The 6 key habits the Japanese follow to live a long life
The older we get, the more important every day and every year become. We value precious time with grandchildren, traveling, enjoying nature, and friends. According to a popular view, longevity is related to genetics, but it’s our day-to-day activities that ultimately determine the length of life we’re going to experience. The way we sleep. Further, the food we eat and how we eat it, movement and breath. The way we spend our time. Even the quality of a pillow you use for sleeping plays an important role. An orthopedic buckwheat hull pillows help people very much. All of these matter, as they build the puzzle of our lives piece by piece.
The Japanese live the longest
In rankings for overall life expectancy (the length of life of citizens in a given country) published by The World Health Organization in 2013, Japan ranks number one globally with it’s life expectancy of 84 years. Further, in the published report “Global Health observatory data repository: Life expectancy: data by country”, Japanese women are expected to live the longest – on average 87 years – and Japanese men to 80 years.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
Is it in the genes?
It hasn’t always been like this. After WWII, the Japanese had among the lowest life expectancy in the world! It clearly isn’t genetics that determines the longevity of a person, it’s a result of what a person does throughout their life.
The Japanese are good teachers for simple life enhancing habits that everyone can follow starting right now. With that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise you that buckwheat hull pillows (called “Soba gara makura”) and mattresses were first created and used in Japan over 600 years ago.
What do the Japanese do differently?
The 6 key habits that the Japanese follow to live a long and healthy life
1. Eating lots of vegetables
First: the Japanese traditional diet consists of rice, vegetables and fish, with small amounts of fermented soy and seaweed. Second, to cook their food, they steam, boil, stir-fry, slow-cook and ferment. Further, they also eat raw food. This includes more fish than red meat, the opposite of what most North Americans do. Over consumption of red meat can increase the risk of heart disease and other serious life threatening illnesses.
2. They drink healthy tea, and celebrate it.
Often it is a special kind of tea: “matcha” (a high quality powdered tea) made of young leaves grown in the shade. This form of cultivation increases the level of antioxidants and chlorophyll in the leaves. Moreover, they drink green tea (Oolong Tea) which is rich in antioxidants too and helps break up oils in the digestive system for healthy bowel function. However, it’s important to note that green tea can reduce iron absorption in the body, so be cautious with consumption if you have the iron deficiency form of anemia.
healthy japanese tea, healthy habits
3. They sleep on healthy pillows and mattresses, often made of buckwheat husks (called “sobakawa” in Japan).
It’s estimated that over 70 million people in Japan use buckwheat husk pillows in their homes. Eventually, it isn’t surprising, when we know of their healthy habits, because sleeping on buckwheat husk pillows helps with neck and muscle pain, headaches, tension, snoring, sleeplessness, high blood pressure and more. Moreover, buckwheat husks are also hypoallergenic. Plus, orthopedic buckwheat hull pillows with buckwheat husks as their filling, are among the best pillows for side sleepers.
orthopedic pillows
4. Their food is very fresh and eaten in small portions
Plates that food is served on in Japan are small. You will see on them a variety of foods with contrasting tastes. Indeed, small plates mean smaller portions. Eventually, the Japanese don’t overeat. In fact, according to Greg O’Neill (director of the US National Academy on an Ageing Society), Americans eat three times as much calories as the Japanese.
What’s more, the freshness of food is also key in Japan. The fresher the food is, the more nutrients it has and the better it is for the body and general health. Next, it relates to Japanese fish consumption and the types of grains and vegetables that they eat.
5. Walking, standing, moving the body
Japanese people walk, take a train and stand on the train on their way to work throughout the city and countryside. Moreover, cars are considered a luxury. Further, it’s estimated that between 2013 and 2014 Japan’s railways carried nearly 7.3 billion passengers. Furthermore, Japan is only slightly bigger than Germany, totaling 377,944 km2 compared to Germany’s 357,168 km2, but it carries 3 times more passengers per year. What’s more, it also has the fastest trains, running punctually. People in Japan move their bodies, and remain upright while traveling, more than people do in Europe and North America.
Sport is an everyday activity. Furthermore, exercises are even broadcast on the radio. People exercise in big groups together.
orthopedic pillows
6. They value cleanliness in the environment including living spaces.
It’s a centuries-old tradition in Shintoism, (a religion Japanese follow), to maintain cleanliness. Further, simple habits they follow and teach us about, can do wonders. Finally, taking a shower every day, washing your hands often, and cleaning the house on a regular basis will help to keep you healthy, lowering your risk for many diseases.
Ortopedic buckwheat hull pillows
Finally, Japanese healthy habits are spreading around the world. Eventually, the health enhancing benefits of buckwheat hull pillows and mattresses are well-known in the USA and Canada. People have been using them there for decades. Moreover, the farmers in the USA produce twice as much buckwheat when you compare it to Japan, and the clinicians prescribe the pillows because the “pillows seem to aid in keeping the spine aligned” (Wall Street Journal).
So have a look at our Profiled orthopedic buckwheat hull pillows that can help you with neck and muscle pain among other health benefits.
The Japanese and their longevity
Finally, We love diving into Japan and its culture. Dan Buettner, author of “Blue Zones”, a book about several communities who live the longest, described the Japanese as well. In addition to travelling to Italy, the USA, Corsica, he spent time on Okinawa, a small island in Japan. Finally, what he found there, is fascinating. What’s more, we wrote about it in our lenghty article about longevity, you will find here:
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