The 9 habits of the world's longest-lived people

The 9 habits of the world's longest-lived people
as published in About Health

People who live in the northern part of Okinawa have the longest disability-free life expectancy in the world. There is little colon or breast cancer, and low rates of cardiovascular disease. If there’s an anti-ageing secret, they’re in on it. So are the people of Sardinia’s highlands, off the coast of Italy. Men live longer than women here, unlike most western cultures. Many Sardinian men are aged over 100, and are still healthy enough to ride bikes and chop wood.

Even in America, spiritual home of the Double-Down Burger (32 grams of fat!), there are pockets of longevity. The men in one Seventh-Day Adventist community in California live an average of 11 years longer than the typical American male.

If you put an Okinawan, a Sardinian and an American Seventh-Day Adventist in a room together, they might struggle to find common ground. But National Geographic researcher, explorer and writer Dan Buettner has found that they all have a remarkable amount in common – at least regarding what helps them live long, healthy lives.

A team of ageing and longevity experts put together by National Geographic and the US National Institute on Aging studied these global hot-spots, and discovered that no matter where in the world they live, the people who lead the longest, healthiest lives have nine things in common.

The world’s top 9 ways to extend your life

1. Move naturally
Great news: the world’s longest-lived people don’t exercise. But just because they don’t hit the gym every day, doesn’t mean they’re inactive. In Okinawa, people sit on the floor: 100-year-old women get themselves up and down from the floor as many as 40 times a day. In Sardinia, houses are multi-storied, so a lot of stairs get climbed daily. Two other habits shared by these healthy old people: tend a garden and take walks.
2. Relax
Stressed people’s bodies enter what’s known as an ‘inflammatory state’, associated with illness and disease. Chilling out for just 15 minutes a day can move you towards a more anti-inflammatory state.
3. Have a sense of purpose
The researchers found that having a sense of purpose about your life – one that doesn’t go away when you retire – is worth around seven extra years of life expectancy. Okinawans call it ‘ikigai’: the reason they get up in the morning. And if you do live to 100, having a sense of purpose in your life is bound to make those extra years more enjoyable!
4. Eat plants
It’s no surprise that long-lived people eat healthily: that means lots of plants and beans, less meat.
5. Drink wine
It may be more surprising that long-lived people drink alcohol – albeit moderately. In the Sardinian highlands, they drink a type of red wine called Cannanau, which has three times more super-healthy polyphenols (such as resveratrol) than any other wine in the world. Taking a resveratrol supplement may have the same effect – minus the extra calories, cost and potential to over-indulge!
6. Eat less
Okinawans live by a 3000-year-old adage, invented by Confucius: Hara hatchi bu. It means: stop eating when your tummy is 80% full. Easier said than done, but eating less is proven to add years to your life.
7. Put your family first
Long-lived people have strong family connections. Buettner calls it the ‘grandmother effect’: keeping your ageing parents close to your family adds about four to six years to your own life expectancy (assuming you don’t end up killing each other!), plus it’s good for your children’s long-term health.
8. Belong
Belonging to a strong community, such as a church, can add four to 14 years to your life expectancy.
9. Choose good friends
It’s also important to surround yourself with the right people. Hang out with healthy people, and you’re much more likely to stay healthy yourself. And when you live a long, active and healthy life, who you chose to fill it with becomes more important than ever.

First published on the About Health newsletter