4 Longevity Habits From the World’s Healthiest Communities
I recently watched the 2023 Netflix documentary series, “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones” and was reminded how much our lifestyle impacts not only our weight but our overall health.
If you haven’t seen it, the series is based on a 2004 collaborative study between author Dan Buettner, National Geographic, and the National Institute on Aging.
The series identifies five geographic areas dubbed “blue zones.” These are all areas with high concentrations of centenarians, or people who live to 100 years or older.
Not only do people in these regions live longer, but they tend to experience lower incidence of disease and overall higher quality of life.
So what makes these regions so special?
It turns out that the answer is quite simple. Small lifestyle changes that center healthy eating, an active lifestyle, a sense of purpose, and strong community ties, all seem to support these long term health goals.
Learn how to adopt some of these changes into your own life and enjoy better health, longer.
What Are the Blue Zones?
There are five regions that researchers have identified as blue zones. These include Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California.
We know what you’re thinking: what on Earth do these five regions have in common?
It turns out that while the details of what they eat, the languages they speak, and their daily routines are remarkably varied, these five regions still have some basic commonalities which shape the lifestyle of a blue zone.
These common traits include a lifestyle that centers on natural movement, a healthy and plant-based diet, a sense of purpose and focus on stress reduction, and social connection.
Let’s take a closer look at these four categories and how they break down into easy lifestyle changes you can make in your own life.
1. Stay Active
You don’t need us to tell you that activity is important to a healthy lifestyle, but you might be surprised that blue zones don’t necessarily focus on hitting the gym to stay fit.
Structured workouts are a great way to build muscle and lose or maintain your weight, but this might not translate to longevity in the same way that natural movement does.
Move Naturally Every Day
Natural movement includes any activity that mimics the way our ancestors moved. When we walked instead of drove to get where we were going, or did manual labor to complete chores like food gathering and preparation.
There are a few ways you can introduce more natural movement into your daily routine.
If possible, switch to commuting by bike or by public transportation, which encourages you to walk more. You can also use your lunch hour and breaks to get some fresh air and walk the neighborhood around your office.
You can also structure your social time around natural movement by hanging out with your friends and family at a park or even parking your car downtown and window shopping on foot in your city.
Finally, take a up a hobby that encourages you to move more, such as playing with your pet, hiking, rock climbing, or even gardening. Bonus, you’ll benefit double from the fresh food you grow!
2. Have the Right Outlook
A healthy lifestyle isn’t all about how you move and eat. One thing the blue zones share in common is having a positive and purposeful outlook on life.
Have a Strong Sense of Purpose
Nicoyans have a common refrain that says, “plan de vida.” In Okinawa, people use the term, “ikigai.” Both terms loosely translate to, “why I wake up in the morning.
Here at TeleHealthNP, we call this, “finding your why.”
Research suggests that having something that feels like a bigger purpose in life can add up to seven years to your life expectancy.
Some people derive this meaning from their job, but most people don’t feel this sort of deep spiritual satisfaction from their career, and that’s okay too.
You can also find meaning through volunteerism, family, community activism, making art, writing, spirituality, or religion.
Spending some time finding your calling, or what makes you feel spiritually fulfilled, will help add meaning to your days and give you a reason to wake up every morning.
Minimize Stress With Daily Downtime
Everyone, even people who enjoy longevity in blue zone areas, are not exempt from experiencing stress. And stress can have a big impact on your health, causing chronic inflammation and disease.
It turns out that what people in blue zones do have are techniques built into their everyday routines that reduce stress.
For example, Sardinians sit down each evening for happy hour with their friends and family, a time to unwind and let go of the day’s stress.
In Okinawa, there are a few minutes each day taken to remember and celebrate their ancestors.
In Ikaria, an afternoon siesta is built into the community’s routine, with stores and restaurants shutting down for an hour or so, so that people can rest.
In other communities, people pray, take tea breaks, practice gratitude, or go for walks.
Each of these cultural practices are different, but they share one commonality: people who live longer tend to take time each and every day to engage in stress reducing activities.
3. Eat Wisely
Of course diet plays a role in health. Western diets are particularly unhealthy, even earning the name S.A.D. (Standard American Diet). Many people’s diets consist mostly of highly processed foods high in fat, sugar, and processed meats.
So what are people eating in the blue zones?
Eat Mostly Plants
One thing that might surprise you about centenarian diets is the lack of meat. Meat is eaten sparingly in blue zones, sometimes just a handful of times per month. And the servings are much smaller than those we see in the U.S., just 3-4oz., or the size of a deck of cards.
One lesson we can take from our long-lived neighbors is that we should be eating more plants and less processed food.
All of the blue zone diets consist mostly of fresh vegetables, beans and legumes, and whole grains.
If you think about it, this diet mimics that of our ancestors for whom meat was a rarity, only enjoyed when a hunt was successful or when it was time to cull livestock flock.
We’re not saying you should go vegan to live forever, but try cutting back on meat just a bit, even just reducing your consumption to one meal a day, and mind your portions!
Follow the 80% Rule
In Okinawa, people live by a 2,500 year old Confucian mantra, “hara hachi bu,” spoken before each meal. This loosely translates to, “belly 8 parts out of 10,” otherwise, eat until you are 80% full.
Speaking of S.A.D., American portion sizes are known to be particularly large, especially when eating out. You might also have been raised in a clean plate household, something I often heard growing up, urging me not to waste food by eating until my plate was empty, regardless of hunger.
People in blue zones generally avoid eating until the point of discomfort, like you might feel after Thanksgiving dinner.
What’s more is that the largest meals are consumed early in the day at breakfast. Dinner is typically the smallest portion, enjoyed earlier in the evening, and late night snacks are uncommon.
In your own life, you might consider following this pattern, with a robust breakfast translating to better blood sugar control throughout the day. Avoiding late night meals can also stave off uncomfortable symptoms of indigestion.
You might also introduce a practice of mindfulness around meals, slowing down and taking time to enjoy each bite.
Drink only moderately
Drinking alcohol is not usually touted as a staple of a healthy lifestyle, but the culture of drinking is remarkably different in blue zones compared to other places in the world.
While overconsumption and binge drinking is all too common in the U.S. and around the world, blue zones tend to have a culture of moderate consumption.
While the Adventist community in Loma Linda abstains from alcohol entirely, the other blue zones tend to enjoy about 1-2 glasses of wine each day.
Wine, particularly Sardinian Cannonau wine, can have high polyphenol levels, a naturally occurring plant compound which has antioxidant properties.
If you don’t already indulge in alcohol, we are definitely not saying you have to start drinking to live to 100, but if you have a healthy relationship with alcohol, 1-2 glasses per day seems to be the sweet spot for longevity.
4. Connect With Your Community
Health is often an individualistic topic. We discuss how you should eat, exercise, de-stress, and even sleep, but there is something that we are missing here— community.
Blue zones all share an emphasis on community connections and finding like-minded people.
Find your community
In many blue zone areas, people in the community share a particular faith or religion that creates a sense of community.
Indeed, research finds that those who attend religious meetings, regardless of faith or denomination, at least four times per month feel more connected to their community.
You don’t have to be religious to find your people, though. Simply finding a community of people you align with on a deeper level can have the same benefits.
Maybe you join a hobby group, such as a bookclub, running or hiking group, knitting circle, volunteer group, or even just a group at the dog park. Whatever your interests, you can probably find a group of like minded people you can join.
Prioritize Social Meals and Connection
One important aspect of community in blue zones is sharing meals together. And people in these regions stay close to their family, with generations often cohabitating.
In blue zones, families usually sit down to eat together, without distraction from screens or phones.
This practice helps to slow down the eating process, giving your body time to register fullness and also improves your emotional health in the process.
Sharing a meal also helps you to nurture connections with your loved ones by giving you time to share about your day, discuss problems, and celebrate one another’s joy.
Even if your busy life doesn’t allow for a daily meal together, try to schedule a family dinner at least once a week, when you can all come together and break bread.
How to Start Incorporating These Habits
Change takes time. A lot of these habits and cultural norms are simply harder in our modern world.
Infrastructure is not built to encourage natural movement, we are inundated with processed and convenience foods, and our lives are busier than ever, making it hard to deal with stress and connect with our loved ones.
Changing these things in our own lives takes careful intention, and it’s okay to start small.
Pick one area in your life that feels the most lacking, and see if you can start by making one small change. When you start to see the benefits, you’ll likely be inspired to tack on another change and so on.
What it all really comes down to is that these communities share a cultural practice of slowing down and living more intentionally and with more mindfulness.
Taking care of yourself and others through daily rituals is the norm rather than the exception.
Think of cooking fresh food as an act of self love rather than a burden or a chore. Think of taking a walk in the fresh air as an opportunity to appreciate your body and health rather than something you should do to lose weight.
And most of all, don’t feel guilty for taking time to rest. Rest is productive and necessary and will actually help you to regulate your nervous system, leaving you more motivated in the long run.
Live a Life You Enjoy
Longevity, and life, isn’t about perfection. Like we say about weight loss, sustainable change is about making small choices consistently that serve your greater good.
You don’t need to move to Costa Rica or Greece and change your entire life (unless you want to). What you can do is make small changes that improve your life and ultimately, make you happier and more fulfilled.
Think about what you’ve learned and decide one or two lifestyle changes that feel achievable, what you can start to change right now.
When you do make changes, take time to celebrate yourself and be proud of your accomplishments. It’s not always easy, and you deserve to feel good about yourself for making positive changes.
