The recent Netflix series on the Blue Zones (BZ) has created a lot of activity for my inbox. Many of you know I have travelled to most of the Blue Zones, researching them in person, driven by a passion for understanding and communicating how we can all achieve a strong sense of well-being in our everyday lives and extend our lifespan in optimal health.

It has been interesting to read what has been reflected in viewer’s understanding of the documentaries. As a short-term response, I decided to drop a quick blog to debunk a couple of myths that seem to be growing and offer a few easy hacks you can incorporate into daily life that are part of the BZ’ default lifestyle: The most common feedback themes I have received are below:

Myth 1: “It seems you need to live remotely to emulate the lifestyle of people in the BZ.” A: While location contributes to supporting many of the characteristic lifestyles, there are variances between the different BZ that are culturally based and easily adapted into more western-based locations. Remember, Loma Linda in California is a blue zone, and now Singapore has been declared a 2.0 B , reverse-engineered by forward-thinking leaders.

Myth 2: “Blue Zones populations eat a plant-based Mediterranean diet.” A: Loma Linda is the only Blue Zone with a predominance of plant-based eating. It is home to the USA’s largest community of Seventh-Day Adventists. Eating vegetarian or vegan diets is traditional but is no longer a compulsory practice.

Myth 3: “The BZ are free from Western pressures and have a more subsistence-based living than we do.” A: While some elements of more traditional practices exist, all the homes I visited were integrated with modern living and technology, and most had lovely big family homes. My interpreter’s family in Sardinia had several houses; for everyday living, holidays and short stays in Cagliari, the major city in the south. Most people I connected with were well-educated and utilised aspects of “Western Comfort” to their advantage while consciously preserving the more traditional practices that served their culture, community, and well-being. 

Small Changes, Big Impact:  3 Low Hanging Fruit from The Blue Zones

Significant differences in characteristics exist between all the BZ, but many common threads run through them, such as community and connection, Nutrition, activity, and life purpose. Some attributes are less well-known or documented. These characteristics contribute to their overall well-being, and I think these are transferable to any environment:

Here are three lifestyle characteristics I documented on my visits and identified them as contributing to their physical, social and emotional well-being. You could easily turn any of these into a lifestyle hack/practice despite not living in the same region.  

Wine and beer are often consumed, but this is used appropriately as a mood enhancer in small amounts.

1. How you eat is as important as what you eat: Most people who watched the Netflix documentary seemed convinced that the Mediterranean-based diet was primarily responsible for BZ longevity and good health. The traditional diet varies between regions. While spray-free, seasonally and locally sourced produce was a theme, I experienced that HOW they eat their meals in the BZ was equally important. They tend to eat communally. Long, slow meals are the theme. In Ikaria and Sardinia, lunch is the main meal, and many workers have a two-hour break, sitting together, connecting, eating thoughtfully, and enjoying each other’s company. Wine and beer are often consumed, but this is used appropriately as a light mood enhancer in small amounts. Often, they finish a meal and play a few rounds of cards together before returning to work. It seems there is a lot of tradition that supports good digestion as well, although lunch is a main meal it’s always offered with a salad and the food isn’t heavy. Taking two hours for lunch might be a stretch for most of us reading this, but having lunch with other people at work is a valuable exercise and will slow down how quickly you eat.  Snatching bites at your desk isn’t ideal for enjoyment or digestion. There is a great “crime against food” test you can take to see how often you are guilty of eating while working: Tip your keyboard upside down and see how many food fragments  land on your desk!

• Take your sunglasses off for a few minutes a day: One of the small nuances that suddenly dawned on me after visiting 15 Sardinian villages in the Babbagian and Neuro regions was no one wore sunglasses. Yet, they were all outside walking, having coffee, meeting up, chatting, and looking each other in the eye when they talked. Connection and interaction are critical social factors supporting their well-being, and I was quickly socially regulated, automatically removing my glasses when meeting with the communities. Quality sleep is well associated with good health outcomes, and the (BZ)  I visited also have low levels of anti-depressant use. Sunglasses are gathering a lot of lot of disdain from sleep experts.  Most of us spend too much time in artificial lighting and are losing the ability to regulate our biology naturally. Sleep quality and length are significant issues for many of us. Wearing sunglasses and exposure to artificial lighting well into the evening interferes with our circadian rhythms, particularly our ability to produce Melatonin. Of course, there are issues living in a region with a high UV index, and caution is advised. Still, the recommendations from the sleep experts I follow are the importance of getting even small amounts of natural sunlight into the eyes during the day.  us.

• Schedule purposeful downtime: The pace of life is so much less hectic in the (BZ). They work, socialise, take their children to activities, exercise, and travel like the rest of us, but they also have much quality time together and rest. In Loma Linda, I spent the day with the most delightful 98-year-old, Paul, who worked 9 hours a day, six days a week, in service of humanity. Sunday was his sabbath, and he rested. Paul called it his “mini vacation.” Paul is adamant that he can work at the pace he does by remediating with a day of restoration, which is part of the Seventh-Day Adventist practice. As he said, he doesn’t fall in a heap sick or need to get away because of this strategy and commitment to self. I adapted this and coined a phrase called “self-sabbath”. This is a period I commit to giving myself each week that involves no obligation or work and invariably involves some enjoyment in nature.

(which some studies now show reduces cortisol – the stress hormone)