A 95-year-old who plays golf and volunteers shares her tips for health and happiness
Sally Froelich, 95, used to host a TV show where people talked about reaching age milestones.
Froelich shared some of her tips for staying healthy and happy with Business Insider.
Her advice includes being sociable and exercising every day.
Sally Froelich has been talking about aging for a long time. Which makes sense — she's 95.
She credits that focus as part of the reason she has aged so well. She used to host a TV show where people talked about reaching age milestones.
Froelich, a New Yorker, spoke to Business Insider to share the lifestyle habits she thinks have helped her reach 95.
Be sociable
"The most important part is sociability. Friends are so very important. You need someone that you can confide in, there's always somebody out there that'll listen to you," Froelich said. "And, if things go wrong, you got to make it right. Do unto others as you want them to do unto you."
Rose Anne Kenny, a gerontologist and a professor at Trinity College Dublin, thinks having good friendships is just as important as eating healthy and exercising for longevity.
In a 2023 study of over 450,000 adults in the UK, researchers found that being socially isolated was linked to a 77% higher risk of death in adults ages 37 to 73 over a 12-year follow-up period.
Froelich herself is part of a study: the SuperAger study from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, which looks at people 95 and over to find inherited factors that could help slow aging.
Exercise daily
Froelich started golfing when she was 24 and still plays three times a week.
On days she's not playing golf, she's still active.
"I do 10 sit-ups. I do stretches. I lift 8 pounds on each hand and then bend over and lift 5 pounds on each leg, 20 times each. I walk in place very quickly," she said. "And I ride my bike, not as often as I should. But I do something almost every single day."
Experts agree that exercising regularly, especially strength training, is one of the best things you can do for healthy aging.
Nathan K. LeBrasseur, the director of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic, previously told BI that spending 3% of your day exercising, which is 30 minutes, can have a "profound impact" on overall health.
Keep busy
"Not everybody can be very athletic, but hopefully, most people can do something to keep busy," Froelich said. "Help people out — do charity work."
She plays canasta and bridge, talks with friends on the phone, and volunteers. After having cancer, she worked with the American Cancer Society for 38 years to run a Hope Lodge in New York City, where people stay while getting treatment.
Until recently, she was a board member for a Jewish home for older people, where she redecorated residents' rooms and threw parties for those turning 100.
A 2016 study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience found that busy lifestyles were associated with better cognition in 330 participants ages 50 to 89.
Read the original article on Business Insider
