Live long and prosper

The longest living people in the world all abide by the 'Power 9' rule

- Emily Abbate

EVERY DAY WE’RE INUNDATED WITH THE “RIGHT ” THINGS TO DO TO LIVE A LONGER LIFE.

Drink eight glasses of water a day, they say. Go to the pharmacy for an off-label prescription, advise others. And others task us with the impossible – yet promising – task to just keep a positive mindset. Today, the average life expectancy of an American is 76.4 years, and in 2023 over 70,000 Americans reached their 100th birthday. But in the Blue Zones, or regions of the world where people live exceptionally long lives, individuals are ten times more likely to live to 100. These places – specifically the Barbagia region of Sardinia, Italy, Okinawa, Japan, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and Icaria, Greece – are packed with centenarians. It was only a matter of time until medical researchers, demographers, epidemiologists, and anthropologists dug in to find out the common denominators among these places. Thus, emerges the Blue Zones “Power Nine” – or nine things that the five places who have the highest proportions of people who reach age 100 – have in common. National Geographic’s Dan Buettner, published these findings in his book, The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest. We tapped our own longevity experts to weigh in on each of the nine pillars. 

1 Move naturally