Life is short, and Blue Zones Project wants to help you make it longer. 

Often times, our days are filled with computer work or waiting in carpool lines, so it's easy to get caught up in our busy American lifestyle. But, what if your environment set you up so that it was easy to make healthier choices? 

The secrets of living longer, better are all around us. By using the Blue Zones® Power 9®, the nine secrets of longevity, to improve where we live, work, learn, and play, we make it easier to get up and move, eat healthy, make new friends, find a reason for being—and ultimately, live longer, better. 

Follow the blue zones power 9 to add years to your life: 

1. Move Naturally. The world’s longest-lived people live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They grow gardens and don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.
2. Purpose. The Okinawans call it “Ikigai” and the Nicoyans call it “plan de vida;” for both it translates to “why I wake up in the morning.” Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy
3. Down Shift.
 Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap, and Sardinians do happy hour.
4. 80% Rule
 “Hara hachi bu.” The Okinawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full. 
5. Plant Slant
. Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Meat—mostly pork—is eaten on average only five times per month. Serving sizes are 3-4 oz., about the size of deck or cards.
6. Wine @ 5
. People in all Blue Zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink 1-2 glasses per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. 
7. Belong.
 All but five of the 263 centenarians we interviewed belonged to some faith-based community. Denomination doesn’t seem to matter. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.
8. Family First. Successful centenarians in the Blue Zones put their loved ones first. This means keeping aging parents and grandparents nearby or in the home, they commit to a life partner, and invest in their children with time and love.
9. Right Tribe. 
The world’s longest lived people chose–or were born into–social circles that supported healthy behaviors, Okinawans created ”moais”–groups of five friends that committed to each other for life.