March 2022
But longevity can be seen from different angles. Does longevity mean to you, “the number of years one will live ?”
OK, that’s one good way to look at it.
But let me add around this just a little. How about “The number of HEALTHY years one will live”
How does that sound ?
There is a crucial difference between these two statements. It’s just ONE word but it’s a very important one. In fact, the HEALTHY word changes this statement completely.
For a number of reasons, including genetics and the way humans have been designed, our body starts slowly degrading with age. It really starts to show signs of depreciation in our fifties, especially if we don’t take good care of ourselves.
This is why our physical health and our nutrition are vital to prolonging the quality of our fitness and capabilities to move comfortably in the second part of our lives.
BUT, there is another factor that is equally important, if not more, than physical health.
Studies have demonstrated that people living in the so-called “Blue Zones”, all have one thing in common.
Before I go any further, the “Blue-Zones” are the 5 areas in the world where human longevity is at its highest on the entire planet earth. These 5 areas are:
The idea of the blue zones came about when two researchers named Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain discovered that the number of men living above 100 years old was concentrated in the highest numbers in these 5 areas of the world. Many articles and books have been written on this subject and I definitely encourage you to look into this.
What came out of this study though is that, people living in the blue zones all had things in common in their lifestyles. The 5 most common ones were:
You might be surprised by the fact that feeling “not alone” would be so powerful and would help a human being live longer but stop a minute and think. Solitude is amongst one of the biggest and most frequent factors of depression.
“…if we want to maximize our physical health, it may be just as important—if not more so—to focus on our social relationships and to treat others with kindness.”
This is the argument that science writer Marta Zaraska makes in her celebrated book Growing Young: How Friendship, Optimism, and Kindness Can Help You Live to 100.
As she explains in this book, the mental state directly impacts the biological processes in our body. When we experience stress, our bodies undergo a series of changes—output of cortisol (also known as the “stress hormone”) increases and our cardiovascular system activates its “fight or flight” response.
Marta Zaraskas based her book “Growing Young” on hundreds of research papers and on interviews with dozens of scientists from fields as diverse as molecular biochemistry, epidemiology, neuroscience, Asian studies, cyberpsychology, marketing and zoology.
She further goes on to state that the studies on this subject show that building a strong support network of family and friends could lower mortality risk by about 45 percent. This number may seem high to you but remember that this is based on science and research. And she is not the only one recognizing the virtues of social relationships for the benefit of healthy longevity. In his book “The Blue Zones”, National Geographic Fellow and multiple New York Times bestselling author Dan Buettner describes what he calls the “Power 9” as being the 9 criteria that are common to the 5 blue zones areas of the world (as described above).
Based on his own research, he devotes a large percentage of the pie to “Connection” as playing an important role in healthy longevity. In his Power 9 wheel, Connection is further broken down into 3 layers: Sense of belonging, having the right tribe and loved one first.
We have a tendency of taking a different road from our friends and we get “self-sufficient”, sort of speak. It might work for a while but inevitably, the solitude will eventually show its face. So being part of a group of friends, a closely-knit family, a community relationship or a support group brings tremendous feelings of security and alleviates the loneliness factor that is often experienced when one gets a little older. In fact, the body produces additional “happy hormones”, like dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin.
Having a group of people around not only brings the comfort of not being/feeling alone but also creates a very important support system when help is required.
Having close relationships is a pivotal factor in the overall longevity health of everyone. But what about those casual relationships ? They also play an important role. The act of making new friends, even if for a very short period of time, brings out the happy hormones as well so, consider being open to letting someone into your circle of friends all the time. So especially if you are the introvert type, you should make an effort to create connections with people you meet. You never know where this may lead to !
Obviously, you need to take a holistic look at what you require to increase longevity and especially your general health. At a high level, if you devote some time and energy to your physical health, get in the right mindset for your mental & emotional state, surrender a little more towards your spiritual connections, pay attention to what you eat and drink and set yourself on a proper life purpose, you’re on your way towards a long and healthy life.
Sounds like a lot ? You’d be surprised to see how easy it becomes once this all becomes part of your lifestyle.
Lots is also being said about “purpose” and how it plays an important role in healthy longevity. And once you have discovered what it is that makes you vibrate, that makes you lose track of time, you then can enter into what is being called the state of “flow”. In a few words, “flow” is when you perform a task/activity/etc and you are so into it, so concentrated and so enthusiastic about it that you are at your best on a creativity and performance base.
But I will go more into this in my next post so keep an eye out for it soon.
Be in the know !
Get our newsletter directly into your mailbox