Diet, healthy relationships and a positive attitude are all factors that contribute to longevity, but the elixir for a long and happy life isn't complete without physical activity.
It turns out that there is some value in learning more about how the longest-living people in the world move their bodies each day, which is exactly what Héctor García and Francesc Miralles did.
The authors of "Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life," spoke to over 100 of the oldest people in Okinawa, Japan, a blue zone with the highest concentration of centenarians in the world.
García and Miralles got a sense of Okinawan centenarians' daily behaviors, including how they moved their bodies. "You don't need to go to the gym for an hour every day or run marathons," wrote García and Miralles.
"As Japanese centenarians show us, all you need is to add movement to your day."
The 5-minute exercise the longest-living people in Japan do every single day: Radio taiso
Nearly everyone that García and Miralles interviewed said they practice radio taiso, a popular Japanese exercise that has been around for decades.
"Even the residents of the nursing home we visited dedicated at least five minutes every day to it, though some did the exercises from their wheelchairs," the authors wrote.
Rajio taisō, which translates to "radio exercises" got its name because instructions for the movements were broadcasted on the radio in 1929.
Today, radio taiso still airs daily at 6:30 a.m. on one of Japan's oldest radio stations, NHK Radio 1, according to a site dedicated to the exercise.
The movements are low-intensity, can be a great way to start your day and only take about three minutes to complete, the site says.
A key goal in radio taiso is to "promote a spirit of unity among participants," according to García and Miralles. The exercises are typically done in group settings, including in schools before learning and at businesses before working, they add.
"One of the most iconic radio taiso exercises consists of simply raising your arms above your head and then bringing them down in a circular motion," the authors wrote.
"It might seem basic, but in our modern lives, we can spend days without raising our arms above our ears."
Yoga and tai chi were also common practices among older individuals in Japan. But "if you don't like any of these disciplines, feel free to choose a practice that you love and that makes you move," García and Miralles wrote.
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