There’s nothing particularly healthy about what the people on the island of Sardinia eat and drink, yet the island has dramatically more residents living to 100 plus than anywhere else in Italy or in North America. What’s their secret? Susan Pinker is a developmental psychologist and author. For her latest book, The Village Effect, Pinker studied how human interaction impacts our lives, including the extraordinarily long lives of Sardinians.

Sardinia is a “Blue Zone,” and it’s the only region in the world where men live as long as women. In the developed world, women outlive men by an average of six to eight years. Not only does the island close this gap, but both men and women on Sardinia live much longer, on average, than the rest of the world. Many Sardinians live to age 100 and above.