Want to remain young? Keep smartphone, watch reality TV

London: Owning a smartphone, watching reality TV shows and beating younger relatives at games are some of the secrets to keeping young, a new study has claimed. Researchers also found that silver surfers, who spend more time with their grandchildren or try to catch the eye of someone younger tend to feel more alive. The study of 1,000 people over their 50s found the secrets of youth include trying new food, fancying a younger celebrity and knowing what Twitter is all likely to give a burst of life, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

The research, which was commissioned by healthcare specialist Benenden, found that age really is just a number with the average person claiming their youth secrets lead to them feeling 18 years younger than they are. During the study, many thought that staying up past midnight led to feeling alive, while eating spicy food and keeping in touch with the local gossip are guaranteed to keep a person fresh. Using smartphone apps, eating chocolate and having a younger partner all appeared to keep many over fifty people in good nick.

Nine in ten of those surveyed thought that how old you feel as a person mostly depends on your outlook and attitude to life with 70 per cent also saying it's crucial to laugh regularly. The average respondent was aged 59 - but the age people actually felt was 18 years younger at 41.

'Trying new food' topped the 20 ways to stay young followed by 'Surfing the web' at number 2, 'Reading books that challenge me' at number 3 and 'Having sex' at number 4. 'Dancing around to music' came at number 5, 'Having a Facebook account' at 6 and 'Going out/socialising with grown up kids/ grandchildren' came at number 7. 'Knowing what Twitter is' ranked eight followed by 'Eating chocolate' at 9, 'Staying up past midnight' at 10.

'Eating spicy food' also made to the happiness list at 12, 'Beating younger relatives at games' followed at number 13, 'Keeping up to date with the gossip of people I know' at 14 and 'Getting tipsy' at 15. The list included 'Go swimming' at 15, 'Catching the eye of someone younger' at 16 and 'Using phone apps' at 17, 'Having a younger partner' at 18. 'Watching the latest cinema releases' and 'Watching the latest television stand' at 19 and 20 position respectively.