I’m 90 but I look 20 years younger – these are my 3 secrets

Many people spend their lives searching for the secret to aging gracefully.

But a 90-year-old thinks he has it figured out.

Robert Eddison, a writer from London, says people are accusing him of lying about his age and saying he looks 20 years younger.

“Every time I go out, people tell me I must be in my 70s or 60s. They even accuse me of lying to them,” says Eddison, sharing his daily routine on TikTok.

And he has now revealed his three tips for maintaining a youthful appearance and good mobility – daily stretches, yoga and a strict skin care routine.

And he has now revealed his three tips for maintaining a youthful appearance and good mobility: daily stretches, yoga and a strict skin care routine

Stretching exercises

“My back was so bad it was skewed to the right,” said Mr. Eddison. “So I decided to fix it and went to an osteopath who worked himself out of his job.”

He was advised to do two to four exercises daily and says they were “incredible.”

In a recent video, Mr. Eddison says, “I’m 90 and I bet I have a more flexible back than you.” I’ll show you.’

He then sits down on the floor and rolls backwards into a shoulder stand with his feet behind him touching the floor.

Mr. Eddison then demonstrates some of the exercises he does each morning, starting by lying in his bed and pulling his legs up to his chest.

He then rolls left and right before keeping his feet together and opening his legs — which can also help the hip flexors.

Mr. Eddison then kneels on the floor, places his hands above his head and leans back, looking up at the sky, before being filmed doing sit-ups.

He claimed that if you exercise daily, you “will not have back problems in old age.”

Researchers from the University of St Mark and St John in Plymouth conducted a review of previous studies, which gave some credence to Mr Eddison’s claim.

They found that aerobic exercise increases blood flow and nutrients to the soft tissues in the back, improves the healing process and reduces stiffness that can cause back pain.

Researchers at the University of St Mark and St John in Plymouth conducted a review of previous studies, which gave some credence to Mr Eddison’s claim that exercising daily means you won’t have back problems in old age.

Mr. Eddison also does balance exercises, such as standing on one leg as often as he can for a few minutes, meaning he’s never had to use a cane.

He demonstrates slow walking with a cane and claims that while this is what comes to mind when people think of a 90 year old, it’s “BS.”

Filmed standing in front of him, Mr Eddison stands on one leg, supporting himself with his arms – one of the balancing exercises he says he does regularly.

“If you use a cane, you become dependent on it and you lose the ability to walk without a cane,” he added. “I try to do my balance exercises every day.”

Yoga

Mr. Eddison also credits the ancient practice of yoga for helping him look younger.

And studies have shown that doing regular yoga is a great way to slow down the clock.

Researchers from Arizona, the West Indies and India have reviewed previous studies to measure whether yoga can really help you age healthily.

The authors wrote in 2011 in the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine : ‘Yoga practice has positive effects on cellular aging, mobility, balance, mental health and prevention of cognitive decline.’

They added that recent research supports the idea that yoga reverses the aging process, as a 12-week program of classical yoga poses, breathing exercises and meditation was associated with “positive changes in the levels of biomarkers of cellular aging.”

Mr. Eddison also credits the ancient practice of yoga for helping him look younger

Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon and the author of Fitness After 40, said that as you age you lose muscle mass, “as much as 15 percent per decade if you’re not active.”

But she said doing yoga plus other strength exercises four to five times a week helps slow this loss.

“The skin is like a curtain to the underlying muscles,” she added. “So when those muscles are tight, you look firmer and your skin is less baggy.”

Skin care routine

Mr Eddison also attributes his youthful appearance to a strict skin care routine.

He uses a day cream, which protects him from the sun, a night cream and an anti-aging cream, which he applies under his eyes.

He also squeezes the skin of his face daily to prevent wrinkles.

Mr Eddison said: ‘I’ve been massaging in anti-aging cream with UV protection for 50 years and to avoid wrinkles under the eyes I’ve been squeezing the skin underneath for most of my life.

Also, I don’t drink or smoke. So take good care of your face, use sun protection and avoid stress. That is it.’