--- title: Watch: The Island That Holds the Secret to Long Life description: A glimpse of how the people of Ikaria, Greece reach old age canonical: https://time.com/110822/ikaria-longevity-health/ author: Diane Tsai article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-23T21:07:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T11:31:51.351Z article:section: Health og:title: Watch: The Island That Holds the Secret to Long Life og:description: A glimpse of how the people of Ikaria, Greece reach old age og:url: https://time.com/110822/ikaria-longevity-health/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40f7ab5cae764afe/698690c2cd804d874fccb029/ikaria_longevity_1280.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1280 og:image:height: 720 og:image:alt: Longevity in Ikaria og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch: The Island That Holds the Secret to Long Life twitter:description: A glimpse of how the people of Ikaria, Greece reach old age twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40f7ab5cae764afe/698690c2cd804d874fccb029/ikaria_longevity_1280.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch: The Island That Holds the Secret to Long Life > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Diane Tsai](https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/) and [Dan Q. Tham](https://time.com/author/time-video/) May 23, 2014 9:07 PM UTC  Giannis Melis and his wife on the island of Ikaria. Giannis Melis and his wife on the island of Ikaria. TIME by [Diane Tsai](https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/) and [Dan Q. Tham](https://time.com/author/time-video/) May 23, 2014 9:07 PM UTC Today is the 115th birthday of Jeralean Talley, the [oldest living American](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/23/oldest-living-american-turns-115/9470209/?utm%5Fsource=dlvr.it&utm%5Fmedium=twitter&dlvrit=384245). While reaching that age would be considered a feat by many, it’s not so far-fetched to the people of Ikaria, Greece. In 2009, it was named a [longevity hotspot](http://www.bluezones.com/expedition/ikaria/) for being home to people who [reach the age of 90 at a rate two and a half times greater than in the U.S.](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/magazine/the-island-where-people-forget-to-die.html?pagewanted=all&%5Fr=0) “Ikaria’s a very unique island. The people are not what you would find in other places. They have a different lifestyle, a different way of looking at life,” said Thea Parikos, an American-born Ikarian who returned to the island as an adult. Situated in the Aegean Sea, Ikaria is a mountainous island with a population of 10,000\. Winding dirt paths descend toward cerulean water and the faint bleating of meandering goats in the distance can often be heard. The island’s arresting beauty and temperate climate create an enticing atmosphere of rest, but elderly Ikarians thrive on keeping themselves busy. The remarkable longevity of Ikarians is attributed to multiple factors. A heavily plant-based diet, habitual physical activity such as tending to a garden, social bonds, and a stoic approach to stressful situations have been cited as reasons why Ikaria is home to such a high number of centenarians. “Everybody’s trying to find the secrets of longevity,” said Xanthi Tigani, who is writing her Ph.D. thesis on Greek longevity at the University of Athens Medical School. “There’s no one thing that can make you grow to be 100 years old or older.” Nothing can make us stop trying to figure it out, though. And the Ikarians may provide some clues. _Dan Q. 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