Want to live till 100? Experts say if longevity is common in your family, you’re more likely to live longer. But genetics makes up only one part of the equation. The rest? Lifestyle choices. According to a 1996 study on Danish twin pairs, scientists found that genetics account for 25% of longevity and environmental influences account for 75%. Researchers have been studying people’s lifestyle habits in areas of high amounts of longevity – known as “Blue Zones.” Dan Buettner, a National Geographic fellow and founder of the Blue Zones project, identified five original Blue Zones: Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and the Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California. He says these common lifestyle habits from residents in those zones can have a major influence on your longevity.1. Move naturallyPeople in Blue Zones are “mindlessly burning calories” by walking 8,000 to 12,000 steps a day, Buettner said. “Not because they’re going to the gym or CrossFit or doing Pilates classes, it’s because every time they go to work or a friend’s house, it occasions a walk,” Buettner said. 2. Have a purposeIn Okinawa, Japan, the locals call it “Ikigai.” In Nicoya, Costa Rica, the locals call it “Plan de Vida.” Both phrases essentially mean, “why I wake up in the morning.”A 2022 Boston University study found that those with the strongest sense of purpose in life lowered their risk of death by more than 15% compared to people with the least sense of purpose. 3. Be able to de-stressResidents in Blue Zones have daily routines to relieve their stress. Buettner says Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors. Adventists pray. And Ikarians take an afternoon nap. 4. Eat healthfullyIn Blue Zones, people are eating mostly a diet filled with whole food, plant-based and “cheap” ingredients, Buettner said. These include garbanzo beans, lentils and soybeans. 5. Have a strong and supportive communityHaving a strong source of social support can have a strong influence in mortality rates. According to a 2015 study by Mayo Clinic Proceedings, receiving social support from relatives and partners reduced mortality risk by 19% of the study’s 3,220 participants. The study also found that participants reporting social contact with six or seven friends on a weekly basis had a 24% lower mortality risk than did those in contact with zero or one friend. “Making the effort to find three friends whose idea of recreation is something active: tennis, pickleball, biking, gardening,” Buettner said.
Want to live till 100? Experts say if longevity is common in your family, you’re more likely to live longer.
But genetics makes up only one part of the equation. The rest? Lifestyle choices.
According to a 1996 study on Danish twin pairs, scientists found that genetics account for 25% of longevity and environmental influences account for 75%.
Researchers have been studying people’s lifestyle habits in areas of high amounts of longevity – known as “Blue Zones.”
Dan Buettner, a National Geographic fellow and founder of the Blue Zones project, identified five original Blue Zones: Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and the Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California.
He says these common lifestyle habits from residents in those zones can have a major influence on your longevity.
1. Move naturally
People in Blue Zones are “mindlessly burning calories” by walking 8,000 to 12,000 steps a day, Buettner said.
“Not because they’re going to the gym or CrossFit or doing Pilates classes, it’s because every time they go to work or a friend’s house, it occasions a walk,” Buettner said.
2. Have a purpose
In Okinawa, Japan, the locals call it “Ikigai.” In Nicoya, Costa Rica, the locals call it “Plan de Vida.” Both phrases essentially mean, “why I wake up in the morning.”
A 2022 Boston University study found that those with the strongest sense of purpose in life lowered their risk of death by more than 15% compared to people with the least sense of purpose.
3. Be able to de-stress
Residents in Blue Zones have daily routines to relieve their stress.
Buettner says Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors. Adventists pray. And Ikarians take an afternoon nap.
4. Eat healthfully
In Blue Zones, people are eating mostly a diet filled with whole food, plant-based and “cheap” ingredients, Buettner said.
These include garbanzo beans, lentils and soybeans.
5. Have a strong and supportive community
Having a strong source of social support can have a strong influence in mortality rates.
According to a 2015 study by Mayo Clinic Proceedings, receiving social support from relatives and partners reduced mortality risk by 19% of the study’s 3,220 participants. The study also found that participants reporting social contact with six or seven friends on a weekly basis had a 24% lower mortality risk than did those in contact with zero or one friend.
“Making the effort to find three friends whose idea of recreation is something active: tennis, pickleball, biking, gardening,” Buettner said.