Four Simple Ways to Prioritize Family

Blue Zones researchers discovered the happiest, healthiest people in the world tend to build their lives around family. Centenarians in the original blue zones areas put their loved ones first. Keeping aging parents and grandparents nearby or in the home is common, and can lower disease and mortality rates for everyone in the home. Blue zones area residents commit to a life partner, which may add up to three years of life expectancy, and they invest in their children with time and love. This lifelong devotion to family pays off, and there are small steps you can take today to make sure your putting loved ones first.

 

Eat a meal together every day. Today’s hectic lifestyle can make eating together a challenge, but people of all ages eat better when they share meals with others. If you have children, family meals can instill healthy eating habits, prevent psychosocial issues, and can improve self-esteem, among other physical and mental health benefits. Prepare a healthy meal together and enjoy the positive connection with your closest kin.

 

Get moving together. After dinner, take a walk or go on a bike ride. If you have younger children, visit your local park or playground. Participating in physical activity as a family can strengthen family bonds and improve the overall mood of both parents and children.

 

Share your family history. Our ability to tell stories is one of our most powerful gifts, and other people’s stories can provide us with a roadmap of information and wisdom to help us better navigate life’s challenges. Children love stories about when their parents and grandparents were young, and sharing our history ensures that family traditions are passed down through generations.

 

Set weekly date nights with your partner. Date nights are necessities, not luxuries. Planned time together enhances your friendship as well as your emotional connectedness, both critical parts of any committed relationship. Men and women who spend time with their partner every week tend to be happier (both as individuals and as couples) than those who don’t spend this kind of time with their mate.

 

 

Investing time in your loved ones can add up to six years to your life. Whether you’re spending time with your given or chosen people, make sure to make time for family.