I wish people would make an effort to go out all the time, she says.
Through her work in longevity research on Okinawa, a Japanese island home to some of the longest-lived people in the world (also known as one of the Blue Zones), Burnette has learned how important the role of social connectedness plays in our health. I always try to tell people that the secret to longevity isn\’t food and exercise, he says. His social connection. (And this is coming from someone who literally started an Okinawan health food company.)
When people hear Burnette works in longevity, she says they typically have questions for her about what to eat. And he\’ll tell them about the Okinawan diet filled with what may be the healthiest carbohydrate (purple sweet potato), lots of green vegetables, tofu made with mineral-rich ocean water, and only unrefined brown sugar in desserts.
But Burnette points out that in all Blue Zones, the food is healthy, yes, but a more important factor is that people eat that food together. They\’re eating in groups or with their families, she says. They always have someone with them, eat with them, joke with them, laugh with them, take care of them.
Research has shown that having strong community ties can directly improve our physical health. Many studies have shown lower rates of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and possibly even cancer for people with many friends and romantic relationships in their lives, Richard Honaker, MD, a family medicine physician and chief medical advisor for Your Doctors Online, Well + Good previously said.
Okinawan practices that support social connectedness and longevity
An active social life can also lead to what is known in Okinawa as ikigai, or lust for life. Burnette believes this mindset is an absolutely essential ingredient for longevity. However, it\’s woefully overlooked because it\’s so subjective, making it difficult for researchers to conclusively study and put hard numbers behind it.
But Burnette explains the link this way: In most cultures, as someone gets older, they lose their standing in society or feel they have no purpose. Their family no longer comes to visit, people start dying around them, so they lose those social connections, and then they in turn lose the will to live.
One way Okinawans have traditionally protected against this perilous spiral is through the moai, a custom in which tight groups of friends gather monthly to eat, drink (yes, including alcohol), connect, and exchange money. moai needs help. It\’s a support system, Burnette explains. Because they do, they always socialize, they always help.
A case of prioritizing your social life
Meanwhile in the US, the Surgeon General recently released a report that loneliness has reached epidemic levels with one statistic pointing out that lack of social connectedness can increase the risk of premature death by about as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (! ). Loneliness kills people much faster than they think, says Burnette.
Her advice if you\’re feeling isolated? Build social momentum.
Burnette herself is guilty of one of the biggest things you shouldn\’t be doing: living alone. (Traditional older Okinawans live with their families, or at least nearby, or near many friends: Old ladies all live in the same neighborhood, she says.) Burnette knows firsthand how spending a day alone can easily bring up to two days alone and it creates a temptation to cancel all your plans. Push yourself to get out of the house, she says. Talk to people and feel the friendliness.
That advice remains true even if you meet someone who isn\’t necessarily your favorite person, Burnette adds. People have to realize that as annoying as it may be to your father, mother, partner, children, you know, sometimes you get frustrated or angry or argue, but you have to understand that we really need each other. \’other, he says. I\’m not trying to be corny, but love is important.
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