Healthcare Design - April 2014 - 8

MONITOR
Edited by Anne DiNardo

Power 9 habits
After traveling the globe researching the
world's longest-lived cultures, Blue Zones
Expeditions compiled the Power 9, a list of
habits common to these populations worth
emulating.

Design for long life
Learn life lessons from the world's oldest populations and
how they can inspire design ideas, at the Environments for
Aging Conference in May
Globe trotter Nick Buettner, executive producer of Blue Zones Expeditions, has traveled
the world and identified the places where people are living long, productive lives. Called
Blue Zones, these five areas of the world (Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Okinawa,
Japan; Sardinia, Italy; and Loma Linda, Calif.) are demographically confirmed places
where people have the greatest life expectancy.
Working with National Geographic, Buettner and a team of medical researchers,
anthropologists, demographers, and epidemiologists found evidence-based common
denominators among these five places, called the Power 9. (See box.)
"The importance of the Power 9 is that they all work together and support one
another," Buettner says. "When we talk about environments, it's not just the physical
environment but the social and personal aspects, as well."
For example, a sense of purpose is one of the things the team saw in the Blue Zones
that motivates people and inspires them to live a longer life. "In the places we went to,
they could articulate their sense of purpose, whether they were 20 or 102, and being
able to do that actually adds up to eight years of extra life expectancy," Buettner says.
When translating these findings to the design of senior care communities, Buettner
says the goal should be to make changes or add design features that make the healthy,
active option become the easiest option, such as planting a garden or adding walking
paths that encourage exercise and socializing. "What are those things around you that
can help to motivate you and keep you moving?" he says.
Buettner will share these insights and more during his keynote presentation at the
Environments for Aging Conference taking place May 3-6 in Anaheim, Calif. For more
information, visit EFAconference.com.-Anne DiNardo

HCDmagazine.com 04.14

t Move naturally. Find ways to keep
moving throughout your day, such as
walking, gardening, and using fewer
labor-saving devices.
t Find purpose. The Okinawans of Japan
call it "Ikigai" and the Nicoyans of Costa
Rica call it "plan de vida." Know why you
wake up in the morning and pursue it
with passion.
t Downshift. Even people in the Blue
Zones experience stress. But the world's
longest-lived people also have routines to
shed that stress. Learn how to work less,
rest, take vacations, and slow down.
t Follow the 80 percent rule. Stop eating
when you're 80 percent full. People in
the Blue Zones also eat their smallest
meal in the late afternoon or early evening, and then they don't eat any more
the rest of the day.
t Eat more plants. Eat more veggies, and
less meat and processed food.
t Drink wine. Moderate drinkers outlive
nondrinkers. The key is to do it
consistently and in moderation (one or
two glasses per day).
t Belong. Join a group and create healthy
social networks.
t Put loved ones first. Make family a priority. This means keeping aging parents
and grandparents nearby or in the home,
which lowers disease and mortality rates
of children in the home, too.
t Feed your soul. Engage in spiritual
activities. Denomination doesn't seem
to matter, but attending regular faithbased services will add 4-14 years of life
expectancy.

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Healthcare Design - April 2014

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