'Simple' five-minute exercise routine could be the secret to living a long life

Lots of people in this world really want to live as long as possible but nobody can seem to agree on what the best way to do that is.

The doctors tell us that eating healthily and keeping active will give us the best chance of a long and happy time in this world but there are other schools of thought.

One woman who made it to the age of 101 said that the actual key to living a long time was drinking lots of alcohol, mainly tequila.

Someone else said keeping active was important but supported the idea that a bit of alcohol was helpful, though her tipple of choice was Guinness.

Another lady who reached 100 said her secret was not talking to strange men, while a woman who hit the age of 108 claimed the key to a long life was having dogs instead of children.

KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images

Others claim the secret is chugging energy drinks, though we don't recommend you try this approach, while a doctor claims he made his body 20 years younger by following something he called the 'pegan diet'.

Rather less encouraging is the 120-year-old man who said the secret to living so long was to not have sex, which doesn't sound like much fun.

Meanwhile, there's that guy who is spending an absolute fortune trying to make himself younger, but it's possible that the real way to do it is five minutes of exercise each day.

Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, with the country being about four years ahead of the UK in that regard and if you ask someone whether they'd like to live another four years they'd probably say yes.

This is often put down to a healthy diet and an active lifestyle even in old age, and a popular exercise routine known as 'Radio Taiso' helps keep people active.

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

Every morning at 6:30am in Japan an exercise routine is broadcast on public radio with people all across the country joining in for just a few minutes to start the day with some activity.

The exercises are calisthenics which require nothing but the body's own weight to do and in this case is a series of stretches and movements people of all ages can try.

The original idea actually came from the US and their radio calisthenics which started in the 1920s and soon gained popularity in Japan.

The broadcasts were banned in 1945 after Japan's defeat in the Second World War, but after the exercise routine was changed they returned in 1951 and have been played ever since.