▲The island is also famous for its tradition of "panagiria," or festivals celebrating religious holidays. In most countries these are few and far between, but from May to October, Ikaria reportedly hosts multiple events per week!

▲Buettner recounts the story of Stamatis Moraitis, a man living in Florida in his sixties, who was struggling with lung cancer and given nine months to live. Instead of seeking aggressive treatment, he returned to his home island of Ikaria, where he could be buried with his ancestors.

▲Today, Ikarians are almost entirely free of dementia, they suffer 20% less from cancer, and experience half the rate of heart disease, as well as a much lower risk of depression.

▲Ikaria has an idyllic rugged, verdant landscape, with many rivers, waterfalls, gorges, turquoise beaches, and sunsets that will blow you out of the water.

▲On the tiny Greek island of Ikaria, with an area of just 254.4 sq km (99 sq miles), something mystifying is happening to people. As if they’ve discovered the secret elixir of eternal life, people on the island are far more likely to live to 100, and diseases like lung cancer strangely disappear.

Dan Buettner began the Blue Zones project (used to describe geographical areas with superior longevity), which took a closer look at Ikaria, “the island where people forget to die.” From sex to food, stress to sleep, click through to find out the near-mystical islanders’ key to longer, healthier lives.

▲Ikarians keep themselves as far as they can from consumerism, materialism, time pressures, globalization, and essentially all forms of living for other people. That is, perhaps, how they maintain a strong sense of identity.

▲Anchos is the Greek word for anxiety or stress, but it's one you won't hear very often on the island. Why stress about things that don't make you happy when you've got beaches, fresh food, free activities, and people who care about you?

▲The Aegean island has a long history of invasion by Persians, Romans and Turks, which forced people inland, creating isolated cultures rich with tradition and family values. Ikaria was once its own nation as well, which may explain why the islanders have such large differences from their mainland neighbors.

▲In some villages, stores will open at midnight and remain open till dawn. Most of the world's concept of “late” is not relevant to the islanders, but neither are alarm clocks in the mornings.

▲Most of us think about exercise as a chore, but it's engineered into Ikarian life. There's no need to hit the gym because they exercise regularly, whether it's digging dirt or walking the uneven terrain to town square.

▲The geography, culture, diet, lifestyle and outlook are all inextricably tied to the magical quality of this island's life, so here's a closer look at what that entails in Ikaria.

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It seems longevity is actually just a coincidental bonus to happiness.

▲Take a much needed cue from Ikaria and indulge in a mid-afternoon break. People who nap regularly (at least three days a week) reportedly have up to a 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease, perhaps due to the decreased stress hormones.

▲Built in the village of Rache, the police station has reportedly remained unused for many years, after the villagers convened and agreed that they didn't want or need policing—yet the island remains extraordinarily safe, and crime is virtually non-existent.

▲On average, people in Ikaria live 10 years longer than those in the rest of Europe and America. Approximately one third of the population makes it to their nineties, a feat which is two and half times more likely in Ikaria than in America.

▲Shop owners can open and close their stores as they wish, and receive no complaints. In the eyes of the islanders, there is no need to live life serving and obeying others.

▲Generally, Ikarians are described as open, relaxed, down to earth, playful, industrious, and passionate. They're the kind of people who greet you with a genuine smile and don't miss a chance to say hello.

▲One of the most distinguishing qualities of Ikarian culture is that people operate independently of clocks and schedules. Appointments, and the anxiety that comes with them, are absent.

▲Residents enjoy strong red wine, late-night domino games, scenic walks through mountainous terrain, and a relaxed pace of life.

▲The Guardian reported that 100-year-old Gregoris Tsahas, despite having smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 70 years, enjoys a happy, healthy life. Besides appendicitis, he hasn't seen illness for longer than he can remember, and on average he walks 4 km (2.5 miles) per day.

▲Ikarians eat a variation of the Mediterranean diet, which Blue Zone has estimated yields up to four extra years of life expectancy. It consists of minimal consumption of meat and dairy (and goat's milk instead of cow's), as well as lots of fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, potatoes, fish, herbs, and olive oil.

▲The island's population remains around 8,500, which eliminates that all-too-common feeling of anonymity that blooms in dense urban centers. Having strong social connections, and keeping the elderly active members of society, is one of the main reasons credited with health and longevity.

▲Since wine is served all day, Ikarians enjoy ending the night with a local “mountain tea” made from dried herbs native to the island. The wild rosemary, sage and mint teas double as traditional Greek remedies, with strong antioxidants that lower blood pressure and combat illness. However Ikarians don't just drink it when they're sick.

▲Though the island has not escaped the Greek economic crisis and many remain unemployed, Ikarians are self-sufficient people, consisting mainly of shepherds, farmers, fisherman, shop owners, and craftsmen. Most households also grow their own supply of produce.

▲Moraitis spent time in bed at first, then began going out to see the old sights and meet up with his childhood friends, drinking wine and trying to enjoy the rest of his life. But then he started to get stronger, started gardening, and then actually harvesting, and he made it into his nineties despite being told he wouldn't survive his sixties.

▲Something Buettner has found that unites the elderly inhabitants of this blue zone is that they never purposely intended to extend their lives. Rather, the environment allowed and encouraged it.

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Besides the benefits of gathering together the community for a replenishing night of dancing and feasting, the proceeds from the parties mostly go back into the villages, either for the church or to improve the infrastructure.

(Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

▲Ikaria has a long history of taking people in and hosting visitors, even when they have limited resources themselves. The tradition stems from a time before transport networks, yet continues to this day in making tourists feel welcome.

▲According to the preliminary University of Athens' Ikaria Study, 80% of Ikarian men between the ages of 65 and 100 reported they were still having sex, and of those, a quarter did so with "good duration" and "achievement."

▲Ikaria is named after Icarus who, according to Greek mythology, flew too close to the sun and fatally crashed on the island. Icarus' desire to escape imprisonment from a tyrannical but civilized king is infused in the islanders, who similarly dare to fly closer to freedom.

The extraordinary story behind the island of long life

Unravel the mystery behind one Greek island's miraculous inhabitants

31/01/20 por StarsInsider

TRAVEL Curiosity

On the tiny Greek island of Ikaria, with an area of just 254.4 sq km (99 sq miles), something mystifying is happening to people. As if they’ve discovered the secret elixir of eternal life, people on the island are far more likely to live to 100, and diseases like lung cancer strangely disappear.

Dan Buettner began the Blue Zones project (used to describe geographical areas with superior longevity), which took a closer look at Ikaria, “the island where people forget to die.” From sex to food, stress to sleep, click through to find out the near-mystical islanders’ key to longer, healthier lives.