An active couple in the 80s Share 3 tips to stay happy and healthy

When two employees of the National Institutes of Health met during a work game in 1965, it was love at first sight.

“We talked about cars. I told him that I was driving a Mustang and that I did not care about the kind of car he had, I was just hoping that it was not a corvette,” Business Insider Jackie Friewald, 83, who was a laboratory technician at NIH, in Business Insider.

Bill Friedewald, 86, was a doctor and researcher in epidemiology and designed clinical trials at the NIH – and actually conducted a corvette. But that did not prevent the two from getting married in 1967, a year and a half after starting to go out together.

Three children, eight grandchildren, moving to New York and 57 years later, the couple still have fun together. They moved to sun sunrise at East 56th, a senior life community in Manhattan, NYC, in September 2024.

Bill Friedewald said their marriage lasted so long due to their common interests. Spending time with each other is always “fun” and “easy”, said his wife. They go to Rome every summer and Paris every fall.

“We are not really special, but every day is a special day,” he said.

The couple shared their advice to live a long and healthy life.

Eat a Mediterranean diet

Bill Friedewald said that the couple “had learned the value of a Mediterranean diet” at NIH – Although they appreciated the “cheating meals” like the fried chicken from time to time.

The diet was named the best for the eighth consecutive year by the US News and World report. Based on the traditional ways that people eat on the Mediterranean coast, the diet favors whole food, fruits and vegetables and legumes, while limiting processed foods, added sugars and red meat.

The wider Mediterranean lifestyle is also associated with longevity. A study in 2023 published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings revealed that British adults who lived a Mediterranean lifestyle – which involves resting enough, having solid social ties, doing exercise regularly and eating with friends and family – had a risk of 29% death of any cause than lifestyles.

Remain active

Bill Friedwald ran the New York marathon twice and has bicycle all his life, While his wife stayed in shape while walking and stretching throughout the day.

The couple’s desire to continue moving has not disappeared now that they are in the 80s.

They make Pilates with an instructor three times a week in their senior community of life because they appreciate simple movements. Jackie Friedewald also tries to incorporate as much movement in her day as possible, starting with stretching on the side of her bed when she wakes up.

Exercise is ideal for longevity and health at higher age. Regular strength training can help preserve muscle mass, allowing the elderly to carry out daily movements that may seem second nature when we are younger, like entering and lengthening to pick up things on the ground, Lauren Hurst, a personal trainer who works with elderly, previously said Bi.

Pilates is good for the elderly because it is with low impact and adaptable for different ages and fitness levels, according to the UCLA Health.

Friends and family are important

Bill and Jackie Friedewald think that relationships with friends and family are important to live a long and happy life.

Jackie Friedewald was a mother at home throughout the childhood of her children, whom she “adored absolutely”.

The couple have regular phone and facetime calls with their family, and love to meet in person during the holidays – especially since their family is developing.

They are also still very close with many friends. On the third Wednesday of each month, Jackie Friedewald dinner with a group of her friends.

They do not think that their relationships with friends have changed a lot over the years, because they have been “diligent” to stay in touch with them via coherent meetings and phone calls.

Research suggests that having solid social ties can help you live longer. A research meta-revision in 2021 published in the Revue Frontiers in Psychology revealed that the link between social support and longevity is equivalent to the strength of the link between non-tabalism and longevity.

Researchers have suggested that this could be due to the fact that social support acts as a “stress buffer”, reducing the production and inflammation of cortisol in the nervous system, the neuroendocrine system and the immune system – which increase the risk of long -term disease and death.