The people who live in the hillside villages of central Sardinia seem to know the secret of living longer.
Psychologist Susan Pinker investigates this Sardinian secret in an article in the British national newspaper, The Guardian. She notes: “In villages in Sardinia, 10 times as many men live past 100 than the average. Why? A Key reason is that they are not lonely.”
Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean and a possession of Italy, is one of five regions of the world called Blue Zones, so-called because National Geographic magazine and the world’s best longevity researchers have identified them as longevity zones, where people reach the age of 100 at rates 10 times greater than in the United States.
Pinker’s point is that in this era of disbanded families and virtual connections, we have lost the importance of face-to-face communication. It’s a fact that women outlive men by an average of five to seven years. Pinker says a big reason for this is “women are more prone to seek out and build longstanding, intimate personal relationships within their extended families, through lifelong friendships, in their neighborhoods.”
An exception to this rule is Sardinia, specifically the hilltop villages in the central part of the country. Men live as long as women, often well into their 90s and beyond. In fact, says Pinker, 10 times as many men there live past the age of 100 as men who live elsewhere, despite living hard lives as shepherds, farmers and laborers.
So what’s the secret sauce for longevity? She says that the isolation of the villages has created very strong face-to-face socialization and a feeling of being a part of a cohesive group. These people are not lonely; they are bonded to each other.
Pinker says that many studies over the last decade show the benefits of face-to-face social contact. Social isolation, as pointed out in a landmark article in Science magazine in the late 1980s, is a major risk factor for premature death.
The people of Sardinia’s hill towns lead active lives well into their later years and all have a circle of close friends, family and colleagues. This, says Pinker, leads to a feeling of inclusion.
That may be the missing link in our wired global world of today. She says, “Our survival hinges on social interaction…Over the last decade, huge population studies have shown that social integration – the feeling of being part of a cohesive group – fosters immunity and resilience.”
As much as we love digital social interaction, Pinker says there is nothing like the real thing. “And while the Internet allows us to ignore geography in our search for the like-minded, it has further stripped away the need to talk to our neighbors. Most commercial and social transactions have migrated online, where they are cheaper and quicker, and for many people, the workplace and classroom are now virtual, too.”
Here’s the point: “If electronic media inform and entertain us, who needs all that forced person-to-person chit-chat?”
It seems to work for the people in Sardinia and the Blue Zones. Could it work for you?
