Healthy habits of a 95 year old

Healthy habits of a 95 year old

It has been over two years since I last saw my grandma who sadly passed away shortly after that at 95 years of age. She was an amazing lady, as many grandmas are, quite eccentric and always on the go. She was still gardening, volunteering and driving (which was a little scary!) right up to the end of her life.

I miss her dearly, and as I was remembering my wonderful times spent with her I thought I could share some of her healthy habits.

Yes, she grew up in a different time but there’s so much you can take from the habits she was instilled with and her way of handling modern day life. Sometimes we forget our bodies aren’t used to all this technology, and fast paced way of living. We could all do with a little reminder of how life used to be and learn something from our grandparents.

Keep active She was always moving and stretching, either through gardening, doing household chores, cooking, food shopping etc. She didn’t work in an office, but always stressed the importance of stretching and moving if you were sat down for long periods of time.

Eat real food You would hardly ever see anything from a packet in my grandma’s house and certainly never any fast food. If you wanted a snack, your options were fruits, raw vegetables or hard boiled eggs.

Indulge a bit in moderation She wasn’t a saint, and she loved her red wine and chocolate every now and again. Although she would only drink one of the miniature bottles of red wine when she did, and have a couple of pieces of dark chocolate, which she would savour and slowly suck on so she could fully enjoy the sweetness.

Drink lots of water Throughout the day you would see her guzzling back glasses of tap water, always making sure to offer everyone else a glass.

Have an active social life The phone definitely rang a lot in her house and you would overhear long conversations with friends from all the country. She would always be making plans to go for hikes, or meet up with her Wednesday Walkers.

Limit your screen time This isn’t always possible as so many of us work in front of computers, but when we have time to switch off, mindlessly watching TV or something online (and usually something you aren’t that interested in) is not the only way. My grandma only watched the news headlines and the occasional show she was really interested in.

Appreciate the small moments Whilst my grandma was a very active lady and kept herself busy from sunrise to lights out at night, she did stop for special moments. You could often find her stood outside face up to the sun and eyes closed as she soaked in the warm rays for a good few minutes before she got back on with what she was doing. Or if you offered to give her a back massage, there was nothing she liked more and she would stop whatever she was doing to enjoy it, even if only for a short while.

See the positive in situations My grandma always had an upbeat attitude and would be cheery even when things were hard, there was always something to learn from a difficult situation. She wore a vest every summer, which said ‘Keep on trucking’, and she totally did.

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