Have you heard or read anything about blue zone research lately? In case you haven’t I will begin by explaining that blue zones are areas of the world in which the residents experience higher than average levels of longevity. The researchers found that there were 5 geographic areas in the world that had the highest level of centenarians, or people over the age of 100. The areas are Ikaria, Greece; Ogliastra Region, Sardinia; Loma Linda, California; Okinawa, Japan; and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. I am going to focus on the Nicoya Peninsula in this article because it is an area that I have personal experience with. My husband and I lived there for about a year and half early in our marriage and our first daughter was born there. I want to share with you some first hand observations we made while living there about the lifestyle of the local people.
We did not know anything about blue zone research when we began our Costa Rican adventure. We just knew we were looking for a place to start our family that was simple and beautiful. We also knew that it was supposed to have some of the best surfing in the world and my husband loves to surf. We rented a cute little house across the street from the beach in a tiny town called Mal Pais. That literally translated to “The Bad Lands.” It was quiet compared to the small neighboring town of Santa Teresa, where there were many more hotels and restaurants. Santa Teresa was much busier with the hubbub of tourists and we preferred the relative quietness of Mal Pais. We had howler monkeys in the trees in our backyard and a shower that opened up to the sky. It was pretty amazing.
Amazing, but much different from home. For instance, most people do not have a car, we didn’t while we were there. There were taxis, but most of the locals walked or biked everywhere. This was mostly an economic decision. Most jobs available paid about a dollar or two an hour. My husband worked at a resort while we were there so his income was significantly increased by tips. This increase in physical activity is one of the many ways the lifestyle was much different than what I was used to. Here are some observations I made while living there about how people lived, in sharing them I hope to shed some light on ways people can shift their behavior, and their focus, so that they too may life longer, healthier lives.
Life Exercise
I go into my definition of Life Exercise a little deeper in another article but basically it just involves approaching life in a way that is not opposed to physical activity. For example, why would we avoid stairs by taking the elevator, avoid yard work and household chores by paying people to do them, avoid walking and biking by driving…and then go to them gym to “work out”? The idea of Gyms is sort of exclusive to affluent countries. People in Mal Pais generally walked or biked to and from work, they did their own yard chores, grew gardens, cleaned their own homes, painted their own houses, etc. They were do-it-yourselfers. And there was not a gym in the town. A lot of these decisions were based on pure economics, but simply because we can afford to do things a certain way, does that mean that is the way that we should do it? That it is the best decision for our health? One of the things I love about growing food is the amount of exercise I get while doing it. In the spring I am digging and moving wheelbarrows full of dirt, compost, and mulch. Then I am planting. In summer, if I haven’t stayed on top of the weeds, I have at times pulled them at such a pace that I am out of breath. Gardening is not on its own a complete workout routine, but it does give me lots of exercise of varying types, (research has found that varying workouts are the best way to keep from reaching a fitness plateau) and I am happy that I am using my body doing something real, something that will result in a healthier physique and food for my family. I get to do this outside in the fresh air in beautiful surroundings while my children play nearby. I am so grateful for that opportunity. I love to use our push mower and I get a good workout while doing it. We could pay someone instead and I could go to the Gym, but, why? Let me sum it up with a story: The little house we rented was owned by a father and daughter. He owned quite a few properties in our town and he had helped her to build the house we were renting, the idea being that eventually she would collect enough rent from it that she would pay it off and live in it for free, probably before she even turned 30. He was a wise and, especially when compared to others in his community, very well off man. I was talking to his son in law one day when he rode past us on his bike (wearing his ever-present huge smile), with some tools on the back, and he proceeded to walk up to a property he owned, presumably to fix something. Earlier that day, I had seen him using a scythe to cut the grass on the hillside behind our rental home. I said to his son in law, “Wow, he is always working, isn’t he?” His son in law laughed, shrugged, and said, “Not really. I don’t think he has ever worked a day in his life.” What he meant was, that man just approached everything as “life”. He didn’t separate things into categories like work, recreation, family time, rest. He did the things he needed to do, stopping to chat with people on the way, and took breaks when he was tired or hungry. He liked to be busy. I would bet that man ends up being one of those centenarians that the Nicoya Peninsula is becoming known for.
What Is Retirement?
This goes along with staying active. Older people on the Nicoya Peninsula are still highly active. They would be tending their own gardens, carrying (very!) heavy things, doing their own repairs, hanging the wash on the line, and doing generally everything they had always done in their younger years until a very old age. They do not reach a certain age and decide that they are going to be less active or productive. They do as much as they can for as long as they can. I know many retirees in the United States stay active as well, but the older community of Mal Pais stayed more active than most people in their 30’s in the states, simply because of they way they’re life was designed, like walking and biking everywhere for example. The thing I remember being most surprised by was seeing people in their eighties and nineties being so completely capable. Yes, they were revered and respected by the younger people around them, but not coddled. I believe this feeling of continuing to be a productive, important member of the family and greater community leads to a higher self esteem and general level of happiness among the older population there. People like to feel needed and valuable.
Diet
When we lived in Mal Pais, we ate very little restaurant food. There were some delicious places to eat in Santa Teresa, but those were not for us! Mostly tourists ate there. We were not on vacation, we earned Tico (Costa Ricans refer to themselves as Ticos) wages so we ate like Ticos. We ate fresh produce, not a ton of meat (it was pricey). We walked down to the area where fishing boats would come in once or twice a week and purchased freshly caught fish directly from the men who caught them. We didn’t buy a lot of cookies or treats because they were expensive. We ate black beans and rice, (Gallo pinto) we made smoothies of fruit, milk and ice (batidos) and we ate a lot of eggs (which they did not keep refrigerated in their markets), and potatoes. This was much different than the diet we ate at home, and what most people eat in the states. My husband lost almost 30 pounds while we lived there, which I attribute to diet, biking to work daily, and surfing a couple of times a week or more.
Attitude
I have not been to every country, but I have done a bit of travel. I would say that Costa Ricans, as a whole, are probably the friendliest people I have ever met and one of the reasons I fell in love with the country. They are almost always smiling, very cheerful and positive. They love the fact that their home is known for being an exceptionally beautiful place and they have a strong sense of national pride. They will also tell you proudly that their country has no army, and I think in general this helps them to view themselves as a people who love peace and cooperation. One note on their amiability: they want to help. So much in fact, that several times when we lived there we got bad directions because people so badly wanted to be of service that they might tell us they knew how to find a place when they in fact, did not. We learned that people who worked at service stations gave the best directions, as they were the most accustomed to giving them. A story to illustrate their helpfulness (I have many) : When we first moved to the country and we were driving a rental car to figure out the best place to live we broke down on the side of a highway. I was pretty sad about it and we wondered what to do and how long we would need to wait for help. We did not have a cell phone, and we were at a complete loss about who to call even if we did have a cell phone. Within literally less than three minutes not one but two gentlemen pulled off the road to help us out. They were happy to help us, even once they saw we were not locals. We were so grateful. There was this attitude like “It’s no problem.” It was just what was done. If you see a person that is broken down and needs help, you don’t just drive by, you stop. Of course. People who live there believe strongly in helping one another. Which brings me to another reason why they probably live longer:
Strong Sense of Community
The Nicoya Peninsula is not a huge place. It has that everybody knows everybody kind of feeling. And when everybody knows everybody, you better be nice! Because, if you are not, that reputation will be hard to shake. People helped each other and were good neighbors there. If someone you knew needed help, you helped them. If someone came by when you were preparing a meal, you invited them to join you. People didn’t think about what was in it for them when they helped other people, because they understood the intrinsic value of friendship and social connection. They seemed to enjoy being able to spend time with and serve their neighbors and there is a strong general feeling of hospitality in this country.
Pura Vida
The national greeting in Costa Rica is “Pura Vida”, which translates to “Pure Life”. When you walk or bike past someone on the road this is what you say to each other as you pass. You can also say goodbye this way or hear this as a response when you ask someone how they are doing. Pure Vida is about living a simple life: it refers to your environment and food and also your attitude and the ways you choose to spend your time. It is a mindset and the phrase has been in their vernacular for over 50 years.
Nursing Culture
I am so glad I got to nurse my first baby in a country like this. Most women who nurse here, especially in the relaxed beach town we lived in, do not cover up. It is also common for a mother with a young baby to wear the baby while working, at the supermarket for example, and it wouldn’t be uncommon for the woman who is handing you your change to be nursing a baby at the same time. A few times when my daughter was fussy in public people came up to me, older people usually and not just women, and said, “Your baby is hungry”. This, compared to when I was visiting a friend back in the States and I was nursing my baby in a mall food court (covered up even!) and the two older men sitting at a nearby table actually got up and moved while giving me the side eye, as if I had offended them. Research has proven time and time again that nursing babies has long term health benefits. It is so sad to me that a young mother might be made to feel uncomfortable by making the best choice for her baby, that sometimes women have to feel like revolutionaries or rebels because they choose to nurse babies publicly and sometimes, gasp, even uncovered. This is so incredibly silly.
They Don’t Care About Things
I don’t mean this in the more abstract way, I mean they literally do not have the same obsession with possessions. I think this is because, from what I could tell, in their culture if a person became too concerned with their possessions they would be considered a show off or a bore. It would be grounds for good natured teasing. They did not seem to equate someone having a lot of things to that person being particularly impressive. Instead people were judged based on their attitude, their reputation for honesty, their work ethic, or, in short, their character. I saw people in our town who had no windows on their house (a house that would be referred to in our country as a shack), but they still waved at us with big smiles whenever we walked by. Their happiness level did not seem to be dependent on the things they had and they did not seem to feel any sadness over what might be perceived by people in more developed countries as lack. This lack of materialism led to a greater focus on relationships and outdoor life. You don’t have all the exciting toys to keep you indoors so you go to the beach instead.
Tico Time
I have lived in and visited quite a few places that seem to have their own sense of time. What this means is that time is not as important to the residents as it is in some places and because of this people are often late. In Costa Rica this is called Tico Time. Yes, people are often late. And it isn’t seen as a sign of disrespect. It isn’t taken personally at all. If you invite someone for dinner at 6, they might show up at 7 or even later. They just don’t hurry. They might have run into someone on the way and had a good talk. They might have seen someone who needed help with something and stopped to give them a hand. People who grow up this way, instead of getting upset and demanding a reason for someone’s tardiness, just sort of shrug and assume whatever the excuse someone may have must be perfectly reasonable and don’t seem to mind at all. In fact, if you show up exactly on time, you may find your host isn’t even ready yet and they might actually be surprised you got there at the time agreed on. I am a person that has never wanted to be late for anything my entire life, I can only imagine the health benefits of never releasing all those stress hormones I flooded my body with every time I felt I was going to be late.
Stopping To Watch The Sunset
Everyday at around 5 most people would go to the beach and watch the sunset. This was a time when you would see many people in the community and visit, you might even get a dinner invitation. Dinner was usually after sunset and people did not stay up super late because many wanted to be able to get up and get chores done or get some surfing in before it got too hot. So often people would ask me, “Did you see that sunset last night? It was so beautiful, right?” It was something that people talked about the same way I have heard people in the states talk about something they saw on television the night before. There is a Jack Johnson song where he sings, “I want to be where the talk of the town is about last night when the sun went down”. I had heard this song hundreds of times and never really understood that lyric until my time in Mal Pais. And now I know he was referencing a slower, more intentional way of life. And yes, like Jack, I too want to live where the sunset is the talk of the town. I want to live in a world where everyone is more like the Ticos. And where we have many more people who live to be a hundred.
Do you think these practices I have shared contribute to the longer lifespan? Do you have any ideas of what could be helping people live longer in blue zones that I didn’t mention? I would love to hear from you!
