As I struggled to stay awake awaiting the verdict of the election during early hours of May the 10th, I cannot but feel the utmost respect for Tun Dr Mahathir’s incredible energy in this campaign and election process at the age of 92.

Whilst Tun has famously credited his health to moderate eating habits, here are some other factors that have been proven to take us through our later years as smoothly as possible.

1. Purpose

Maintaining a sense of purpose, whether it’s part-time work, volunteering, pursuing hobbies or continuous learning has been proven to provide satisfaction and higher quality of life in seniors. 

2. Community

Strong friendships have been identified as key to healthy aging, even more so than strong family ties. It’s also worth noting that the sense of belonging in a community has also found to be important. 

3. Personality

Interestingly, excessively positive and cheerful dispositions do not contribute towards a longer life when compared to more serious and down-to-earth counterparts. Being overly optimistic may cause serious life threats to be missed. Instead, those with more robust personality traits such as competence are found to be able to adapt to later stages of life better.

4. Exercise 

Not surprisingly, exercise comes in again as a top tip for graceful aging. In fact, as little as 15 minutes of exercise just twice a week has been found to be beneficial. Apart from muscular endurance and strength, which prevent injury from falls, the emotional and psychological benefits are huge.

5. Eating

Tun M’s disciplined and moderate approach to eating allows him to still fit into the same trousers he wore 30 years ago. Another interesting point about eating to note is to not obsess over being a smaller size, if we are already at a healthy weight. Frequent weight fluctuations have been found to be detrimental to heart health in those over 50.

Related reads: Why should we practice gratitude?