In the middle of the Aegean Sea , close to 50 mile from hustle Mykonos , you might expect to line up an real jet of early days on the distant island of Ikaria , Greece . How else would one explain the legendary longevity of its approximately 8000 residents , who are two - and - a - half times as potential to endure to the ripe old age of 90 as we are in America ? And 10 prison term as likely to see their centesimal natal day ?
Bill Weir , boniface ofThe Wonder List , set sail for this challenging island for the Modern sequence of his CNN series , which explores the way in which the mod world is impacting ( and often endangering ) some of its own unique cultures . It was n’t Weir ’s first visit to Ikaria ; he made a prompt trip there a few years back withNational Geographicexplorer and author Dan Buettner , who officially declare Ikaria one of the human race ’s five ( and hopefully counting)Blue Zones . “ Unfortunately I was only able to spend less than 48 hours on the island , ” Weir tellsmental_floss . “ I always knew I wanted to go back and do it right-hand . ”
The first thing any visitant to Ikaria agnise is the difficulty it take to get there . With its jolting shoreline , infamously strong twist and unsmooth seas ( which were referenced by Homer inTheIliad ) , and seemingly desolate oceanfront , Ikaria is not the most outwardly hospitable looking at of the Hellenic isles . “ Neighboring island , which you could see from Ikaria , are bustling port and tourer attractor , ” Weir explain . “ But it was this unusual quirk of geology and geography that preserve ships from docking there for many years . Then , in the age of the pirates , a heap of the topical anesthetic moved up into the hills . So those quirks of history and wind and geographics all led to this sort of isolated biotic community . ”
That isolation may very well be one of the reasons why Ikarians live on longer — of Buettner ’s five global Blue Zones , three of them ( Ikaria ; Sardinia , Italy ; and Okinawa , Japan ) are found on island — but it ’s only one of many reasons . Ikarians , who abide by a traditional Mediterranean diet , exist by an “ eat on what you grow and serve what ’s overbold ” mental capacity . And the hilly locale means that in monastic order to eat what you grow , you must climb your style up and down to it first .
There ’s also the wine-colored , which they develop locally and suffice by the liter in unassuming plastic bottle . And which they regularly relish with friend and kin .
“ I went there think it would be the particular variety of honey they corrode every break of day or some antioxidant in the plant life life , ” Weir says . “ But the lesson I got from person after person was : all thing in moderateness . They know how to blow it out — they have huge parties — but it ’s a treat . It ’s a once - a - week event . And they rust meat as a special treat , as part of a festival or a jubilation , so they always have something to expect forward to . Whereas we ’re so used to instant gratification : ‘ I deserve to treat myself , so let me orderanotherrack of ribs ! ’ It ’s hardly an earth - shaking Book of Revelation to hear that , but to see how they practice that was really interesting . ”
Still , modern life is cringe in — even if it has take several decennium longer than in most share of the world . “ They got telephones in the former ’ 80 and now they all have Internet , ” says Weir . “ So they ’re discovering the delight of sit on the couch with a bag of chips and splurge - watch their pet shows like we do . ”
Which mean it ’s up to the young generation of Ikarians to recognize the specialness of their own community of interests and carry on its tradition of centenarians . “ It ’s not a very exciting place and that has something to do with the length of service , ” Weir says . “ It ’s not like Mykonos . To keep an energetic twentysomething on that island and keep that lineage go is their biggest challenge . ”
alas , it may very well take leave Ikaria to interpret its rarity . And jumping to the obvious conclusion that the betting odds of populate longer in a place that sees 20 percent less cancer than we do , half the amount of center disease , and almost no depressive disorder or dementia are stacked in your favor .
“ Wherever you go in the world , a lot of the health of the community is base on how comfortable everyone is in hugging each other and how confining the great unwashed are with their neighbors and with their family , ” Weir says . “ Ikarians have anintensesocial bond that I have n’t experienced in any other place . ”
That societal shackle is especially important within the phratry structure , where several generation of family dwell together under one roof — and all contributing equally — is the norm . Whereas around half of all Americans over the age of 95 are experience in breast feeding domicile , Ikarians in the same age bracket are still making daily treks from the brow into Ithiel Town to socialise . In Ikaria , it ’s only after age 103 that banks would count a loanword a risky endeavor . There is no generation spread .
“ America is such a transient society , ” Weir says . “ I grew up in a menage where reinvention was just a uracil - Haul out . And families dissipate to the idle words as line of work and college pull in you apart . And I love that about our country . But sometimes it just takes a reminder like this that it ’s the petty decisions that are so crucial : If you need help caring for your mommy or pa as they get up there in age , their proximity to the phratry and how often they ’ll get to see everyone should be as big of a vexation as anything else . ”
Maintaining close personal connection is just as significant outside of the family . After leaving Ikaria , Weir was enwrapped on adapt some of what he had learned there to his own life . “ I came home and I told my married woman : ‘ We’vegotto be after a company . ’ My Ikarian solution was to connect with the people I care about in life more often . And it ’s unmanageable . We get fussy . But no one looks back from their death bed and say , ‘ I wish I ’d spent some more time at the office . ’ It takes an effort . But the big [ takeaway ] for me was being jealous of that rough human link that these folks have . And how that keep you go well and as long as potential . ”
Watch a clipping ofThe Wonder lean ’s sojourn to Ikariahere . The Wonder Listis on CNN Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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