We can all agree that it’s a great feat to live to be 100 — but it’s an even greater feat if you live well, well past it. Believe it or not, the five oldest people in the world today were all born in the 1800s! These supercentenarians, as they’re called, have lived through world wars, the sinking of the Titanic, the space race and much much more. But what’s even more astounding is that when they were born, the life expectancy for people in the U.S. was just around 60. The oldest among them, Misao Okawa of Japan, has nearly doubled that as she heads toward her 117th birthday in March. Here are the five oldest people in the world and their candid tips for living a long, long life:
1. Misao Okawa, 116, Japan
Okawa was born in Osaka, Japan in 1898 and became the oldest person in the world when another Japanese centenarian, Jiroemon Kimura, passed away in 2013. Okawa lives in a retirement community and eats three square meals a day. She especially likes sushi which she makes sure to have at least once a month. But more important than diet are these three key tenets: “Eat and sleep and you will live a long time,” she told The Telegraph on her 116th birthday. “You have to learn to relax.” She also is said to sleep eight hours every night. Good, sound advice we think.
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Incredible.
