It’s not new information that people in Spain tend to live far longer than people from other countries, but the reasons why might surprise you!
Life Expectancy Rating
Let’s start with the facts. According to the WorldHealthRankings, Spain is ranked number 5 in terms of life expectancy worldwide. The average life expectancy for Spaniards in 2020 was 83.2 years in total, with women averaging 85.7 and men 80.7.
It might be hard to believe given how much Spaniards smoke and drink, but the Spanish lifestyle has proved to work wonders in terms of quality of life and life expectancy. Is it superior healthcare? The warm climate? The Mediterranean diet? Popularity of olive oil and red wine? The emphasis on walking and relaxed work culture? Well, it’s actually all of the above and more!
Spanish Diet
The quality and freshness of food seems to be the leading factor in the high life expectancy of Spaniards. Their diet includes fresh fish, chicken, fish, and plenty of leafy vegetables. Even their most common dish, the paella, includes healthy seafood,fresh vegetables and rice. All of these include excessive amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 which adds additional health benefits as well. These benefits reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases and other diseases. Not to mention the excessive amount of health benefits included in olive oil, which is a standard for Spanish diets. Olive oil contains Vitamins E and K and antioxidants that reduce the risk of chronic diseases, flight inflammation, and lower risk for heart disease. Olive oil also provides healthy fats and even can fight against Alzheimer’s disease and reduce type 2 diabetes risk.
According to an article by Age in Spain, the Spanish diet is the number one reason why people in Spain live so long. The article explains the importance of components like olive oil and fresh food in the Spanish diet.
Environment
Environmental factors such as a pleasant climate and high levels of sunshine also greatly improve the longevity of Spaniards. It’s no surprise that sunshine lifts our spirits, but it also has numerous health benefits that greatly contribute to increased life expectancy. When our skin is exposed to sunlight it produces vitamin D which helps your body absorb calcium and even reduce cancer growth.
Worklife
Spain differs from the majority of the world when it comes to how they treat work. It is far less common for Spaniards to slave over work trying to climb the corporate ladder.Instead, Spaniards put far more emphasis on working to live, rather than living to work (which is extremely common in places like the United States). Spaniards have the belief that a longer, more relaxed workday is better for one’s overall well-being and from the looks of it, they seem to be correct.
The Spanish workday also includes breaks which awards even more opportunity for Spaniards to care for their health. These breaks typically include a mid-morning “almuerza” where toast with tomato and a slice of tortilla is offered, or a quick coffee break. It is also standard to have an hour to two hour long lunch break typically around 2-3pm.
Healthcare
Spain affords every resident good, quality public healthcare and makes it easy to get quality private healthcare as well.Span is ranked 8th overall in terms of the best healthcare according to CEOWorld Magazine’s healthcare index! This can be contributed to the ease of accessing good private and public healthcare, even for expats. At Gidea Gestion, we make moving to Spain and getting insured effortless. To get your free health insurance quote online, simply visit Insbrok and they’ll take care of the rest!
At the end of the day, there are numerous different reasons as to why Spaniards live so much longer than the rest of the population. Whether it be the great weather, fresh food, emphasis on walking, or the superior work-life balance, The Spanish are definitely doing something right!