There exist thousands of books that focus on longevity and healthy ageing, including bestsellers like Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have To by David Sinclair, Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia, and Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old by Andrew Steele.
Ethel May Caterham, who is the oldest person in the world at 116, lives in a nursing home in Surrey, England. She managed to become a “supercentenarian” – a person aged 110 or older – without any of the above.
Born in 1909, Caterham has lived through both world wars, the Great Depression, world-changing advances in technology and two major pandemics: the Spanish Flu and Covid-19, the latter of which she contracted and survived in 2020 at the age of 110. She has outlived her husband by half a century and both of her daughters.
And she has not just lived a long life. Reports indicate that she remains in good health.
Her secrets to living to such an old age, she says, include never arguing with anybody, enjoying everything in moderation, saying yes to every opportunity – because you never know what it will lead to – and having a positive mental attitude.