{"id":78436,"date":"2025-07-20T16:36:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T16:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/78436\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T16:36:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T16:36:10","slug":"five-things-i-learnt-watching-netflixs-live-to-100-secrets-of-the-blue-zones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/78436\/","title":{"rendered":"Five things I learnt watching Netflix\u2019s Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s well known that eating well and moving your body are essential ways to invest in your health. But what if there are other\u2014more surprising\u2014secrets to longevity?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the idea of the life-affirming Netflix documentary Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones<\/a>, which explores the habits of people living in regions with the highest concentrations of centenarians.<\/p>\n

Author Dan Buettner and researcher Dr Gianni Pes travelled to Japan, Greece, Sardinia, Ikaria, Costa Rica and Singapore to see what people in these so-called \u201cBlue Zones\u201d have in common.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Here are my five biggest takeaways from rewatching the series.<\/p>\n

1. Sitting on the floor can do wonders for your mobility<\/p>\n

In Okinawa, Japan, <\/strong>most people seem to spend half their day on the floor\u2014sitting, eating on low tables and relaxing\u2014and constantly getting up and down throughout the day. This natural movement, as well as regular gardening, helps to keep them mobile and healthy.<\/p>\n

Buettner recommends skipping the elevator and taking the stairs to live more like the Okinawans.<\/p>\n

2. Hills make you stronger <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not hard to imagine that living on top of a steep hill and walking up and down daily will give you strong legs. In Sardinia, Italy, the locals credited their young metabolic age and overall good health to their daily incline walks.<\/p>\n

Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Many also live in homes with three or four stories, so they\u2019re climbing dozens of flights a day. If, like me, you don\u2019t live near hills, try incline walking on a treadmill to reap similar benefits for your strength, endurance and cardiovascular health.<\/p>\n

3. Connection is vital<\/p>\n

In Ikaria, Greece, one 96-year-old man credits his happiness and longevity to finding love later in life. Buettner says \u201cthe power of happy, committed partnerships may seem obvious, but we can\u2019t underestimate how this type of connection can lead to a longer, more fulfilled life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maintaining emotional wellness appears to be just as good for your mental wellbeing as physical exercise is.<\/p>\n

4. Laughing keeps you young<\/p>\n

Across all regions, one thing the centenarians had in common is having a great sense of humour and a positive mindset\u2014they laughed often, spent time with friends and had fun. This resource seems to help them manage stress, regulate their nervous systems and keep them young at heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaughter is good for our arteries, it\u2019s good for heart disease. The happiness is palpable. I think what the Blue Zones teaches us is longevity can be joyous,\u201d says Buettner. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be a chore. And community and connection is prescriptive to longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Herbal tea may support brain and heart health<\/p>\n

In Ikaria, Greece, people drink herbal teas daily, which Buettner says has a wealth of health benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and they contain diuretics that lower blood pressure. Herbal tea has a very strong tie to the extraordinary longevity on the island [of Ikaria].\u201d Some researchers even say it could help lower the risk of dementia.<\/p>\n

Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones<\/a>is now streaming on Netflix<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s well known that eating well and moving your body are essential ways to invest in your health.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":78437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[1198,210,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-78436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114886540444801439","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}