Italy has been adorned by many across the world for several centuries, ranging from an exquisite cuisine, a romantic language, a once empowering ancient city that ruled half of Europe at some point, and several other key things that make Italy, Italy. However, one of the most important details about Italy is its island: Sardinia, that rests against the Mediterranean sea. Sardinia is known for having fascinating beaches, untouched, wild nature, and great wine at many of its restaurants and hotels. What distinctly separates Sardinia from the rest of Italy; however, is the fact that it is the most prominent blue zone in the world, one of the many five that exist around the globe.
A blue zone is a region in the world where the inhabitants tend to live longer than 80, due to a variety of factors such as maintaining physical activity, keeping a healthy diet, engaging socially with others and other healthy habits that can help people live long, fulfilling lives.
Research for such areas first began in 2004, and since then these five blue zones around the world have been analyzed extensively, so that hopefully in the future all over the world people will mimic these habits that the people living in blue zones religiously practice in their daily lives.
So what makes Sardinia, Italy the number one blue zone in the world? What differentiates it from the other four blue zones in the world such as Okinawa, Japan, Nicoya, Costa Rica, Icaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California?
- Sardinians maintain strong relationships with family and friends.
Regularly in Italian culture, family is the most important aspect of a person’s life. This is very true for the Sardinian inhabitants who ensure that every family member is cared for, loved, and accepted. Because the island is isolated from the rest of Italy, the Sardinian people are very close knit to each other as an island. The villages are very close to each other, with neighbors in all directions of a person’s home. This paves the way for connections between people, whether it be bringing a delicious treat over to a neighbor’s home, inviting the entire family over for a dinner party once a week, or even trying to instigate simple conversation at local markets or coffee shops with others.
By developing strong connections with the people around them, Sardinians are receiving a multitude of benefits. Such benefits could range from developing social skills, developing a strong sense of empathy, learning more about tradition and culture throughout the families in the villages, and lowered stress levels and lowered mental issues. By following this habit in their day to day lives, it is no surprise as to why Sardinians live a very long, prosperous life full of happiness and productivity.
- Sardinians stay active throughout the day.
Since Sardinians live so closely in villages, there is usually no need to drive around to get from place to place. Most places like beaches, stores, or restaurants are right in walking distance, and since these people value relationships greatly, it could be assumed that they go out a lot to walk with family and friends. In Sardinia, it is vastly common to walk a couple miles a day, and to lose a lot of calories because of this, mainly due to the terrain of the island that requires physical activity.
Just by walking 10k steps a day, a person can lose 300-400 calories. In America, students get at least 5,000 steps by walking to school, during passing periods, after school ends, and during their physical education class. Sardinians, who are physically active for most of the day, most likely burn more than this calorie amount and most likely walk much more than 10k steps. This can account for their ability to remain fit and strong even at a very old age, because walking is scientifically proven to make the bones of the human body tougher.
- Sardinians maintain a clean, nutritious diet at all times.
Being that the island of Sardinia exists right in the center of the Mediterranean region, there is already a heavy amount of influence it plays out on the Sardinians’ ways of life, ranging from geographical, to cultural, all the way down to the food diet.
Speaking as a pure Mediterranean person myself, I can proudly say that our cuisine is one of the healthiest in the world, filled with a multitude of veggies, low-fat dairy foods, and a variety of proteins and fruits.
This is reflected amongst the diet of the Sardinians that consists of things such as goat’s milk, red wine, pecorino cheese, and much more. Interacting with these foods through moderation can not only maintain a healthy metabolism but can help the bodily organs achieve best performance.
- Sardinians maintain a sense of spirituality.
In the island of Sardinia, the most prominent religious belief is that of Roman Catholicism. This means that Sardinians greatly align with the Catholic Church, and beliefs such as love, justice, and prudence just to name a few. Oftentimes it has been analyzed throughout history that religion helps individuals heal from within, answers their many curiosities of the world around them, and overall teaches them to become a decent human being.
Religion helps give people a code to live by, a purpose that can make their lives more worthwhile to them and cause them to feel more appreciation for being given the chance to exist on this Earth. This is very true for the Sardinian community, who throughout their daily lives practice the beliefs of Roman Catholicism, which promote an overall healthy and positive mindset, respect towards others, and thankfulness to their Lord.
An interesting thing about the Sardinian community is that they often incorporate pagan beliefs into their religion that hold a very strong tie to the culture and history of the island. Because of this, it comes to no surprise that Sardinians feel a stronger connection towards religion since it relates to them on more personal levels throughout their day to day lives on the island.
- Sardinians practice appreciation through their day-to-day lives.
Throughout the world, it is often always recommended for individuals to practice gratitude and appreciation throughout their day to feel a sense of happiness, fulfillment, and pride in their lives. It can also help improve confidence and mood, which can greatly affect not only how one treats themselves but how they treat the people around them as well.
In America, a common holiday known as Thanksgiving is practiced every November 25th in order to celebrate good harvests, family/friends, and to honor the first feast celebration between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans of the Plymouth area. During this month, Americans are often motivated through their school or through other areas of their lives to practice appreciation and thankfulness to those around them and for the opportunities that have come their way.
This practice is no stranger to the Sardinian community, as they practice it not just during one month, but year round instead. By regularly practicing gratitude at least once a week, it helps Sardinians reflect on all the positive things that had came their way during that week, whether it be making a new friend, being mentored a new hobby, or even just enjoying the ambience of a room filled with cheerful family members chatting and catching up. Practices like these help the Sardinian community to live long, plentiful lives, since they not only look to find positivity in their lives but try to create it for themselves.
The Sardinian community remains the most prominent blue zone amongst all the other four due to these five reasons that they strongly practice in their day-to-day lives. While the other four blue zones do practice such habits that are quite similar to the Sardinians, the Sardinian community still remains very prominently distinct to the other four, as their habits are specifically tied down by years of tradition and culture but also modernization such as through change and growth.
If anyone were to practice the habits Sardinians do all year round, they increase their chances astronomically of living a fulfilling, plentiful life full of long-held memories and joy for many years to come.
