Woman describes what life is like in 'blue zone' where people live longer as man cheated death for 40 years

A woman has opened up about moving to a 'blue zone', where human life expectancy is much higher.

There are five places which are currently thought as the first 'blue zones', a place where conditions are seemingly just right for humans to flourish and live long lives.

They are the Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, Nucor Province in Sardinia, Ikaria in Greece, Loma Linda in California, and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, where business coach Martha Pierce moved.

But what exactly is the secret which makes people live for so long?

Well, Martha opened up to Insider about what she thinks is so special about the 'blue zones', and what makes them so conducive to a long life.

Sam Mellish / In Pictures via Getty Images Images

Martha, who is originally from Colorado, US, made the decision to move to Saint Theresa, Costa Rica two weeks ago, seeking a different climate to the one in her home state.

She says that she was familiar with the 'Blue Zone' diet, adding: "I generally understand the diet, the lifestyle, the approach. In many ways, I already lived those traits."

But one of the crucial factors that she found seemed to be the lack of stress.

She said: "People here have a much more relaxed approach to life. People are way less stressed. It's obvious.

"I'm less stressed too. I'm noticing a sense of more fulfillment. As Americans, and for me personally, I felt like I was always reaching for something, looking for the next client, the next revenue, the next milestone.

"And here, there's a sense of contentment and an experience of community that feels quite different."

So it's finding a sense of satisfaction where you are now.

Sounds easy enough.

X/@martharpierce

She continued: "The biggest adjustment has been adjusting to the attitude of the people here. You don't realize you're stressed when you're around a whole bunch of other people who are also stressed.

"The speed at which things move here is just slightly slower. I definitely feel more relaxed."

Martha also added that people are defintely more 'active', adding: "About half the population surfs. It's a surfing town, so there's a culture of that here."

According to the National Library of Medicine, studies have demonstrated that only about 20 percent of a person's life expectancy is determined by their genetics, the rest is down to lifestyle.

Matthew Williams-Ellis/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

However, studies into 'blue zones' found that leaving the onus for a healthy lifestyle down to the individual does not work, but having people living in healthy places does appear to help.

And the environment may well have had an impact on Stamatis Moraitis, who moved back to his home on Ikaria in Greece after he received a terminal cancer diagnosis, with around six to nine months to live.

Stamatis moved back home after being given months to live, saying he would 'start drinking wine and wait for the day'.

He put his health and recovery down to clean air, good food and a stress free life on the island, also joking that 'the wine helped'.

Death did eventually come, but not for another 40 years, when he passed away in 2013.