How to have a Blue Zones summer

This summer, take small steps towards a big goal. One of our favorite ways is taking “exercise snacks”. No, we’re not talking about the calories you burn while reaching for a bag of chips. An exercise snack is a short, easy form of exercise that gives you similar benefits as longer, more sustained workouts. Famously, Blue Zones populations do not specifically exercise, they simply move naturally every 20 minutes or so. Exercise snacks are the perfect way to integrate movement into your daily life.

Mixing food by hand versus a blender or sweeping instead of a robot vacuum are all examples of exercise snacks. Gardening requires digging into the dirt, sowing seeds, weeding, and harvesting, which are also “snacks.” A study of more than 44,000 adult men and women from four different countries showed a reduced risk of early death by engaging in just 30- 40 minutes of exercise each day. Even more exciting is that a benefit was realized with even just 11 minutes of activity for those who are otherwise sedentary. Simply put, the more you move, the more calories you burn, and the faster your metabolism will be. The key is to make these activities vigorous — and that’s different for different people. It only has to be vigorous for you.

Exercise snacks don’t need to be highly structured, either. They can be as simple as including short bursts of speed during a daily walk or when climbing stairs. Dancing a few times a day is an exercise snack that’s fun for the entire family. When you are talking on the phone, walk in place or around the room. Set an alarm to get up and move at least once an hour to do some walking, squats, jumping jacks, or household chores like sweeping, gardening, or hand washing dishes. In addition to muscle strength and cardiovascular health, short exercise snacks before meals help control blood sugar levels, so they can be particularly effective to prevent type 2 diabetes^*, heart disease and other related conditions. A Blue Zones diet, primarily plant based, includes plenty of nuts, seeds, and beans, as well as occasional meat and alcohol consumption. This diet complements the benefits of exercise snacks.

The table below provides you with a “Move Naturally” menu of exercise snacks to try:

The beauty of exercise snacks is that you need no special equipment. The cardiovascular and muscle strength benefits come from lifting and moving your body weight.