How far would you go to stay looking and feeling younger for longer? Would you have all the blood removed from your body, washed, then replaced?

A growing number of longevity clinics are helping the rich to slow the ageing process through rigorous testing, personalised diet and exercise plans – if you have more than £50,000 a year to spare. I don’t have a billionaire’s budget, but at 50, I’m in the thick of perimenopause with brain fog, hot flushes and disturbed sleep.

 So, can a longevity clinic help me? I try four of London’s most exclusive private members’ health clubs to find out…

Shift the stress

solice.health, membership from £5,950 a year

Mayfair-based Solice offers everything from a 24/7 GP service to the latest alternative therapies, including sound healing and physiotherapy. Membership starts at £5,950 a year, rising to £54,000 a year for extras including bespoke dietary services and a car to pick you up for your ­consultation.

The clinic looks like a billionaire’s pied-a-terre. I’m greeted by the founders, orthopaedic surgeon Dr Liza Osagie-Clouard, and longevity guru, Dr Tamsin Lewis and given in-depth blood tests .

Membership starts at £5,950 a year, rising to £54,000 a year for extras including bespoke dietary services and a car to pick you up for your ­consultation. The clinic looks like a billionaire’s pied-a-terre.

When I get the results three weeks later, I’m pleasantly surprised to find that according to one test which measures telomeres, protein structures that shorten and fray with age, I’m eight years younger than my real age. And, thanks to taking Ozempic for the last year I also note my previously high cholesterol score of 6.6 has dropped to 5.6. 

However, the Dutch test which tracks hormonal balance, reveals that I’m a stressed out, shallow breather, running on burnout levels of cortisol. This explains why I’m so tired as low cortisol can result in low blood pressure (which I have) joint aches and low mood: Cortisol is responsible for regulating blood pressure and the immune system and it also affects our energy levels.

I’m prescribed a course of breath work classes, with guru Rob Rhea dubbed a natural psychedelic by fans, to lower my blood pressure and relax my nervous system.

Lying on a heated infrared mat, I breathe through my mouth in a series of intense exercises. After five minutes I feel nauseous and dizzy but persevere. Then I feel a fizzing sensation under the palms of my hands – like I’m holding two large orbs of energy. After the session my brain fog is gone. And for the next week I sleep deeper and longer – eight hours instead of my usual broken six. Bliss.

Budget-friendly tip: Why not dowload self-styled ‘nervous system teacher’ James Dolwer’s ‘Breath with James app and follow his classes.

The brain boost

Hooke.london, from £15,000

Founded by former hedge fund manager, Lev Mikheev, the Hooke Clinic caters to the worried well-off with advanced diagnostic testing.

For an initial fee of £15,000, a comprehensive investigation is carried out. This includes an ultrasound of major organs, a colonoscopy, endoscopy, blood test, mammogram, electrocardio-gram and whole genome sequencing, among other tests.

These tests flag the risk of cancers, diabetes, and heart disease long before the NHS can. Early detection is key to securing 20 to 30 extra years of optimal health, according to the clinic.

Olivia Falcon was hooked up to a computer to evaluate her brain processing power

I check in for Hooke’s newest exclusive test, the WAVi scan (£250, for members), an electroencephalogram (EEG) to help diagnose conditions including ADHD, sleep disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome and dementia. WAVi looks like a cycle helmet but contains electrodes applied to my scalp. 

I am hooked up to a computer to evaluate my brain processing power. The first test measures brain voltage and reaction time and I’m tasked with clicking the computer mouse at flashing arrows on the screen. 

My brain reaction time is fast which means my senses (sight, hearing and touch) which inevitably decline with age are in good working order, but my Theta (slow brain waves) and Beta (fast waves) ratio is imbalanced which indicates anxiety and stress. I don’t have a history of anxiety, although the week I did this test I was fretting about my workload.

Hooke believes the best way to improve brain function is through personalised nutrition and fitness in their state-of-the-art gym, which they say is clinically proven to outweigh ‘brain exercises’.

Budget-friendly tip: Commit to regular exercise and eat more protein-based meals and different coloured fruits and vegetables.

Fitness fast track

Surrenne.com, annual membership from £10,000 plus £5,000 joining fee

Beneath the Emory hotel in Knightsbridge, Surrenne private members’ club is part spa, part clinic, part fitness studio. There’s a swimming pool that pipes underwater meditation mantras and a snow shower. 

I head to Tracy Anderson’s (trainer to J Lo and Gywneth Paltrow) first UK fitness studio, which is heated to 30 degrees to detox skin. I start with an Iso-Kentic Band Class that involves a puppet-like pulley system of coloured latex bands suspended from the ceiling to crank up cardio function while sculpting lean muscle. 

Olivia tries an Iso-Kentic Band Class that involves a pulley system of coloured latex bands

Then I try the Blood Flow Restriction Training (BRT) £165 per session. During the twenty-minute workout with weights, my arms and legs are strapped with electronic cuffs which restrict 30 per cent of my blood flow meaning my muscles have to work harder. A small amount of exercise with a big impact on the body – it’s the lazy girl’s dream. The workout is actually quite painful, my muscles burn and ache but thankfully the short duration makes it semi bearable.

Budget-friendly tip: If you want to try BRT at home, you can buy Blood Flow Restriction Bands from £10 on Amazon.co.uk, and I would recommend investing in the electronic cuffs (£199 uk.saga.fitness)

Cleanse the blood

thegalenclinic.com, consultations from £500

The Galen clinic is a plush townhouse turned multidisciplinary wellness clinic in Marylebone. Founded by plastic surgeon, Dr Andreas Androulakakis, patients enjoy architectural light installations and a polished marble bar that serves mood-boosting mushroom teas, plus a state-of-the-art operating theatre for mini facelifts and breast and body contouring and a dermatology clinic. 

Olivia undergoes the EBO2 (Extracorporeal Blood Oxygenation and Ozonation therapy

Olivia, pictured at the Galen clinic says her persoal trainer has noticed she is pushing herself much harder in the gym

I try EBO2 (Extracorporeal Blood Oxygenation and Ozonation therapy; from £3,500). A dialysis style treatment, blood is extracted from my arm and infused with oxygen and ozone for the ultimate energy boost. 

It’s then passed through ultraviolet and infrared light to quell inflammation, and filtered to remove fats, cholesterol, heavy metals, mould, diseased dead cells and Beta 2 microglobin, a cell protein associated with cancers and inflammatory diseases. 

Although 99% of my blood is boosted over an hour only 10% is out of the body at one time. I initially felt tired, but woke the following morning at 3am raring to go on four hours sleep. Fans of the treatment claim that boosting cells like this can deliver energy reserves of a much younger person. 

Four weeks on, my personal trainer has noted I’m pushing myself harder in the gym and I haven’t been suffering from my usual 4pm exhaustion.

Budget-friendly tip: Sadly, there is no cheaper alternative – but I’m so convinced by the results I’m going to save up and do it again.