Cyan-ara, sorrow!
Rest azured, the secrets to living a long, happy life may be found in the world’s Blue Zones, which boast lower rates of chronic diseases and a longer life expectancy.
Those areas include Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, and Ikaria, Greece.
A newer blue zone, Singapore, has seen the number of residents reaching the age of 100 double in the last decade. And since 1960, the life expectancy in Singapore has increased by about 20 years.
National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner, author of “The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer: Lessons From the Healthiest Places on Earth,” is sharing five lessons we can learn from Singapore.
Live in a safe neighborhood
Writing for BlueZones.com, Buettner recommends choosing a neighborhood in a safe city with well-lit streets and no graffiti.
Get to know your neighbors at least three doors down on either side.
Know your values — and live by them
Buettner recommends figuring out what’s important to you and adjusting your lifestyle to match these values.
For example, someone who enjoys working with their hands shouldn’t take an office job. Those who value family should live close to them.
Find community
Get involved in the community by joining a church or other religious organization, watch a sports game with friends, or spend time with family to feel “more secure,” Buettner advises.
Health care
Obtaining good health insurance can remove one of life’s major stressors — knowing you’ll have support if you get sick.
A happy life is a healthy one.
Financial security
“If status, financial security, and a sense of accomplishment are important to you,” Buettner says, then you should make as much money as you can.
Buettner notes that Singaporeans also prefer walking and taking public transportation to driving, prioritize a healthy diet, and spend time and money caring for the elderly.
Singaporeans get a tax break if their elderly parents live with or near them, Buettner explained to Fortune.
He points out that, unlike other Blue Zones, Singapore’s is “engineered.”
“They have manifestly produced the outcome we want,” he said in a Fortune video.