I don’t really have time to Netflix these days, but this caught my eye! I’m definitely not aiming to live to be a centenarian, but I would want to live for as long as I can with vitality. For the summarized version of the research, just skip right to the last episode (4th).
We now live in an environment of ease and excess. We shape our environment, and in turn, they shape us. (I really can’t agree more with this!) So what they’ve discovered was the commonality and lifestyles of the environment, they shared the below traits:
Move naturally
- I’m so glad intense exercise isn’t part of the equation. Walking is. Simply create more opportunities to walk and integrate them into your lifestyle. Gentle, low-intensity physical activity.
- Do their daily chores/routines by hand.
Peaceful outlook
- Unwind: They have the same stresses, but they have the right outlook and sacred rituals to unwind the stress.
- Faith: They tend to belong to belong to a faith-based community.
- Purpose: Different cultures had a vocabulary for purpose.
Ikigai (Japanese) / Plan De Vida (Spanish)
Eat wisely
- Whole, plant-based food.
- Eat in moderation: Hara hachi bu, which means eat until you’re 80% full.
Connect with community
- Family first: They invest in their partners and parents/children so people stay together / aging parents live just nearby.
Old folks lose about 2–6 years when put in a retirement home. - Moai (Japanese) invest in a circle of friends to keep around for life who will become your tribe.
Singaporeans are living longer
Surprised to see Singapore was labelled as a Blue Zone 2.0. But we have an ageing population. 1 in 4 will be over 65 by 2030. I really appreciated the fact that Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) incentivizes families to stay near each other. This encourages children to take care of their ageing parents, and in turn increase life expectancy.
Didn’t know that the government subsidized brown rice to encourage more hawkers to offer it in their menus. Setting up nudges and defaults to make the healthier choice the unavoidable choice.
And how do they plan for the next generation of housing for seniors, how to create casual, social interactions to try to combat loneliness? As they mentioned, loneliness is a function of the environment we live in. They are planning amenities like a “club sandwich” where buildings have space for multiple uses, encourage interaction and still offer convenience.
At the end of the day, we should aspire to apply the Blue Zone wisdom to transform our environment and make the healthy choice the easy choice.
The same things that help us live a long, healthy life are the same things that make life worth living.
