A 64-year-old grandma competing in an antiaging Olympics says her biggest longevity trick doesn't cost a thing
A 64-year-old grandmother says social connections and purpose are key to a long life.
Her low-cost habits have helped her outpace the tech exec Bryan Johnson in a longevity leaderboard.
Research suggests strong relationships and community can make a big difference in healthy aging.
Amy Hardison isn't trying to live forever — but her longevity stats are still winning out over million-dollar antiaging routines.
Hardison, a 64-year-old grandmother, at one point ranked higher than the tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson in the Rejuvenation Olympics, an online leaderboard that tracks metrics of longevity.
One of her biggest tips for living a long, healthy life is free.
She said that focusing on the quality of her life and maintaining strong social connections was more important than obsessing over antiaging trends.
"I think that if you've lived a life where you're contributing to others, you feel like it makes a difference. You've given your life to something bigger than yourself," Hardison said. "We don't speak much in our society a lot about how amazing it is to get older."
Strong relationships have helped her stay healthy and active
Hardison attributes her health and happiness to close family ties and a deep sense of community, contributing to and being a part of something bigger than herself.
"Some of the greatest privileges of my life have been to engage with people that I love and to make a difference," she said.
Research suggests this sense of purpose and community is a major factor in having a long life.
For Hardison, spending time with her husband, children, grandchildren, and friends is part of what keeps her excited to start each day.
"Life is still sweet. It's still good. It is so amazing to have lived my life and then look at my kids who are amazing adults and just be in awe of them," she said. "It's the reward of a life well lived."
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