People on the Japanese island of Okinawa are among the planet’s longest-lived. One factor for this is that they tend to eat a highly nutritious, plant-based diet. But another is more psychological and has to do with having meaning and purpose in life – what the Japanese call ikigai.
Many studies suggest there are benefits to having ikigai. For instance, a team at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine surveyed over 40,000 adults twice over a period of seven years. The participants who said they had ikigai at the start of the study were less likely to have died before the end of the study.
Other research has linked ikigai to speedier recovery from knee surgery; having fewer biological markers of stress; better immune system functioning; a higher chance of surviving heart attack; and feeling more in control of one’s health.