Blue Zones
Milly is helping me live longer!
Theme: The Beauty
Quick Take
Blue Zones: Places where people live unusually long, healthy lives - with strong community and connection at the heart of daily life.
The big lesson: It’s not just what people eat or how much they exercise, it’s who they live, laugh and belong with.
The secret of a longer life? Loving lots of people!
Eternal Youth
Habits that help us live longer aren’t necessarily as difficult as I once thought.
With the way life is these days - wars, poverty, a shortage of housing, climate change - I am not sure I want to live until I’m 100+ but I do want to live a fulfilled, healthy and contented life, so it’s interesting to learn about the Blue Zones.
It’s so good to discover it’s not about being rich, looking beautiful, spending hours in the gym, taking expensive supplements or having regular holidays!
Living Longer Than the World’s Average
Back in the early 2000s, an Italian doctor, Dr Gianni Pes, and a Belgian demographer, Dr Michel Poulain, investigated an unusually high number of men living past 100 years of age in Sardinia.
Their research led to the identification of four more regions around the world where people routinely live longer than the global average. These areas became known as the Blue Zones.
And what’s particularly interesting is that their longevity doesn’t seem to come down to one magic ingredient.
Long Life Is About More Than Genetics
And to start with, I like knowing this! It gives me some power back.
The “Power 9”
Across the Blue Zones, nine common lifestyle habits have been identified. They’re often referred to as the “Power 9”.
🌿 Move Naturally
Forget the gym! The idea is to build movement naturally into everyday life through walking, gardening, household chores, caring for family. It’s simply being active throughout the day.
🎯 Know Your Purpose
Have a reason to get up in the morning.
Purpose doesn’t have to mean chasing a grand career or achieving something enormous. It can be about family, friends, work, volunteering, learning, helping others or simply having something that makes you feel needed and connected.
🛑 Pause
Make time to slow down, rest and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet.
Different Blue Zone communities do this in a variety of ways - through prayer, meditation, naps, quiet time or simply taking a moment to stop and breathe.
🍽️ The 80% Rule
In Okinawa, there is a tradition of eating until you feel about 80% full, rather than continuing until you’re completely stuffed.
It’s a simple reminder to be more mindful of how, and how much, we eat.
I think this also links to the Blue Zone habit of sitting at a table, rather than eating in front of the television, and often sharing meals with other people. I definitely don’t stuff food into my mouth quite so greedily when I’m sitting opposite someone!
🌱 Plant Slant
Eat your greens - and beans!
Beans, lentils, whole grains, vegetables, nuts and leafy greens feature heavily in Blue Zone diets, with meat generally playing a much smaller role.
🍷 Wine at 5
In some Blue Zone communities, people enjoy moderate amounts of alcohol - often wine - with food and in the company of friends.
And apparently, “wine at 5” is a thing!
⛪ Belong
Being part of a faith-based or spiritual community is common in many Blue Zones.
It’s not necessarily about religion itself; it’s also about having a sense of belonging, community and regular connection with others.
❤️ Loved Ones First
Put family first.
Stay close to parents and grandparents, invest in relationships and make time for the people you love.
👥 Good Friends
Surround yourself with people who support healthy behaviours and encourage you to live well.
The people around us matter - probably more than we realise.
Finding Your Purpose
In the Blue Zones, finding your purpose doesn’t mean chasing an amazing career or huge salary, or having an impressive five-year plan.
It can be found in the simple, everyday roles that connect us to other people and to the world around us.
It might be a grandparent who gets up early to walk their grandchildren to school. A neighbour who has an allotment and shares the produce with friends. A retired person passing their skills on to younger generations.
It could mean volunteering at a local centre, learning a new instrument, checking in on a neighbour or simply being there for the people you love.
The Boxes I Can Tick
I can tick five of the nine - and I’m working on the other four!
At the moment, my husband and I are trying to follow the idea of having big breakfasts, smaller lunches and light suppers. It’s tough, though. We do love to nibble in the evening!
Moving Naturally
Next time I feel irritated because I have to get up AGAIN to stop Milly from moving without her frame, get her to the loo, make her a meal, remind her to drink or encourage her to eat, I’m going to feel proud of myself:
I’m moving naturally!
Good Friends
I’m delighted to say that I have quite a few healthy friends - and a couple of vegans in my life - who definitely encourage me to think more about plant-based food than I ever would have done normally. We eat vegan 3-4 times a week now - never thought I’d say that about my meat eating husband!
Family First
Family first? Well, I have Milly living with me, don’t I?! I think that one is definitely ticked.
Purpose
I have always felt a strong sense of wanting to make a difference in the world - ever since I watched The Inn of Sixth Happiness when I was about 12 years old. I have never had a religious faith, although perhaps if I had, I might have been brave enough to work in other countries.
But I’m lucky to have worked in public service in the UK all my life. It has not only been fulfilling, but it really did make me want to get up in the morning.
In recent years, I’ve also spent time around young people, who I love learning from as much as I enjoy encouraging them.
Perhaps that’s my “why”.
Milly, Daughters and Retirement
Yep, despite appearances, I can safely say that Milly is helping us live longer! She is nicely easing us into full retirement as we still have a couple of years to wait before our State Pensions kick in. Having Milly at home means we’re gradually getting used to a different pace of life and finding new ways of spending our time.
Our daughters are helping us too. Not only do they and their partners already tick quite a few of the boxes, but they are also helping my husband tick another one - purpose.
He regularly gets up early to take one of our daughters to the station, saving her expensive parking fees. It’s obviously helpful to her, but I think it’s just as valuable for him. Rather than suddenly going from work to having nowhere he needs to be, he has somewhere to go and someone who needs him. It gives him a reason to get up in the early days of retirement.
And Finally… Wine at 5!
This particular Blue Zone habit has definitely encouraged me to enjoy a drink a little more regularly!
Cheers to a long, healthy and - most importantly - happy life. 🍷
And me?
I’m getting him into wine instead of lager!