Costa Rica Has One of the Longest-Living Populations on Earth and a New Study Just Revealed the Five Things Behind It

Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula is one of only five Blue Zones on the planet, a designation given to regions where people consistently live longer, healthier lives than anywhere else in the world. The others are Sardinia in Italy, Okinawa in Japan, Ikaria in Greece and Loma Linda in California, and each has been studied extensively for the habits and conditions that produce such extraordinary longevity. A new study published in the Revista Cuidado y Ocupación Humana focused specifically on the supercentenarians of Nicoya and identified five activities that set them apart, not just from the general population but from the long-lived people in other Blue Zones as well.

The research points to a combination of diet, environment, genetics and social connection as the foundation of Nicoyan longevity, but the five activities identified go considerably deeper than the usual lifestyle advice and offer something more specific, a portrait of how people who live past 100 in this region actually spend their days.

Spirituality and Community as Survival Tools

The first activity on the list is religious or spiritual practice, and the research frames it in a way that goes past the obvious. Spirituality in this context refers to the personal search for connection with something larger than oneself, while religion encompasses the more structured and communal dimension of that search, the rituals, the gatherings, the shared practices that create a sense of belonging within a group. For elderly people, the research suggests that community religious practice helps them solve problems in daily life and provides a social nucleus that reduces isolation and depression.

The study also notes that religious belief functions as a coping mechanism for the specific losses that accumulate in old age, the deaths of friends, partners and close family members that become an increasingly regular feature of life past a certain age. One of the researchers described widowhood as something that can be reframed through a spiritual lens, with the belief in the continued presence of a loved one after death and the possibility of connection through prayer offering genuine psychological protection against grief.

The second activity is family and community gatherings, and the data behind this one is striking. The grandparent-grandchild relationship in particular has been shown to improve dopamine and oxytocin levels while reducing feelings of loneliness and depression. A study published in the Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior found that grandparents who sporadically care for their grandchildren recorded a mortality rate 33 percent lower than those who had no such interaction. Community gatherings of any description, whether a dance, a gardening class or a walk in the park, create and strengthen the support networks and friendships that are described in the research as vital for healthy aging, particularly in countries with high rates of elder abandonment. Psychogerontologist Elizeth Altamirano told Milenio that where there are high rates of abandonment and social deprivation, the people elderly adults turn to most frequently are their friends, describing that social network as a first-order protective resource.

Light Domestic Work and the Danger of Over-Protection

The third activity is one that challenges a common and well-intentioned instinct among families with elderly relatives. The research found that Costa Rican centenarians, even those with a moderate level of dependence, consistently sought to perform light domestic tasks including folding and organizing clothing, arranging food in the pantry and refrigerator, dusting, washing vegetables for a meal and clearing the table after eating. These are small acts, but the research treats them as essential because they preserve a sense of autonomy and usefulness that is deeply connected to psychological wellbeing in old age.

Altamirano described the opposite tendency, the impulse to tell an elderly person to sit down and let someone else handle everything, as a form of infantilization that strips older adults of their agency and accelerates decline. He referred to it as the syndrome of “Don’t get up, I’ll do it,” and argued that the better approach is to keep elderly people participating in household life from a position of direction and simple contribution, letting them guide the recipe, chop soft vegetables or organize the kitchen rather than removing them from activities they have performed their entire lives. The distinction between helpful support and disempowering over-protection, he suggested, is one that families need to learn to observe carefully.

The Last Two Activities on the List Are the Ones Nobody Talks About Enough

The fourth activity identified by the research is traditional games and conversation, both of which benefit cognitive health, maintain social connection and in the case of certain games, preserve physical mobility as well. Sustained conversation with peers and across generations prevents depression, isolation and unwanted loneliness while also elevating self-esteem and the sense of belonging that older adults need to remain psychologically healthy.

The fifth and final activity is caring for animals or plants, and the research frames this one in terms of a fundamental human need, the need to feel indispensable. A parrot, a cat, a rose bush or a succulent all serve the same psychological function for an elderly person, which is to provide a living being whose survival depends on them and whose presence transforms daily routine into something purposeful. The research notes that people who care for animals or plants tend to perceive those beings as individuals with their own personalities rather than objects, which deepens the emotional bond and increases the sense of responsibility that keeps the caregiver active and engaged. The physical benefits are also real, walking a dog, bending to change the soil in a plant, lifting a pot to move it to a better spot in the sun, all of these keep the body moving in ways that matter cumulatively over years and decades of daily life.