To increase your lifespan by 10-12 years, try applying these 9 tips.
A person's average lifespan could increase by 10-12 years by adopting the lifestyle of residents in green zones.
According toBlue ZonesThe average life expectancy for an American today is 78.2 years. But more and more Americans are turning 100.
To uncover the secrets to longevity, longevity researcher Dan Buettner and his colleagues collaborated with National Geographic to identify and study the world's longest-living people. Most of the answers lay in their lifestyles and environments (genetics accounted for only about 20%).
The researchers then worked with a group of demographers to identify the groups of people around the world who had the highest life expectancy, or where the highest percentage of people lived to be 100 years old.
Accordingly, there are 5 zones, also known as green zones, that meet these criteria, including:
- The Barbagia region of Sardinia has the highest number of men living to a ripe old age in the world.
- Ikaria, Greece, has the lowest middle-aged mortality rate and dementia incidence rate in the world.
- The Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, with the lowest middle-aged mortality rate in the world, is also home to the second-highest concentration of long-lived men.
- Seventh-day Adventists (with the largest concentration around Loma Linda, California, USA) live 10 years longer than their peers in North America.
In Okinawa, Japan, women over 70 are the longest-living population group in the world.
Researchers have found the following nine commonalities among these five green zones:
Natural movement
Gardening can help improve quality of life and increase longevity. Photo: Stock.adobe
The world's longest-living people don't lift weights, run marathons, or go to the gym. Instead, they live in environments that constantly push them to move without thinking. They garden and don't have modern machinery for housework and gardening.
Live with purpose.
Okinawans call itIkigaiand the Nicoya people call itplan de vidaBoth mean "the reason I wake up in the morning." Knowing your purpose in life is equivalent to gaining seven years of life.
Relieve stress
Even people in green zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, which is linked to all age-related diseases. The world's longest-living people have habits we don't have that help relieve stress.
Okinawans spend a few minutes each day remembering their ancestors, Seventh-day Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap, and Sardinians spend time doing things that bring them joy.
The 80% Rule
Experts recommend you only eat about 80% of your food. (Illustration: Blue Zone)
"Hara hachi bu"—a 2,500-year-old Okinawan mantra recited before meals—reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full. That 20% difference between feeling neither hungry nor full can be the difference between weight loss or weight gain.
People in the blue zone eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don't eat any more meals for the rest of the day.
Plant-based diet
Legumes are an important component of the diet of the inhabitants of the green region. (Illustration: NP)
Legumes, including fava beans, black beans, soybeans, and lentils, form the basis of most centenarian diets. Meat—primarily pork—is eaten on average only five times a month. Portions are 100-150 grams, roughly the size of a deck of cards.
Wine
People in all Green Zones (except Seventh-day Adventists) drink alcohol in moderation and regularly. Those who drink alcohol in moderation live longer than those who do not drink alcohol.
The trick is to drink 1-2 glasses a day (preferably Cannonau Sardinia wine), with friends and/or with food. And you can't possibly drink all 14 glasses in one day.
Beliefs
All but five of the 263 centenarians interviewed belonged to some religious community. The study showed that attending religious services or visiting temples four times a month added 4-14 years to one's lifespan.
Loved ones come first.
Successful centenarians in green zones prioritize family. This means they live near their parents and grandparents, they commit to a life partner (which can add up to three years to their lifespan), and they invest time and love in their children.
Join a healthy community
The world's longest-living people have either chosen or been born into social circles that promote healthy behavior. Okinawans have created "moais," groups of five friends committed to each other for life.
Research from the Framingham Study shows that smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness are all contagious. Therefore, the social networks of long-lived individuals have favorably shaped their health behaviors.
To live to 100, you probably need genetics. But most of us are capable of living to 90 and experiencing virtually no chronic diseases. As Seventh-day Adventists demonstrate, an average person's lifespan could be increased by 10-12 years by adopting a green lifestyle.
