The secrets to well-being and longevity are found in the Power 9®—nine common principles learned from the blue zones longevity hotspots of the world. These principles are the basis for how Blue Zones Project® impacts communities and makes healthy choices easier.
Move Naturally
The world’s longest-lived people reside in environments that nudge them to move naturally. Working with city planners, schools, and worksites, we reshape communities so people naturally move more each day without thinking about it. We make it fun to leave home and participate in activities, enjoy an active commute, and easily walk to restaurants. There’s no need to hit the gym every day for a sweat session. Move as much as you can throughout your day, and it will change your life in so many ways.
Right Outlook
Would you be interested in adding as much as seven years to your life? Research shows that having a clear reason for getting up and out of bed in the morning can help us live both longer and better. Through activities like mindfulness and purpose workshops, we teach people how to shed stress, live in the moment, and connect with their innate talents. Then we help them find opportunities to match their passion with a commitment that deepens their sense of purpose.
Eat Wisely
We all make hundreds of food decisions every day. And Blue Zones Project strives to make healthy food choices easier. This means working with grocery stores, restaurants, and worksites to offer and bring attention to foods that are more nutritious and tasty. It also means convincing schools to implement programs and policies that help our children create healthy habits that will last a lifetime.
Connect
The people with whom we surround ourselves can greatly influence our overall health and longevity. For example, research shows an increase in life expectancy of 4 to 14 years for people who engage with a faith-based community 4 times a month. Blue Zones Project helps create more connection opportunities in a community so you can easily connect with your positive pack. As we’re fond of saying: Belong to live long.
Residents of the original blue zones areas make healthy choices because those choices are easy—even unavoidable—in their surroundings. That’s why Blue Zones Project focuses on influencing the Life Radius®, the area close to home in which people spend 80 percent of their lives. By improving where we live, work, learn, and play, we make it easier to get up and move, eat healthy, make new friends, and find a clear reason for being.
People
Blue Zones Project engages people in activities that change mindsets and habits in lasting ways. We give individuals tools, tips, and tricks that empower them to adopt the Power 9 principles. And we offer programs that help community members identify their passions, talents, and values, and uncover their sense of purpose. Then we help them find ways to volunteer or put their purpose to work, enriching their lives and the lives of others in the community.
Places
Blue Zones Project is designed to influence a critical mass of places across a community, optimizing each environment to support healthy choices for the people who spend time there. Within each community we develop deep relationships with the organizations we engage: worksites, schools, restaurants, grocery stores, and civic and faith-based groups. By working collaboratively to make permanent and visible changes, healthy choices become easy choices in all of the places where people spend their time.
Policy
Policy change is a driving force behind Blue Zones Project community transformation. Optimizing the built environment and food, tobacco, and alcohol policies is a high-impact, cost-effective strategy to reduce chronic disease and lift well-being. While much of a healthy lifestyle is a result of personal choice, healthy changes on a policy level have a broad impact that influences personal choice across the community. Progress becomes apparent in the community surroundings, ultimately creating a healthier city culture, which further grows support and enhances results.
