• Leonie Pendergast is 90 and still works full-time.
• She and her family own a few businesses, including the cuckoo clock shop she works in.
• She attributes her longevity to staying busy, never drinking or smoking, and small portions.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Leonie Pendergast, a 90-year-old businesswoman from Omeo, Australia. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm 90 years old and still work full-time in our family's business, a cuckoo clock shop called Omeo Clocks and Glass. I love meeting people and looking after the shop. I firmly believe that as you get older, provided you're still healthy enough, you're much better off doing something. Once you sit down at my age, it's all over.

My husband's family were pioneers in Omeo, Australia, where we live. According to the 2021 Census, it's a small town with a population of 411 people.

My work keeps me busy

My daughter Deb and her husband built the first section of our original shop, the Omeo German Cuckoo Clock Shop. However, Omeo was too quiet for a young couple, so they moved on, and I took over. I had spent 26 years working at the original shop location.

In the meantime, my husband, our son, and I bought another business, Omeo Rural and Hardware Supplies. My husband Tony, who is 88, still works at the hardware shop and drives our truck every day.

After 26 years, I sold the original building where our shop was located. When my daughter moved back to town during the pandemic, I wasn't really enjoying retirement, so she and her partner ended up reopening the cuckoo clock shop at new premises on a smaller scale, and I've been working here for the past three years.

I love meeting people — that's the main thing. We have interesting stock, too. We sell Christmas decorations and cuckoo clocks, which are unique.

I usually work from 10 a.m. until 4:30 or 5 p.m. I do everything in the shop, and my dog, Ivy, a Maltese Shih Tzu mix, keeps me company. I also spend time washing the tea towels for our family's bakery a few doors down.

I don't drink or smoke, and I stay active

When it comes to longevity, I think a lot of it comes down to genetics, but there are two things I've never done — drink alcohol or smoke. Growing up, my parents owned pubs, and we lived on-site, so by the time I was 17, I'd seen enough people drinking to last me a lifetime. It didn't interest me at all.

I also think it's important to stay active. You don't sit down if you're running a business like this one. I took even more steps in the other shop location because I had a flight of stairs to climb.

We still live on our own

Tony and I still live independently together in our own home. I have a hot dinner on the table every night when he comes home after work. Our diet is fairly plain. I always make myself an egg on toast or an omelet for breakfast. Ivy and I share a pie or sandwich for lunch, and it's always meat and vegetables or a salad for dinner. We always have small portions.

My faith grounds me, even through hard times

I'm Catholic and I believe religious faith does give you grounding. We've experienced many hardships, including bushfires that have displaced us for up to 10 days at a time. But faith gives you something to hang on to when things go wrong.

Looking back on my life, I'm happy with what I've achieved, but I would have liked to further my education. I left school the week before I turned 14. Back then, you couldn't go online and do a university degree or add to your education like you can nowadays.

Overall, I'd say my husband and I are very blessed. We have a new great-granddaughter who is due soon, and we're having a quiet Christmas because we'll be busy with the baby. Tony and I both have some health problems, but we do what our health allows us to do.

• Microtox is a treatment little-known in the West, which promises to smooth fine lines without freezing the face.
• Originating from South Korea, microtox is diluted Botox injected into the facial fibers, not muscles.
• I tried it, and while my skin glowed, the result was more subtle than I'd hoped for.

When my boyfriend proposed last December, I was overcome with joy for our future — and excited about wedding planning.

But I was surprised that although I'm not anxious about my looks, I felt the urge to perfect my appearance. If I'm not going to pull out all the stops on my wedding day, when am I?

I've whitened my teeth (painful), tried eyelash lengthening serum (it turned my under eyes red so I won't be repeating), and nailed down a solid skincare routine.

But no amount of retinol or SPF is going to smooth the fine lines that have appeared on my face in recent years.

Botox is, to many, the obvious solution to this symptom of human existence that we're conditioned to fear. That and other non-surgical "tweakments," such as fillers, are on the rise. From 2019 to 2022, the number of people getting Botox injections in the US jumped by 73% (to an all-time high), and those going under the needle are getting younger.

While social media has made people more anxious about their looks and reduced stigma around treatments, a more natural aesthetic is now on trend. This has seen celebrities such as Courteney Cox and Khloe Kardashian dissolve their fillers.

In that vein, I feared I would suffer from the dreaded "frozen face" Botox can cause and be unable to express my emotions on one of the most emotional days of my life.

(My fiancé, for his part, says I "don't need Botox" — but what does he know?)

So, when I heard about a treatment called "microtox" that promised to smooth fine lines without limiting facial expressions, I was desperate to know more.

Also known as "glass skin treatment," I learned microtox hails from South Korea — known for its advanced skincare — and involves diluting Botulinum toxin (aka Botox) with saline or other skin-boosters. Crucially, it's injected into the facial fibers that connect the muscles to the skin instead of the muscles themselves, smoothing the face without freezing it.

At 31, I'd never had any injectable cosmetic procedures before, and microtox seemed like a soft landing into the world of anti-aging treatments.

I tried it, and while my skin glowed, the smoothing effect was too subtle to be worth the £495 ($657) price tag.

'An airbrushed look and lustre'

After checking with dermatologists that microtox is safe, I quickly realized this relatively new treatment isn't offered by many clinics in the UK, where I live.

I booked a consultation with the Taktouk Clinic in London's ultra-affluent Knightsbridge neighborhood, which three years ago became one of the first places in the UK to offer microtox.

The treatment was originally £695 ($922), but the clinic told me the price was lowered to £495 ($657) in July to bring it in line with their other skin boosters. Business Insider was given a media rate of £476 ($631).

First, Christine Hall, an aesthetic doctor at the clinic, and I talked on Zoom about my skin and what the treatment involved. She told me not to drink any alcohol 24 hours before or after microtox, and also to avoid painkillers, the sauna, steam room, and gym.

Hall said microtox is incredibly popular in South Korea, where her mother is from, and is seen as a "red carpet treatment" to have before a big event.

"They're about 10 years ahead of us in terms of aesthetics, so I try and keep up with them because it informs me about what's going to come over to this side of the world," Hall said.

"You're going to look refreshed, your skin's going to be glowing, but nobody's going to particularly be able to tell you why," she added.

The treatment wouldn't do much to deep wrinkles, but could give me an "airbrushed look and lustre," Hall said. "Sign me up," I thought.

My face was numbed before the treatment

The clinic, which is chic and minimalist but with period features that give it an old-money feel, is discreetly positioned on a busy street of designer shops.

After checking in, I was sent to the elegant restroom, complete with expensive perfumes, to cleanse my face.

Hall greeted me in the waiting room, and I was reassured that her glowing, smooth complexion was neither frozen nor line-free.

She assessed my skin and said it was in good condition, meaning microtox wouldn't have a hugely noticeable effect — it's popular with people who have very oily skin or want to minimize redness.

Clinic manager Hilda Akpenyi then applied a powerful numbing cream to my face, topped with a plastic mask to stop it from evaporating. The cream took half an hour to take full effect, and my face quickly started to tingle and feel hot.

Hall explained that, unlike other clinics, Taktouk dilutes Botox with Klardie Cellup Ruby Solution, which she said is a hyaluronic acid skin booster designed to reduce pigmentation, hydrate, and boost radiance. This, however, makes Taktouk's treatment around £100 ($132) more expensive than its competitors, she said.

Microtox is a bearable, 20-minute procedure

Hall took me to a spacious and bright treatment room, where she wiped off the numbing cream and cleansed my face again before I made myself comfortable in a reclining chair.

Over 20 minutes, Hall made around 100 injections about one millimeter deep across the entirety of my face, unlike Botox which targets specific areas. She regularly changed the needle to keep it sharp and avoided going too close to the muscles of the mouth and eyes to prevent drooping, which can happen if it goes in too deep.

The process was slightly painful but bearable, and it felt just as you'd imagine lots of tiny needle pricks would. Having a numb face was arguably more uncomfortable.

We were able to chat throughout, and I felt reassured hearing Hall's approach is all about small, subtle, natural-looking tweaks. "The ethos of the clinic is that we're extremely conservative and we're very happy to say no," she said.

Hall finished by applying a soothing moisturizer to my skin. What I didn't realize until she held up a mirror was that my face was covered in bumps from each needle prick. It reminded me of the acne I used to have, which I thought was ironic. Hall said the bumps would ease after a couple of hours.

As I traveled across London to meet a friend, I was conscious of the looks I was getting. It took more than a few hours for the bumps to reduce, but 15 hours later the next morning, they were 95% gone.

Microtox made my skin glow

Hall said that the effects of microtox could appear within a few days, and would peak two weeks after the treatment.

For a fortnight, I dutifully monitored my face, conscious of every pore and line.

After a few days, I thought my skin appeared slightly smoother, with more sheen. As the days passed, my complexion looked somewhat tighter and glowier without being shiny, despite the lines on my face looking the same.

However, I was disappointed that my freckles faded.

After two weeks, my skin looked smoother and younger overall, and my crow's feet diminished. I was starting to understand why microtox is called "glass skin" treatment.

But the effect was slight — people who knew I'd had the treatment told me they could "maybe" see a difference, otherwise no one commented.

The effect is meant to last two to three months, but for me, it was negligible. My skin gradually went back to normal over the weeks, so it was hard to tell when the results wore off. It was like I'd had a really good facial, with longer-lasting results but a significantly higher price tag.

The result didn't justify the cost

The concept of facial tweakments is paradoxical. On the one hand, you want subtle changes so people can't tell you've had anything done. But on the other, you want enough of an effect to justify the cost.

For me, microtox wasn't worth the cost, but I wasn't the prime candidate, and people who have oily skin and large pores might have better results.

If money were no object, I might have had microtox again, considering it an expensive (and less relaxing) facial that would turn back the clock on my face a year or two for a few weeks.

However, for now, the anti-aging holy grail of having smoothed wrinkles while maintaining facial expressions remains to be found.

Bryan Johnson spends $2 million a year on longevity treatments. We spent a day with the tech entrepreneur who wants to live forever, getting a close-up look at his antiaging meals, supplements, clinical procedures, and daily exercise routine.

• Tom Simek got fit at 59 after being diagnosed with osteoporosis and high cholesterol.
• Now 72, he's competed in "American Ninja Warrior" and won medals in the National Senior Games.
• Getting fit has improved his life in many ways, including by giving him a sense of purpose.

At age 59, Tom Simek was out of shape.

The retired building contractor based in Santa Fe had spent his working life prioritizing his family and business over his health. After he was diagnosed with osteoporosis, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea 13 years ago, he decided to make some healthy lifestyle changes, he told Business Insider.

Simek made small changes at first: he stopped working weekends, ate healthier, and started exercising daily.

"It was gradual," he said. First he started walking, then incorporated bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, crunches, dips, and jumping jacks.

"And then I found a sport that I loved to do: track and field," he said.

Now aged 72, Simek has competed on the TV competition "American Ninja Warrior" twice, is sponsored by Senior Planet, a program that encourages older adults to exercise, and works out for about an hour each day. Some days, he spends the hour doing boot camp classes at his daughter's fitness club, while others he does short sprints and weights in his home gym.

In 2012, Simek entered his first National Senior Games, a state and country-wide competition for athletes over 50. Every year since, he has competed in the long jump and the 50-meter, 100-meter, and 200-meter sprints, consistently winning medals for his state, New Mexico.

Simek shared four ways getting fit has improved his quality of life.

1) A sense of purpose

Track and field has become Simek's passion. "And if you're passionate about something, then you will look forward to your workouts in order to improve yourself. It gives me a reason to wake up in the morning," he said.

Spurred on by his 12-year-old granddaughter, he also keeps up his training for "American Ninja Warrior," which he appeared on in 2019 and 2022, in case he's chosen to compete in future seasons. He does bodyweight exercises such as pull-ups to maintain his strength, practices gymnastics, and works on his balance.

Having a sense of purpose has been linked to longevity in multiple studies. In one 2019 study by researchers at the University of Michigan, US adults aged over 50 who had a strong sense of purpose were less likely to die within four years.

2) Making new friends

Simek loves that sports help him meet lots of new people. At track and field competitions, "younger people come up to me because they see my age, and say 'you inspire us,'" he said.

And he's made friends across the country at the Senior Games. "I think it's very important, in the senior years, to stay connected with people," he said.

A 2023 study found that older people who had more social interactions were likely to live longer than those who were more isolated.

3) Better mobility

Because he's fit and mobile, Simek can do activities with his grandchildren, whether playing or competing in track and field competitions alongside his granddaughter. This is particularly important to him because he wants to show her the importance of a fit and active lifestyle as she grows up, he said.

Mobility in older age is a predictor of living longer. A 2017 study published in BMC Health Services Research on 1,005 people aged 65 and above still living at home found that the longer it took participants to leave a chair, the greater their risk of dying within the next 11.8 years.

4) Better sleep

"When you're fit, your mind works better, and you sleep better," Simek said.

In a 2021 study published in Experimental Gerontology, people over 65 who were more physically fit — meaning they were able to perform more actions such as standing from a seated position and doing bicep curls — were more likely to have a better health-related quality of life.

And research shows that being physically active is linked to better sleep quality, according to Dr. Charlene Gamaldo, the medical director of Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep.

• Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, 99, says eating in moderation is the key to longevity.
• "Age does not follow time. Age follows bodily health — the way you can function," he told Nikkei Asia.
• The number of people aged 80 or older is expected to reach 426 million worldwide, per WHO estimates.

Malaysia's former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, will be 100 next year. His secret to longevity? Moderation.

"I don't eat too much. Obesity isn't good for survival," Mahathir told Nikkei Asia during an interview published in November.

"Age does not follow time. Age follows bodily health — the way you can function. Because of that, old age is not because of time; it's not because you are 60 that you are old. You may be 90, but if people at 90 are still strong, still able to work and function, then 90 would not be old age," he said.

Mahathir added that what people think of as old age has changed over time.

"At this moment, 60 or 65 is considered old, but we must remember that in the past, 30 was already old. During the time of Julius Caesar, leaders were only in their 30s because they died very early," he said.

Mahathir first served as Malaysia's prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

He reentered national politics in 2018 in a bid to unseat former prime minister Najib Razak, who had been accused of embezzling millions in state funds in the 1MDB scandal.

That same year, at age 92, Mahathir was elected as the country's prime minister once more — although he resigned a little under two years later.

Looking back on his political career, Mahathir shared that he regretted resigning from his post in 2003, "when I was not even 80 years old."

"When I was in my 70s, approaching 80, I told myself that 80 was very old. I thought I wouldn't be able to function well anymore. However, after I retired, I found that I was still able to work, still able to function," Mahathir said.

Experience comes with age, and society should try to retain older workers so as to not lose the wealth of knowledge that this demographic can provide, he said.

"If you retain older people in the workforce and allow them to continue working instead of retiring too early, you can benefit from their experience," Mahathir said.

During his second tenure as Malaysia's prime minister, Mahathir was considered one of the oldest elected world leaders. The oldest current national leader is President Paul Biya of Cameroon, who is 91 years old. In comparison, Joe Biden, at 82, is the oldest American president.

The number of people aged 80 or older is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050 to reach 426 million worldwide, per WHO estimates.

A representative for Mahathir did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.

• David Martin and Harry Shen are chefs from St Vincent's Care, a nursing home in Melbourne.
• The chefs understand that not all nursing homes have the budget, but they hope to raise standards.
• Their efforts come as nations worldwide are facing aging populations.

David Martin can still recall the conversation that changed his career path.

He was 25 and had spent the past decade working in the restaurant and fine dining scene. The hours were brutal — up to 16 hours a day — and he was on the verge of burnout.

His parents brought up the idea of working in a nursing home. They had a cousin who worked in that industry and suggested he try it.

"I told them, 'Why would I want to go to aged care? That's where people retire. My skills will go to waste,'" Martin recalled. Still, with an open mind, he decided to give it a shot.

He hasn't looked back since. Martin, now 35, is an executive chef manager at St Vincent's Care, a nursing home facility in Australia.

By his side is Harry Shen, 39, a senior head chef who also left the restaurant scene to try something different. They share the same vision: to raise the standard of food in aged healthcare.

Apart from working under top chefs, including Donovan Cooke, Shen had also picked up shifts at Australian nursing homes in the past. It was during that time that he noticed frozen food was often the norm.

So when he saw a job posting from St Vincent's for a chef to elevate nursing home food, it stood out.

"This is something I also wanted to do. To change things," he told Business Insider.

A premium offering

With Shen on board, Martin and his team worked during the pandemic to reinvent meal plans at one of St Vincent's healthcare centers in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne. The facility doubles as an aged care home and a hospital.

It's a more premium nursing home option. According to St Vincent's Care's website, a stay at a standard room in the facility costs 171 Australian dollars a night, or around $111 — almost double the basic daily fee for nursing homes in Australia, which is AU$63.57. The room has an ensuite toilet, and residents can access a café, cinema, and hairdressing salon within the facility.

A typical meal plan at St Vincent's is as follows: In the morning, residents are offered a continental breakfast and a tea cake of the day. For lunch, they have a main with a selected sauce, a starch, and two vegetables.

They end the meal with a sweet — warmed apple coconut strudels on some days and a green tea cheesecake on others — then round the day up with an afternoon tea snack and a generous dinner selection.

"We want to break the stereotype that aged care food is just a lump of food on a plate," Shen said.

Cooking for older residents does come with certain considerations. In particular, the chefs have to look out for residents who have dysphagia, a geriatric syndrome that affects swallowing. According to the Mayo Clinic, 10% to 33% of older adults have dysphagia and can face malnutrition as a result.

As such, the chefs provide a range of options for residents with different needs so that everyone — even those who struggle to swallow — can enjoy a hearty meal.

Nursing home food on the world stage

Martin and Shen wanted to show the world that nursing home food can — and should — be just as good as restaurant food.

In 2023, they decided to compete in culinary competitions together. After placing in several local competitions, they were approached to apply for the International Salon Culinaire, one of the world's top competitions for chefs. Previous winners of the competition include Gordon Ramsey and Michael Deane, a Michelin-star chef.

In March this year, the duo competed alongside top chefs worldwide over the three-day competition in London. Their dishes included coconut rice pudding with crème brûlée and seafood paella — food they can serve at a nursing home.

They emerged with two silver medals. But more than the accolades, they hoped that people would focus on the message they were trying to send.

The chefs are well aware that not all nursing homes have the same luxuries of staffing and budgets to prepare premium meals. Still, it's about setting a standard, they said.

"We want to make this industry better for now and into the future for our parents and grandparents to be respected in," Martin said.

"The main thing is the frame of mind. The chef can be creative, whether it's adding a bit more garnish for presentation or baking things in-house rather than buying," he continued.

A graying world

Shen and Martin's efforts come as nations worldwide are graying rapidly. In October, the World Health Organization called for an urgent transformation of care and support systems for older people. They projected that 1 in 6 people will be 60 or older by 2030. By 2050, this number will double to 2.1 billion.

In the US, the aging of the baby boomer generation means that the number of Americans ages 65 and older requiring nursing home care could increase by 75% by 2030, a recent report by the Population Reference Bureau found.

That's where the importance of food comes in.

Dr. Andrea Maier, a professor of medicine at the National University of Singapore's Centre of Healthy Longevity, told BI that raising food quality is especially important in nursing homes, where people are often at the final stages of their lives and need nutrition.

"If they don't have an appetite, they're losing muscle mass, and their health is deteriorating. So food needs to be fun." When food is fresh and well-plated, it gives residents motivation to eat, she added. "It's a double positive."

Then there are the emotional impacts of having a good meal.

"When you're in a care home, life is relatively unrushed. Dining is one thing that I think people look forward to other than engagement activities," said Wee Shiou Liang, an associate professor of Gerontology at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

"So, that experience is even more important."

Martin and Shen now collaborate as co-creative directors on menus in St Vincent's homes across New South Wales and Victoria. They also manage and mentor chefs in the region.

Neither chef intends to return to the restaurant scene. Seeing their impact on their residents has moved them to stay.

Working in end-of-life care, Martin said each meal, pastry, or salad could be the last dish their residents eat.

"And that's big to me because if you can give comfort to someone when they're in serious pain, that is a present to them," he said.

"They don't need to remember your name. They don't need to remember the dish. But if at that moment they realize they were at ease and were comforted by you — that's the heart of it."

Mastercard wants to help small and midsized businesses harness the power of artificial intelligence. The payments company began a pilot Monday of a generative AI chatbot tool Mastercard Small Business AI, designed to help SMB owners in all categories, regardless of what stage their business has achieved. "AI can't replace the power of human connection,...

• Brian Chesky and Nvidia's Jensen Huang avoid one-on-one meetings with subordinates.
• "You become like their therapist," Chesky told Fortune.
• Yet one person who studies meetings said making an employee feel heard can have "amazing" outcomes.

Meetings are the main way Airbnb's Brian Chesky gets work done. Yet he says the one-on-one format with a direct report is fundamentally flawed.

"Almost no great CEO in history has ever done them," the Airbnb chief said in a recent interview.

That's because when an employee "owns the agenda," they bring up subjects managers don't want to discuss — and "you become like their therapist," Chesky said. Topics can also arise that would benefit other people at the company to hear, but instead, they're sequestered in a one-on-one.

Of course, there are certain times when a one-on-one makes sense, Chesky told Fortune in the interview — such as when an employee is having a difficult time personally and needs to confide to a boss privately.

But generally, he said, they're just not productive on a regular basis.

Chesky isn't alone. Although he has many direct reports, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also prefers to skip one-on-one meetings.

"I don't really believe there's any information that I operate on that somehow only one or two people should hear about," Huang said at Stripe Sessions earlier this year.

Making employees feel heard can have 'amazing' outcomes

While some leaders are cracking down, one expert previously told Business Insider that, when conducted correctly, one-on-ones can boost employee engagement, productivity, and overall happiness.

"The outcomes associated with effective one-on-ones are amazing," said Steven G. Rogelberg, an organizational psychologist who's also a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the author of "Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings."

Rogelberg previously told BI that one-on-ones are more successful when the worker leads the conversation. He said managers should dedicate roughly 25 minutes a week and focus on the personal needs of employees as well as the practical aspects of the job.

Many managers avoid that first component, Rogelberg said, because it takes more effort.

But at the same time, workers need to do their due diligence, he said — showing up prepared to talk more than half the time. Some fruitful topics include: challenges, how a manager can better support a worker, and what's going well and what could be improved.

'Nitpicking sessions'

Chesky isn't the only boss who's over the one-on-one. In May, Aditya Agarwal, a former Facebook director, wrote in a post on X that after more than a decade of conducting such meetings with those who report to him, he determined they did more harm than good.

"They condition people to do spot checks on happiness and constantly be critical about things that aren't ideal. In practice, 1:1s descend into nitpicking sessions," Agarwal wrote as part of a thread.

Agarwal added that bosses should give feedback every three to six months rather than weekly. That approach, he said, could drive managers to pick up on patterns and give "holistic" guidance rather than weekly spot checks.

• Teri Hatcher, 59, doesn't enjoy dating at her age.
• Hatcher said unlike what people think, men are not "lining up outside her door."
• She also feels like it would be "too much" to date younger men.

At 59, Teri Hatcher would rather spend time with her cat than date.

During an interview on Wednesday with Sherri Shepherd on the talk show "Sherri," the "Desperate Housewives" star said she doesn't date much anymore.

"I used to date, and you'd look across the table at the guy, and you'd think, 'OK, I wonder if we're going to end up in bed together. And now I look across the table, and I just think, 'When am I going to have to change this guy's diaper?'" she said, adding, "It's just not that fun anymore."

When asked if she would consider dating younger men, Hatcher said it would "just be too much."

"I'd just feel like I'd have to be keeping up. I'd have to, like, 'How do I look in a bikini today?' and I just don't care," she said.

The actor was previously married twice, to Markus Leithold from 1988 to 1989 and to Jon Tenney from 1994 to 2003, whom she shares a daughter with.

Now, people around her say that men must be "lining up out the door," she said. "And I'm like, 'No, no. I open it once in a while, and there's nobody there."

Hatcher, who stars in the holiday movie "How to Fall in Love By Christmas," said she mostly "dates" her cat. When she's on Duolingo learning French, her cat jumps onto her chest and sits there.

"It's better than any date well that you could possibly go on," she said.

In 2019, Hatcher told People that she is content with being single.

"I have been single for a very long time but there is nothing lonely about my life. I want to remove the stigma of that," she said.

A representative for Hatcher did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Dating later in life

After getting out of a long-term relationship, Jennie Young downloaded her first dating app at 50.

She quickly grew frustrated by the pool of potential matches on the app. "There were a lot of bad actors, and the behavior wasn't just annoying; it was deeply problematic," she previously wrote for BI.

Young, a professor of rhetoric and women and gender studies, responded by starting a project called the Burned Haystack Dating Method. This method encourages daters to filter out time wasters and red flags.

Other older women enjoy being able to experiment with dating apps.

Carolina Gonzalez previously told BI that it's "weird to go out with anybody" after being in a long marriage.

"Though there is still a hope you will meet someone and fall in love, but I am probably never going to meet someone and have what I had before," she said.

Still, she enjoys being able to meet different people of all ages. Her life is not shutting down with age, she said, but opening up.

And some prefer to stay single. Bella DePaulo, 70, previously told BI that she has never been in a relationship and doesn't intend to be in one.

"I'm happy and flourishing because I'm single, not in spite of it," she said.

• Sally Froelich has aged remarkably well. She still golfs three times a week at 95.
• Froelich gave Business Insider some of her tips for staying healthy and happy.
• They include being sociable and doing exercise 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 spoke 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."

Professor Rose Anne Kenny, a gerontologist at Trinity College Dublin, thinks that having good friendships is just as important as eating healthily 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 aged 37 to 73 over a 12-year follow-up period.

Froelich herself is part of a study — the SuperAger study of people over 95 from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, which looks for inherited factors that could help slow aging.

Do some exercise every day

Froelich started playing golf when she was 24 and now 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 eight pounds on each hand, and then bend over and lift five 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 is one of the best things you can do for healthy aging, especially strength training.

Nathan K. LeBrasseur, director of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging at Mayo Clinic, previously told BI that spending 3% of your day exercising, or 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 she had 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.

She was until recently 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 aged 50 to 89.

• D'yan Forest is a working comedian at 90, doing gigs in two languages.
• She shared some of her tips for staying fit and funny into her 90s.
• These include having a positive outlook and spending time with younger friends.

It's never too late for a career change — even if you're almost 70.

After a 40-year-long career as a cabaret singer, D'yan Forest, who lives in New York City, became a comedian in 2001. Now 90, she holds the Guinness World Record for Oldest Female Comedian and still performs solo shows in English and French.

"I never thought I'd be a comedian at 90," she told Business Insider. "I make fun of myself and older ladies, and I sing parodies. I'm a little risqué, and the people love it because they can't believe that an older woman still has verve and fun and can say such risqué things."

Forest shared her longevity secrets for maintaining that verve into her 90s.

Keep your mind active

"Being funny keeps my mind working. I change my material every six months, so I'm always learning new things as the culture changes in France or America. What is amazing is that I'm getting better and better every time I perform," she said.

Doing comedy has also helped her look at life with a "fun slant," she said. "It's a mental outlook that keeps me going.

This chimes with what experts have previously told BI: Heidi Tissenbaum, a cancer biology professor who researches healthy lifespans, said that keeping the mind busy is one of the basics of longevity. The authors of a 2023 study on common traits of healthy centenarians recommended staying intellectually active and focusing on the good in life.

Exercise

Forest goes swimming every other day and plays golf three times a week.

"I go out for long weekends, and boy, after the third day, I'm exhausted," she said. "But that keeps me physically active. Not many women my age can walk the golf course like that."

A 2019 study by researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that adults who exercised consistently into later life had up to a 36% lower risk of dying from any cause over the 20-year follow-up period. The study also found that even starting to exercise in later life is beneficial for longevity.

Eat fresh whole foods

"I just eat pure food, raw vegetables and fruits. I don't like it when food is all artificial. My mother always said during the war, "Eat the fresh fish. Eat the fresh fruit." She wouldn't even cook 'em, just ate them," Forest said.

A 2023 study published in the journal Nutrients on 2,454 participants from China found that eating more fruit and vegetables lowered the risks of cognitive impairment in older age. A 2020 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that US women over 60 who ate more fruit and vegetables were less likely to experience fatigue, poor strength, and illnesses.

Have (lots of) younger friends

Forest goes out for dinner with a different friend every day of the week.

Having a strong community is important for longevity. It may be more important than a healthy diet and regular exercise, said Professor Rose Anne Kenny, chair of medical gerontology at Trinity College Dublin.

"The problem is, when you're 90, that a lot of your friends and family die," Forest said. "And that's why the comedy is good because through that I've met a lot of younger friends who have the same interests that I do."

She's not alone — 102-year-old Janet Gibbs also credits her longevity to having younger friends as well.

• Scientists have created an "atlas" of ovarian aging.
• The atlas suggests ovaries are an untapped, rapid way to study human longevity treatments.
• One researcher is testing antiaging drugs on ovaries, and she says supplements could be next.

A study published in Nature Aging on Friday reveals a new and revolutionary way to rapidly test out potential antiaging drugs: Give them to women.

Or, more specifically, test them out on aging ovaries, whether in well-controlled human studies, in the ovaries of mice, or in donor tissue samples.

The finding could speed up the way that so-called geroprotective (aka longevity) drugs are evaluated, and ultimately brought to market, by making it easier for researchers to assess how well potential aging drugs are working. Researchers could measure the health of ovaries dosed with different drugs and supplements over a matter of months, instead of waiting years or decades to see what works.

"Yeast, worms, flies and mice, we already know how to make them live longer and healthier," Columbia University professor and geneticist Yousin Suh, lead author of the new study, told Business Insider. "Since aging occurs in the ovaries so much more rapidly, why don't we use ovaries as a very fast test platform for geroprotectors?"

The ovary could be a perfect testing ground for slowing down aging

For years, longevity scientists have known that the ovary is the fastest-aging organ in the body.

Suh's new study goes deeper. It shows that ovarian aging is a great proxy for overall human aging at a molecular level — ovarian aging is just happening several decades earlier, and very rapidly.

"This is the first time where you've seen a really solid study done by a leading aging researcher that is demonstrating that a very highly conserved pathway that drives aging is happening in the ovary," Francesca Duncan, a professor of reproductive science at Northwestern University, told BI.

Duncan said for many years, aging researchers were hesitant to consider ovarian changes as a true aging phenomenon because they happen when women are still relatively young.

"We just don't consider women in their 30s to 50s in that 'old' category," she said. "But I think that tide has turned because we know this is an aging process and it has significant clinical and societal implications. So more and more people are paying attention to this concept of ovarian aging and considering it as a true aging process."

For the study, Suh's team evaluated human ovary tissue samples from four young women (aged 23-29) and four more "reproductively aged" women (49-54) to create an "atlas" of aging across every cell type in the ovary.

Her study displays in fine cellular and molecular detail how human ovaries age, and how genetics impact the process. It shows that one of the critical hallmarks of aging, mTOR signaling, is "screaming high" in middle-aged women's ovaries across all cell types, Suh said. That suggests those 50-year-old ovaries could be a great model for studying aging and for rapidly testing out drugs that scientists think might extend human lifespan and healthspan.

"People just do not get the message," Suh said. "They think, 'oh, who wants a baby until you're 60? Or, who wants a period until you're 60 or 70?' That's not the point. The point is we want them to slow down aging."

Changes in ovarian aging are also rapid, specific, and traceable with widely available tools, such as the common blood tests that measure a woman's ovarian reserve or inflammatory markers.

"If something works in the ovary in terms of delaying aging, chances are it's going to be a geroprotector of the whole body," Suh said. "It's not just reproduction; the ovary does coordinate and orchestrate health."

But Duncan cautioned that while the idea of using ovaries as a proxy for whole-body aging is "tantalizing," more research will still be needed to confirm the technique.

"There needs to be a lot more studies of: how do those changes that are happening in the ovary, how do those directly translate into changes into overall health?" she said.

Hot antiaging supplements and drugs, like metformin and NMN, could be tested faster on ovaries

To date, there are no drugs approved in the US to treat aging.

Instead, there's a patchwork of influencers, clinics, and high-end spas all promising to help people feel young as they grow old. They promote treatments like metformin — a diabetes drug that's being repurposed for antiaging and weight loss — or supplements like NAD+ boosters, CoQ10, and resveratrol.

It's pretty hard to assess how well each of those personalized (and often pricey) treatments are actually working. Hard science on human health outcomes is still limited because evaluating the traditional signs of aging, by measuring things like brain or heart health, takes years.

Suh imagines future studies could try these pills out in female mice or in women, and focus researchers' attention on how well their ovaries are doing over the course of the next several months.

In fact, Suh is already trying this: she's one of the first people testing out potential antiaging drugs on middle-aged women.

She is spearheading an ongoing study of a few dozen women in perimenopause who are taking small doses of rapamycin, an immunosuppressive cancer drug that longevity researchers think could be repurposed for healthy aging. The study will measure how subjects ovarian reserve levels change over the course of several months, both during and after their three-month treatment.

While the full results aren't ready yet, Suh says she's seeing clear trend lines in the data, suggesting that the experiment might have been a success.

"I think it's really exciting because in ovaries the results will be very, very quick," she said.

• Lauren Sánchez, 54, says she never expected to have so much to look forward to in life after turning 50.
• "When I was 20, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, life is over at 50,'" she said on the "Today" show.
• Apart from her wedding to Jeff Bezos, Sánchez also has a space flight to look forward to.

These days, Lauren Sánchez, 54, thinks that growing older is a gift.

During a "Today" show interview on Wednesday, Sánchez told hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie that she never thought she would have so much to look forward to at this point in her life.

"I never thought at 54 — I'm going to be 55 — that I'd be an author, that I'd be getting married. I mean, life is just beginning," Sánchez said. "When I was 20, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, life is over at 50.' Let me tell you: It is not, ladies. It is not over."

Sánchez also said that life "just gets better and better" as she grows older.

"When women are like, 'Oh, What is it like turning 50?' I was like, 'It's just the beginning,'" she added.

In May last year, news broke that Sánchez had gotten engaged to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The couple first went public with their relationship in 2019, shortly after Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, divorced.

Although Sanchez did not share any details about when their wedding would be, she said she was "very excited" and had already started thinking about her dress.

"I do have a Pinterest, I'm just like every other bride. So I do have a Pinterest board," she said.

In addition to her wedding, Sánchez also has a flight to space to look forward to, although it is unclear when the trip will happen. She first announced her plans to go to space in 2022.

While she didn't divulge any details about the all-female crew who will be accompanying her to space, she referred to them during the "Today" interview as a group of "explorers."

"When we think of women, a lot of times we don't think of them as explorers," she said. "We think of Magellan and Jacques Cousteau, but we're explorers."

The mother-of-three shared that it was Bezos who first used the word "explorer" to describe her, and it changed the way she perceived herself and other women.

"He goes, 'You know, you're an explorer.' I was like, what? He goes, 'Yes. You're a pilot. You like to see the world,'" Sánchez said, recalling Bezo's words. "And I never thought of myself as an explorer. And when he said, 'Okay, why don't you take an incredible group of women up?' I was like, I'm picking all explorers so that they could come back and tell their story about how going to space changes them."

This isn't the first time that a high-profile individual has spoken about embracing aging.

In March, Anne Hathaway, 42, chose to do "The Idea of You" because she wanted to "tell the story of a woman blooming."

"I don't know why we don't have more stories about human beings blooming at any age. We're always coming of age, all the time," she said.

In August, Oprah Winfrey, 70, shared on the "Today" show that she wasn't worried about getting older because she wants to live in the present.

"I'm excited to make every number. I remember many, many years ago as a young girl, I had always thought that I would never make it to the 60s or 70s," Winfrey said.

A representative for Sánchez did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.

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• Herlda Senhouse, formerly the second oldest person in the US, died this week at the age of 113.
• She thought lifestyle factors could have contributed to her longevity as well as her genes.
• They included not having kids, eating healthily, and being part of a community.

Herlda Senhouse, born in 1911, appreciated three things about 2024: electric light, indoor plumbing, and having a Black female vice president.

Senhouse, who died at age 113 on Saturday, lived in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She worked as a housekeeper and nanny for white families, and faced racism including being denied the opportunity to study nursing, she told The Telegraph in 2021. Senhouse founded the Boston Clique Club, a group of dancers and musicians who raised money to help educate Black students in Boston.

"I never thought I'd see a Black woman vice president, which is amazing, and I'm so happy," she said.

Senhouse wanted to keep helping others even after she died: she donated her brain to researchers at Boston University, who are studying whether genes help some people live past 100 for the New England Centenarian Study.

As well as her genes, Senhouse attributed her longevity to a few lifestyle factors.

Don't have children to avoid stress

Senhouse often said that the secret to her longevity was not having children, Stephanie Hawkinson, a public information officer for the town of Wellesley told US News and World Report on Monday.

One 2017 study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that people without children didn't live as long as parents, possibly because of the support they received. But Senhouse thought that not having children helped her avoid stress, which research suggests can accelerate aging.

Eat healthily and don't smoke

"I don't smoke or drink. And I don't drink those fizzy waters… no soda. I seldom eat fast food," Senhouse told WBZ News in 2022.

People who followed healthy eating guidelines, including consuming lots of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, had a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and respiratory disease in a 2023 study. The research involved 119,000 female nurses and male health professionals and was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. These people were also less likely to smoke and more likely to exercise.

Be part of a community

Hawkinson said that Senhouse had a big community of friends, family, and fellow church members.

She also spent lots of time with her best friend, Margaret Robinson, whom she met over 60 years ago. They called each other every day and got their hair and nails done together every two weeks, WBZ News reported.

Researchers carrying out the Harvard Study of Adult Development have found that healthy relationships can lower the risk of dying at any age and help to reduce pain in older age, BI's Hilary Brueck previously reported.

Know when to let go

Do your best to fix issues in your life, but if you can't, let it go, Senhouse told The Telegraph.

Perseverance and focusing on the good things in life are common traits among centenarians, Business Insider previously reported. And longevity researchers who have spoken to over 1,000 centenarians told BI that many centenarians try not to stress about things out of their control.

• Denzel Washington is approaching 70, and he's taking steps to ensure that he ages well.
• For instance, he's almost 10 years sober and has started working out with a trainer, he told Esquire.
• "This is the last chapter — if I get another 30, what do I want to do?" Washington said.

Denzel Washington, 69, knows he's not getting any younger, so he's choosing to prioritize his health.

In an interview with Esquire, the actor — who turns 70 next month — spoke about aging and the steps he's taken to change his lifestyle for the better.

For one, he's approaching a decade of sobriety after having an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

"I've done a lot of damage to the body. We'll see. I've been clean. Be 10 years this December. I stopped at 60 and I haven't had a thimble's worth since," Washington told Esquire.

Wine had been his vice, partially because he had a 10,000-bottle wine cellar added to his house during construction in 1999, he said.

"I never got strung out on heroin. Never got strung out on coke. Never got strung out on hard drugs. I shot dope just like they shot dope, but I never got strung out. And I never got strung out on liquor. I had this ideal idea of wine tastings and all that — which is what it was at first," Washington said. "And 15 years into it: Send me two bottles, and make it good stuff, but just two. And I'd drink them both over the course of the day."

However, he never drank when he was working, he said.

Washington eventually kicked the habit once he realized that it was getting out of hand because he would wake up disoriented, "not knowing what happened."

Apart from giving up alcohol, the "Equalizer" actor is focusing on getting fit and building strength.

His friend, Lenny Kravitz, introduced him to a fitness trainer whom Washington has been working with since February last year.

"He makes the meals for me and we're training, and I'm now 190-something pounds on my way to 185," Washington said. "I was looking at pictures of myself and Pauletta at the Academy Awards for 'Macbeth,' and I'm just looking fat, with this dyed hair, and I said, Those days are over, man. I feel like I'm getting strong. Strong is important."

Part of his desire to adopt a healthier lifestyle is because he wants to live better in his golden years, he said.

"Things are opening up for me now — like being 70. It's real. And it's okay. This is the last chapter — if I get another 30, what do I want to do? My mother made it to 97," Washington said.

In the US, the average life expectancy for males is 74.8 years and 80.2 years for females, per the CDC.

While immortality is still science fiction, there's been a growing interest in longevity and the idea of reversing one's "biological age." Antiaging trends such as IV treatments and red-light therapy are also gaining popularity.

Earlier this year, Alyson van Raalte, a demographer who researches why some people live longer than others, told Business Insider that the length of a person's life is mostly determined by their genes, life circumstances, and things we can't predict.

However, she said that adopting simple habits — including not smoking, exercising regularly, and having a strong social network — can lead to a longer life.

A representative for Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.