A Note on Longevity
Today, I am going to shift gears a little bit with my writing. While I normally write short essays about interpreting my world around me, I want to try something else for a little bit, as I am struggling lately with writing in that way. I have been out of practice for so long and really have not put pen to paper in many months. I want to talk today about some of the things that I am really passionate about as they relate to my career as a geriatric nurse practitioner. I think some of what I will talk about today will apply to you no matter your age, as the whole concept is really related to living well to promote longevity.
A friend helped me this weekend through some clarity coaching where she helped me figure out what it is that I am super passionate about-- we talked about what I would geek out about over wine with colleagues or friends. That was easy for me-- longevity/helping older adults live well, and palliative medicine/end-of-life care. Do those seem to be quite opposite to you? I see it as all related in a larger sense, but I can see how death/dying and how to live longer seem to be in opposition. I think sometimes I have struggled with my work when I am not doing enough of what I love. My friend helped me imagine what it would look like to do what I love every day-- how could I tailor my work to do this every day?
I don't have all of that figured out yet, but one of the first things that we identified is that I could merge writing with my career passions. Why had I never thought of this? I've always considered these two things separate. I had never even considered writing about things that I am passionate about. Is that silly? I'm not sure, but I was grateful for renewed perspective from my friend this weekend, and this is my project for the next few weeks-- putting pen to paper writing about the things that energize me and excite me about the work I do (or want to do).
This whole movement makes me realize how long the human race has searched for a fountain of youth, so to speak. Do those living in the Blue Zones have the answer to this? Maybe so, but when I read about the Blue Zones and the things that are important to them, all I can think is, "Why wouldn't we all be living this way anyways?" So many of the concepts that they live out every day just seem like they make sense, like they are part of living a good life even if not to promote longevity.
The current Blue Zones include Sardinia (Italy), Ikaria (Greece), the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica, Okinawa (Japan), and Loma Linda, CA. Buetner, through his studies, identified nine concepts that emerged as patterns throughout the different Blue Zones that contribute to longevity; these concepts are known as the Power Nine.
Power Nine:
1. Move Naturally: For most of the Blue Zones, prescribed exercise as would occur in a gym setting is not part of every day life. Instead, these individuals have set up their lives in a way where they move naturally through their environment-- walking to their farms to work, working in their gardens outside, not using cars or public transportation, etc. In Sardinia, it is common to walk 5 miles per day!
2. Purpose: Perhaps one of my favorite concepts is the Okinawa concept of ikigai-- your reason for jumping out of bed in the morning, or roughly translated, "reason for being." Oh, I just love this. Your ikigai is proposed to be at the intersection of what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. Here is an image that shows this conceptually.
3. Down Shift: Each of the Blue Zones has their own practice for building routines that help shed and manage stress-- whether it's happy hour, prayer, or napping. Individuals focus on incorporating these practices into their every day life to help manage stress, which is known to cause inflammation.
4. 80% rule: The Okinawans have a mantra for this that reminds them to stop eating when they are 80% full. This is quite different from how we typically eat in the United States-- stuffing ourselves full at every meal as if we will not see another meal again. In many of the Blue Zones, the smallest meal is consumed in late afternoon or early evening, with that being the last thing that they consume for the day.
5. Plant Slant: Beans are the mainstay of meals in the Blue Zones, and most who live in the Blue Zones only eat meat about five times per month on average. Their meals are primarily plant-based with some exceptions.
6. Wine @ 5: In most of the Blue Zones (except Loma Linda, CA with the Adventists), alcohol is consumed regularly in moderate amounts. It is common for 1-2 glasses of wine to be consumed per day in the company of friends or family.
*You may have heard that our American Cancer Society just released new guidelines advising against any alcohol consumption whatsoever-- this is something I need to look into more for a better understanding of why there is such a difference in recommendations between the areas of the world where people live the longest and what the US is now being told in regard to alcohol consumption. This is on my list to research in the coming weeks. My initial thoughts are that the type of alcohol in the Blue Zones may be quite different from what we consume in the US. I know much of the wine in these parts of the world is homemade and does not have a lot of added sugar, which may contribute to more health benefits than what we purchase and consume in the US.
7. Belong: Being part of a faith-based community is important to those who live long lives, and there is research demonstrating that attending faith-based worship services (it does not matter the denomination or type of faith) can extend your life expectancy by several years.
8. Loved Ones First: Family is a priority in the Blue Zones; older parents and grandparents are valued members of the family and live in the home with their children. Not only do they live with their children and grandchildren, but they typically have a specific role that they serve in as valued members of the household. They know their purpose and live it out as loved and valued members of the family. I was reading that in Sardinia, it is offensive to even suggest putting an older family member into a nursing home or institution. They would never even dream to do this.
9. Right Tribe: Social networks and groups of friends that many centenarians keep for life are integral parts of Blue Zone living. In Okinawa, you are born into a social circle of about 5 friends who are your closest friends for the rest of your life; these are called "moias" in Japan.
In the next few weeks, I'll feature some of the Power Nine and talk about how I am trying to live some of these out. I think my favorite to talk about is ikigai, so you can expect to hear more about that one sooner rather than later.
If you want to learn more about the Blue Zones, there are so many resources. I spend a lot of time on the Blue Zones website, which I will list below. Much of the information I have shared today comes from the Blue Zones website. Here are some resources for more reading:
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