs without something to hold on to anymore and I find travelling more exhausting,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n But she can\u2019t stand it when people moan about ageing. \u201cI hate it when people whinge,\u201d she says. \u201cYou can\u2019t do much about it, so just get on with things. I do wish I was younger but I\u2019m not, and it\u2019s much better than the alternative \u2013 at least I am still here.\u201d<\/p>\n Your next read<\/p>\n![\"Ann](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SEI_266778119.jpg\")
Ann Elms, 81, keeps busy with yoga, coffee mornings and running an advanced French language class<\/p>\n![\"Alice](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SEI_266778111.jpg\")
Alice Portnoy, 87, volunteers at a food bank and plays bridge two to three days a week<\/p>\n![\"Tony](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SEI_266778123.jpg\")
Tony (81) and Christine Mooney (79) see their four grandchildren between two to four days a week<\/p>\n![\"Evoto](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SEI_266778108.jpg\")
Sylvia Holder, 86, says her retirement only lasted a few months before she set up a charity school (Photo: Davin Myers)<\/p>\n
![\"Article](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SEI_266802551.jpg\")