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The average lifespan in the U.S. is about 78 years, and for the first time since the 1990s, it鈥檚 getting shorter.

Despite spending much more on health care, Americans are sicker than people in other wealthy countries, with illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer鈥檚, and stroke on the rise. So are 鈥渄espair deaths鈥� from drugs, alcohol, and suicide, according to researchers, with social isolation, poverty, and addiction laying the groundwork.

A long life is not just a health issue; it鈥檚 a justice issue. The wealthiest 1 percent, according to a study reported in The Lancet medical journal, now live on average 10 to 15 years longer than the poorest 1 percent. The shock of that statistic belies some basic logic that says the length of your life should not depend on the size of your bank account.

How long should we be living? It鈥檚 true that living past 100 while remaining healthy has much to do with genetics, but what about getting close to 100? There are cultures that regularly see people healthy into their 90s, free of the many diseases associated with aging.

In 2005, Dan Buettner鈥檚 National Geographic project studied such communities and found their commonalities. His research team of doctors, anthropologists, and epidemiologists discovered five 鈥淏lue Zones,鈥� places in the world where people live the longest: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California. Buettner鈥檚 book The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who鈥檝e Lived the Longest became a bestseller.

鈥淎t first, it was purely a research question,鈥� Buettner says. 鈥淚t was a way to solve a cool mystery. It took about five years for me to realize that our findings could help Americans with their health.鈥� Now he and his team are using what they learned about healthy longevity to transform communities in this country.

鈥淣one of the people in the Blue Zones tried to live longer than everyone else on earth,鈥� Buettner says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the way they live naturally. So rather than nag people to exercise or eat healthy, why not shape people鈥檚 environments so that health is basically mindless?鈥�

The Blue Zones Community Project was born. It aims to reshape culture and environment to change individual behavior, so the changes stick. 鈥淭he thing about these longevity principles,鈥� Buettner says, 鈥渋s that you have to do them for a long time. If you鈥檙e a vegan for two years and then eat burgers and fries for the rest of your life, that vegan diet won鈥檛 do much for you.鈥� So far, Blue Zones Project initiatives have reached almost 3.5 million people in more than 40 cities.

Leaving long life and good health up to individuals means economic inequality comes into play, but when longevity is a group effort, communities can use Blue Zones research to help everyone live longer and healthier. Studies show that social change begins to happen when as little as 10 percent of a population changes its thinking. This is why Blue Zones teams only need about 20 percent of the population to sign Blue Zones pledges鈥攄e-conveniencing their homes to promote more movement, starting to volunteer, joining a moai group. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 advertise,鈥� Buettner says. 鈥淐ities come to me鈥攎ost recently my own, Minneapolis.鈥�

Buettner likes to deal at the city and community level; there are typically five to 10 low-hanging fruits in terms of changes to make right away that don鈥檛 stir up political tension or cost the city a lot of money. 鈥淚鈥檇 rather go to a city council and get them to pass an ordinance limiting the number of fast food restaurants within a given area than nag people to eat healthy,鈥� Buettner says. 鈥淚 get so much more done.鈥�

Here are five principles communities can adapt to create a culture of longevity鈥攁nd justice.

1. Eat Mostly Plants

Lessons from Sardinia, Italy

Sardinia, the first Blue Zone researchers identified, is a genetically and culturally isolated island in the Mediterranean with the world鈥檚 longest-lived men. The common diet is heavy on plants, legumes, and fish, with meat only occasionally. Importantly, eating is a social activity. Laughter with friends reduces stress, which in turn contributes to less heart disease, improved immune systems, and sharper cognitive function.听

While it is becoming more widely accepted that eating more plants is better for human health and the planet, it鈥檚 often individuals left to make diet changes. But what if the commitment to a plant-based diet were community-wide?

Beacon Food Forest, 2 1/2 miles south of downtown Seattle, is more than 5 acres of permaculture food farming, providing food access for anyone who needs it. 鈥淲e want people who are not software engineers in this city to know we still care about them,鈥� co-founder Jackie Cramer says.

A large strip of seasonal vegetables lines the forest to the west, and a gravel path separates the veggies from an abundant welter of fruit trees and bushes bearing everything from goumi and goji berries to the more familiar blackberries and blueberries. Some plants are specifically for supporting native pollinators. There鈥檚 a nut grove and mushroom hut. Anyone can walk through the public part of the forest to forage.

The forest is run by volunteers鈥攁 committed core of 20 to 25 people plus others who can be called upon if needed for specific tasks. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not strict with our volunteers,鈥� Cramer says. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 like a project, walk away and join another team. And if you have an idea for a project, we鈥檙e totally open.鈥� Maybe this is why Beacon Food Forest never lacks workers. The project not only introduces volunteers to food-growing that respects seasonality and the ecosystem, but it connects them to their community. 鈥淚鈥檝e never met so many people in such a short amount of time,鈥� says volunteer Joe Sutton-Holcomb.

Food as a way to build community has been effective in this fearful political climate of the Trump administration. 鈥淲e鈥檇 put signs out indicating free food,鈥� Cramer says, 鈥渂ut some of the neighbors across the street wouldn鈥檛 come. So we took the food to them and found out that they weren鈥檛 visiting because they weren鈥檛 sure if they needed identification.鈥�

2. Move Naturally

Lessons from Ikaria, Greece

鈥淭he world鈥檚 longest-lived people,鈥� the Blue Zones project says, 鈥渄on鈥檛 pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it.鈥� The people of the small island of Ikaria have perfected the healthy art of natural movement. The very oldest members of this community are generally poor and living in the highlands, but they are healthy. Between active days of gardening or frequent walks to friends鈥� houses, residents don鈥檛 have to set aside time dedicated to movement.听

In the United States, our neighborhoods, livelihoods, and culture have been built around the automobile. To address the deadliness of this sedentary lifestyle, employers include gym memberships in benefits packages. Doctors repeat the recommendation to exercise for 30 minutes five times a week so often that many people live with guilt for not fitting a workout into their day. But what if exercise wasn鈥檛 just one more item on our already overstuffed to-do lists?

We all can鈥檛 hoof it up a hill to hang out with friends, and city living makes gardening challenging. But all environments, from dense urban centers to rural neighborhoods, can be reconfigured to support more walking as transportation.

Feet First, a pedestrian advocacy organization in Washington state, has been working since 1995 to make communities safer and easier to walk in. Feet First works to establish safe routes for kids walking to school and trains volunteers to design and lead walks through their own communities, with themes such as 鈥淗idden Beauty鈥� or 鈥淗ow to Get All Your Errands Done on Foot.鈥� The group develops educational materials for commuters and engages legislators to make policy and budget choices that favor walkability.

Safe, walkable neighborhoods put more natural movement into your day and also build community solidarity.

Imagine those neighborhoods you see in old movies where people are waving to each other on the way to the grocery store. Achieving that depends largely on where you start. 鈥淧eople have an easier time intuitively understanding grids than cul-de-sacs,鈥� says Feet First鈥檚 Policy Committee Chair John Stewart. Neighborhoods built before World War II are easier to work with than much of what we鈥檝e built in the last 20 years. He says, 鈥淚t鈥檚 really about a sense of social cohesion. Cyclists, pedestrians, drivers. The way we think about things right now, these are three separate and sometimes adversarial communities.鈥�

Safe, walkable neighborhoods put more natural movement into your day and also build community solidarity. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l know about the elderly person who needs to be checked up on or the person who needs a certain medication,鈥� Stewart explains. This awareness is a crucial part of emergency preparedness.

Overcoming the barriers to walkability requires stretching our definition of community building. 鈥淐oalitions of like-minded people鈥攊ncluding legislators, residents, those working to expand public transit, and researchers who understand that pedestrian advocacy is a long-term commitment鈥攁re essential. It took us a long way to get as far from walkable communities as we are, and it will take us a while to get to the level that Denmark or Amsterdam are, for example,鈥� Stewart says. 鈥淚t will require a design shift to make driving less convenient than walking. But it will also take a culture shift to get people thinking less 鈥業 have to give up something鈥欌�攏amely convenience when they drive less鈥攁nd more 鈥業 am gaining something鈥欌�攏amely exercise and community when they walk more.鈥�

3. Decrease Stress

Lessons from Nicoya, Costa Rica

Residents of Nicoya value traditions and social connections. Nicoyan centenarians get frequent visits from neighbors. They work hard physically throughout their lives, even the oldest among them, and continue old ways that go back to the Chorotega, Indigenous people of the region, including a diet of fortified maize and beans.听

On an individual level, de-stressing might look like a regular yoga or mindfulness practice, spending time in nature, prayer, or journaling. While these can be beneficial, in an era where thousands of jobs are being outsourced or outdated and nearly 1 in 4 Americans says they have no one they could turn to for support, a bunch of individuals reflecting on their days or doing breath work isn鈥檛 going to be enough, even for those individuals. We are social beings; we need to reduce collective stress by supporting each other.

Modern Western communities have become unmoored from traditions and extended social groups, and the resulting individualism may be at the root of one of the greatest modern stressors: inequality. Chuck Collins, author of Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good, suggests that solving economic inequality requires 鈥渁n economy that supports working, yes, but much more time for taking care of each other, playing, and making art.鈥�

鈥淒isconnection is a drug; privilege isolates and anesthetizes,鈥� Collins writes.

So how can a community de-stress together? Fight inequality. Reach outside your socio-economic sphere, befriend people in different social classes. Find common goals to work toward together: community gardening, repairing houses, improving public spaces. Organize support for those who are vulnerable in this current regime of hatred.

4. Cultivate a Sense of Purpose

Lessons from Loma Linda, California

The 9,000-member Seventh-day Adventist Church makes up the core of the only Blue Zone in America. Church members create a social fabric out of helping others in the community, and the church provides many opportunities for volunteering. Giving time to others not only staves off depression, but doing so with others as part of a larger mission amplifies the benefits.

Two-thirds of Americans hate their jobs. Yet meaningful work is good for our health. Blue Zones research explains, 鈥淜nowing your purpose adds up to seven years of life expectancy.鈥� Opportunities to change jobs can be limited by circumstances, though.

Perhaps we can get those health benefits by creating communities with a shared sense of purpose. Native cultures share a stewardship for the Earth, believing that it belongs to everyone, including future generations. Alaska has built into policy the idea that its resources do not belong to any individual exclusively, so every Alaskan resident receives a portion of oil revenue.

In Montana last year, the idea of opening up the state to take in refugees started with one woman but would likely not have grown into Soft Landing, the nonprofit in Missoula that welcomes and resettles refugees, had it not been for others joining her. Mary Poole was spurred by a viral picture of a dead Syrian child, and was joined by other Montana moms in creating space for refugees. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a political person. I鈥檓 not a save-the-world activist. I don鈥檛 have a TV. I didn鈥檛 know about refugees, that it was a debate,鈥� Poole says.

She may not have started out as an activist, but she and the other Soft Landing moms who joined her have a clear sense of purpose. So far, 30 refugee kids have a place in Montana schools. 鈥淥ur sense of purpose is still very focused. On the simplest level, it鈥檚 how do we create a welcoming environment for refugee families in our community? 无码视频 broadly, it鈥檚 how do we be a good community member as an organization and extend that welcome to everyone in a rising-tide-lifts-all-ships sort of way? So we do dialogue training, join the housing conversations that our community is having鈥攜ou know, really exist within a community. We now have 30 volunteers that do one-on-one tutoring with every single English-language kid, not just refugees in our schools.鈥� This is what happens when you get to know your surroundings: You see needs and create ways to meet them.

Human beings are social. If we tell stories of what we can do together, then everyone can draw some sense of individual purpose from the shared purpose. We will also have more stamina and inspiration for the tough battles ahead鈥攄ismantling racism, dealing with police brutality, climate change. And we might begin to combat social isolation and loneliness at the same time.

5. Belong to a Healthy Tribe

Lessons from Okinawa, Japan

Okinawa is where women live longer than anywhere else. Okinawans stay active by keeping 鈥渕edical gardens鈥� full of vegetables, herbs, and spices that they consume every day. They have ikigai, a strong sense of shared purpose. They maintain deep dedication to friends and family, with social networks, moais, groups of friends dedicated to each other for life. These tribes promise financial support in times of need, allowing for the emotional security of knowing that someone is always there for them.听

Smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness all have been shown to be contagious. So it stands to reason that the longest-lived people live in communities where most people are making healthy choices. Think of this 鈥済roup mind鈥� as positive peer pressure.

But healthy tribes to surround us are largely missing in the U.S. Generations move away from each other, and a Western culture of individualism is one part of the problem. Consider that romantic relationships are valued higher than friendships. Can we reverse that? Our health and longevity would improve if we did.

How do we create a moai culture? Social philosopher Roman Krznaric suggests that one way to do this is through restoring a sense of belonging, and to do this we cultivate empathy. 鈥淭here are two kinds of individualism, and there are at least two kinds of empathy,鈥� Krznaric says.

鈥淚ndividualism that pictures each human being as totally self-sufficient providing for all of his or her material, physical, and social needs is damaging and dishonest. But individualism that celebrates each human being鈥檚 unique personhood and potential contribution to the world鈥攚e鈥檒l call that individuality鈥攖hat鈥檚 good and necessary,鈥� he says. Shifting our collective story away from rugged individualism and more toward interconnected individuality will reduce the stigma around asking for help and relieve the terrible burden of loneliness and stress if one has to make it all on one鈥檚 own.

A culture that supports, protects, and honors friendships will give everyone more opportunities to be surrounded by caring people making healthy choices. Changing our environments might be difficult, but it鈥檚 easier than changing all by ourselves.

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Megan Wildhood is a writer, speaker, and advocate for the marginalized. She is the author of the poetry collection Long Division.

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