100-year-old sisters share 3 tips to stay mentally sharp

Photos from Shirley Hodes's 105th birthday celebrations last year. (Image credit: @ls_carolinas/Twitter)

"I don't feel old, that's the truth," declared 106-year-old Shirley Hodes who lives in US's North Carolina. Her sister, 103-year-old Ruth Sweedler, also has impressive recall and is known for making good conversation about what's going on in the world.

"My doctor loves to talk to me," Sweedler told CNBC Make it. "He'd say, 'You're amazing.' And I'd say, 'Because I'm old?' And he'd say, 'No! Because you're sophisticated.'" Sweedler, lives in a retirement home in Connecticut, and is proud of the way she has retained her faculties. "I don't talk like an old lady," she told the publication.

Together, the sisters opened up about what keeps them mentally sharp at such a ripe age.

Sweedler said she "loved to work". She was an amateur actress in local theater productions and stayed "very active" in both her synagogue and in various Jewish organizations. "Not that I'm so religious, but I'm aware that I'm Jewish, and I like being involved," she told CNBC Make It.

Hodes, on the other hand, loved reading. "I always did a lot of reading. That's the best thing for your mind," she told the publication. When her two children were older, Hodes got a full-time job as a paraprofessional and a teacher's aide and only retired at age 70. "I loved working at the high school," she said.

Happy Friday and 105th birthday week to Trinity View resident Shirley Hodes! #happybirthdaypic.twitter.com/32Uf8HzE7Y

— Lutheran Services Carolinas (@ls_carolinas) September 10, 2021

She also said that she would have been thrilled to be a journalist since "I always loved interviewing people." Now, however, she uses her skills in getting to know other residents of her assisted living facility.

"Being engrossed in what you do is very important," Hodes said. It's satisfying to "make full use of your talents," and "it makes life so much pleasanter," she added.

Read more: Oldest living American dies at 115. She has 42 great-great-grandchildren

Both the sisters had the same opinion when it came to the importance of family and a good marriage. "There's nothing better. It's so wonderful to love and be loved," Sweedler said.

Hodes said that she had been very lucky. "My husband was easy to get along with," she said adding that they had "a wonderful relationship" until his death.

"The people you're surrounded with, friends, relatives, family... That's what you'll remember the most," she added.

Sweedler used to walk several kilometres every day, but her mobility now is limited. She, however, is grateful for what she has. "Luckily, I still can read," she said, "and I read wonderful stuff."

Hodes, on the other hand, shares that "you can't have everything." And "when you have the important things in life, you have to realize it.

She told the publication that she's a lucky person. "Although I've had illnesses and problems, I've overcome them," Hodes said. "I'm in decent health, enjoying health, thankful for a wonderful life. That sustains me and keeps me going."

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