Have you ever heard of a “Blue Zone” before? If not, I encourage you to explore this idea either on the internet or by asking a friend. Put simply, a Blue Zone is a geographical location where humans live significantly longer than the average person. In these areas, individuals also tend to show fewer signs of chronic illness or health issues in general. You might be thinking that these particular populations live longer due to diet hacks and crazy exercise regimens, however, this is not the case. Instead, individuals who occupy Blue Zones base their lifestyle around finding balance in their activities, consuming foods local to their regions and connecting with their fellow community members on a deep, emotional level.
As we head into February, I would like to explore the ways we can embody some of the values of these Blue Zones here at Bates. The first concept our community can engage with during this process is related to diet and fitness culture. As an athlete myself, I have certainly been through my own journey related to food and exercise. It’s taken me a while but I have definitely learned that health is based on so many other factors than your appearance or what you eat, and can be impacted by so many things–there is no one size fits all! Whether it be sleep, social interactions, mental health, social justice, flexibility or any other areas of life, we can redefine what our overall health means to us and free ourselves from the toxicity of diet culture.
Blue Zones also stress the importance of connection. But what does it mean to connect with someone? According to psychiatrist Edward Hallowell’s book “Connect,” connection is when an individual feels “a part of something larger than [themself], feeling close to another person or group, feeling welcomed, and understood.” Connection should also be viewed as a respectful, mutual relationship between people that ultimately brings you joy. Hallowell also notes that instances of genuine connection can have a positive impact on one’s health, increasing one’s mood, decreasing blood pressure and can even be seen as a healing agent for some conditions. Ways to stay connected include going for a walk with a friend, attending a club meeting on campus, going to a professor’s office hours or calling a friend from home.
Lastly, we can aim to make Bates a Blue Zone by treating our space with great conscientiousness and respect. Occupying an environment as beautiful as our campus is an immense privilege and something we should work towards maintaining constantly–and it goes beyond picking up trash. Look out for emails about how we can keep our living place as clean and energy-efficient as possible and consider the different ways you can contribute to this effort. Some things I tend to see are people being kind and grateful to custodians, ensuring Commons food goes into proper sorting bins and participating in Bates-sponsored environmental efforts to reduce waste on campus.
While we cannot make Bates a Blue Zone overnight, taking some of these small steps can start to positively impact our overall health on campus and hopefully inspire us to be more respectful, conscious individuals.
