I ran across an article the other day about the world's centenarian blue zones: areas that have the highest percentage of people over 100 years old. The article was focused on the Sardianian consumption of red wine, but I sort of read between the lines and came up with my own ideas.
- These areas tend to be relatively isolated from the rest of the world.
- Their populations are rather sparse but socially interconnected within tight communities.
- They have few modern "conveniences:"
- They eat food they grow and gather themselves.
- They get lots of physical activity throughout their entire lives that continues until the day they die.
- They share a common culture
- They live in a benign climate.
70 years ago health advocate Bernard Jensen traveled the world looking for the oldest populations to discover their secrets. One area he visited was Vilcabamba, Ecuador. In those days getting to Vilcabamba was a difficult trek into the Andes. The Vilcabambans were isolated. I went to Vilcabamba in 2001. I arrived by bus. And while there were a few old folk around, nobody talked much about the number of centenarians. They now had electricity, cars, tourists and indoor plumbing and television. Longevity was an historical artifact.
When you are part of a tribe or community that is isolated, you have the social support you need to avoid loneliness. You know everyone and everyone knows you. Modern people live in virtual communities and don't often know the people who live around them. I seriously doubt that modern life can ever prevent loneliness. It fosters it.
Yes, that is one of the ironies of our 'always connected' world, we can lose real connections with real people and nature itself.