It is common knowledge that physical health is vital to your longevity but maintaining your mental health is also a major contributor to long life and should be taken into proper consideration.
According to years of research, particularly in the “Blue Zones” of the world where people live to a hundred years old, there are several evidence-based factors and practices that sustain good mental health and your life:
- Have Purpose (ikigai or plana de vida)
Research in Blue Zones revealed that finding and having purpose in your life can give you as much as seven years more in life expectancy. Getting up every day and having something fulfilling to do such as volunteering or taking care of something/someone is one way to find purpose. Usually though, purpose is something to be worked on and created. Finding meaning in all of life’s experiences, especially hardships, makes you more resilient and therefore less susceptible to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. Research has shown that “having purpose in life may motivate reframing stressful situations to deal with them more productively, thereby facilitating recovery from stress and trauma.”
- Learn How to Destress
The ways in which people wind-down vary across the Blue Zones but the main point to be learned is that they know how to destress and they do so when needed. Being under constant stress may lead to chronic inflammation which is the root to almost all diseases. Chronic stress is also heavily linked to disorders such as depression, anxiety, insomnia and substance abuse problems which are all enemies of longevity (CAMH, n.d.).
- Put Loved Ones First
Another characteristic that the Blue Zones share is their commitment to their family. An example of this would be caring for their elderly within their own homes and having the whole family help with child rearing. Although there is no consensus in the literature, some studies have shown that helping behaviors and keeping loved ones around can reduce disease and mortality rates of both caregivers and children in the home (Hilbrand et al., 2017; Buettner, 2016). Having a life partner and/or kids can also help longevity in several ways. The longest-running Harvard study on happiness has shown that genuine relationships like spouses help us lead more fulfilling lives. Having kids can also make parents more likely to lead safer, healthier lifestyles than if they were single (Barclay & Kolk, 2018).
- Find the Right Tribe
Finding community and friendships that encourage a healthy lifestyle will not only keep you inspired to stay healthy but will also provide you with a social support system. Social support invokes a feeling of belonging and helps you effectively cope with stress, all of which nurture mental health. Similarly, belonging to a faith-based group is also a common thread among these Blue Zones. Being around caring, supportive people helps you believe that you are capable of overcoming life’s stresses and serves as a protective factor against trauma-induced disorders such as PTSD (Cherry, 2023).
- Good Physical Health
Of course, taking care of your physical health goes hand in hand with your mental health. In these Blue Zones, this is achieved by (i.) constantly moving naturally (without necessarily having a strict fitness routine) and/or (ii.) eating a more plant-based diet with little meat and/or (iii.) abiding by the 80% rule in which you stop eating right before you become uncomfortably full.
