Why We Like It

Experience Life has been a fan of Blue Zones™ for some time now. Founded by explorer and author (and our friend) Dan Buettner, Blue Zones is leading the way in healthy-living and aging research by identifying and exploring hot spots around the world where people live the healthiest, longest lives. The cool part? They’re doing it with the help of folks at home through an interactive, online educational project known as the Blue Zones Quest (learn more below).

So far, Buettner and his team have identified five of those healthy hot spots, or what he calls Blue Zones (hence the organization’s name): Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, Calif.; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and the most recent, Ikaría, Greece.

From their findings to date, Blue Zones has identified the Power9, nine common denominators that all of these cultures share, despite being scattered around the world and having no connection to each other. They are:

Move (find ways to move mindlessly, make moving unavoidable)
Plan de Vida (know your purpose in life)
Downshift (work less, slow down, rest, take vacation)
80 percent Rule (stop eating when you’re 80 percent full)
Plant-Power (more veggies, less protein and fewer processed foods)
Red Wine (consistency and moderation)
Belong (create a healthy social network)

Beliefs (spiritual or religious participation)
Your Tribe (make family a priority)

Do the secrets sound familiar? They should — we talk about these same healthy-living behaviors and habits in each and every issue of Experience Life. That explains why we’re such big fans of this organization: We share the same values and beliefs about creating a truly satisfying and vital quality of life.

How It Works

There are several ways to leverage and benefit from the wealth of info that Blue Zones has to offer:

Visit the Blue Zones Web site
At www.bluezones.com, find information not only about Blue Zones, but super informative blogs based on the Power9 secrets. Updated regularly, they report the latest healthy-aging news and offer simple recipes, exercise tips, DIY projects and other helpful suggestions for how you can incorporate healthier habits into your own life.

Join the Blue Zones Community for FREE
Post articles that you find on healthy aging, write your own blog, and communicate with other Blue Zones members. Sign up at www.bluezones.com/login.

Take the Vitality Compass™
The Blue Zones Vitality Compass has 36 questions about diet, sleep, exercise, career fulfillment, social ties, stress and more. Once completed it provides scientifically based results about your biological age (your body’s age given your current habits), overall life expectancy, healthy-life expectancy and Blue Zones years (the number of years you have either gained or lost given your current behaviors). Once you’re a Blue Zones member, you can take the Vitality Compass as many times as you’d like. The system also records your Vitality Compass results so you can track your progress over time. (We like to do it every six months or so to see how we’re doing.) It’s a super helpful tool, whether you’re hoping to change certain lifestyle habits or stay on your current path. Find the compass at www.bluezones.com/vitality-compass.

Read The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner
This easy-to-read, entertaining book from Buettner explains the secrets gleaned from the first four Blue Zones explorations and how you can integrate them into your daily life. Order it online from our Amazon aStore.

Cost and Commitments

While you have to register to be a Blue Zones Community Member, the Vitality Compass, along with the Quests, are FREE. Spend as little or as much time with them as you like.