Blue Zone residents still experience stress and live to 100 - the difference is how they handle it

Blue Zone culture has become a huge source of inspiration for those in the wellness circles, with the ultimate goal of trying to live better for longer.

If you're not familiar, it's the term used to describe areas of the world where people live to be 100 years old (or even older) at a higher-than-average rate, often put down to the specific lifestyle that they live.

They eat well, move more, have strong social circles, and reside in destinations where being outside in nature is more common than doomscrolling in bed - which, in turn, is a recipe for a happy, long life.

The world's five current Blue Zones are known as Okinawa (Japan), Sardinia (Italy), Ikaria (Greece), Nicoya (Costa Rica), and Loma Linda (California).

It's easy to assume that their vitality is attributed to living in locations where many of us would choose to go on holiday and relax. However, it's worth remembering that for the most part, those living there still very much face the same day-to-day challenges as we do.

Dan Buettner, who is one of the original researchers of Blue Zones, explains that it's not necessarily that life's stressors don't exist in Blue Zones - they just handle those setbacks differently.

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One of the 'Power 9' (or common lifestyle and environmental habits shared by Blue Zone inhabitants) is centred in particular around stress.

We all recognise stress - whether that's in work, relationships, or finances to name but a few - and we all have our own coping mechanisms, which we can all admit are both good and bad.

The difference is that in Blue Zones, they build the capacity to recover from stress more effectively.

"People in Blue Zones live below what would be considered the US poverty line", Buettner notes of some of the challenges they face, in an Instagram video. "What they have that we've forgotten, that our grandparents and great grandparents always paid attention to, were sacred daily rituals that unwound the stress of the human condition."

He goes on to explain that Okanawans engage in ancestor veneration (a practice involving the respect and remembrance of loved ones after their passing), while those in Christian countries might use prayer as a way of unwinding.

For others, it could be as simple as taking a short nap.

"The Icarians and Costa Ricans are napping just about every afternoon, or at the very least they're doing happy hour", he continues.

"These daily rituals help lower stress, lower cortisol, which also tends to lower inflammation."

Chronic inflammation is often noted as a root cause of much age-related disease, with Buettner branding the improved handling of stress as a "free supplement" in itself.

In doing so, we're actively improving our chances of making it to our 80s and beyond in good health.

So, while relocating to Sardinia may not be on the cards just yet, perhaps it's about time we took a leaf or two out of their books.

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