Nonnamaxxing is more than just another health and wellness trend. It’s a lifestyle that promotes slowing down and savouring the moment. Nonna is the Italian word for grandma, and they seem to have the secret sauce (pun definitely intended) for a long, well-lived life, rich with simple pleasures.
Italy, particularly Sardinia, is one of the world’s blue zones — a population with a large percentage of centenarians — people who live to be 100 years old. These blue zones occur due to a combination of longevity habits like daily physical activity, a healthy diet, and having a sense of purpose and community.
Nonnamaxxing Wellness-
The wellness industry can sometimes overcomplicate the steps to living a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Random supplements, high-tech devices, fad diets, and overly long wellness routines ideas might pop into your feeds regularly. While that stuff can be fun to try and might work for you, wellness really can be simple and inexpensive.
Let nonnamaxxing remind you that cooking healthy meals from scratch, spending time with loved ones, going outside for a walk, and keeping yourself busy with good-for-you activities is the easiest way to live well.
Too often, we’re aiming to optimize every minute of the day; no wonder we’re feeling the effects of burnout. Almost everyone, but particularly Gen Z, is finding it increasingly difficult to socialize, leading to higher levels of loneliness than previous generations.
If you’re ready to stop living through a screen and integrate back into reality, nonnamaxxing can be the exact wellness strategy you need, and you won’t need a fancy gym membership or expensive supplements to do it. Commit to reducing your daily screen time by doing other activities when you find yourself reaching for a scroll.
Slowing Down-
Slow-cooked simmering sauces, a blooming herb and flower garden, laughter, gossip and togetherness are the pillars of nonnamaxxing. Sometimes, the most effective tools to combat anxiety and mental spirals are tracing back to a simpler way of life.
Frankly, nonnas may not have had enough time to spiral, with everything that needed to get done in a day. Cooking pasta from scratch, hanging laundry on a clothing line, tending to a garden, and raising a family don’t leave much space for doomscrolling and unhealthy comparisons.
Screen Time-
Any free time you have can easily get sucked into mindless social media use. However, having a high screen time can wreak havoc on your mental health and well-being. We collectively seem to know what the issue is; it really is those damn phones, yet old habits die hard.
We use phones to distract us from any negative thoughts or feelings we have. Yet the cause of those feelings often stems from our phones. It’s a chicken-or-the-egg situation. Commit to reducing your daily screen time by finding other activities when you find yourself reaching for a scroll.
Aging-
With the rise of social media and unnecessarily high-tech cameras that can pinpoint every wrinkle or blemish, we’ve begun to have weird thoughts around aging. In many of the world’s blue zones, aging is something to be revered. With aging comes wisdom and a unique perspective.
While it can be tempting to overanalyze your body and face and find flaws, remember that getting older is a privilege that not everyone is lucky enough to experience. Take good care of your skin, eat well, drink tons of water, and lather on the SPF to age gracefully, just like nonnas do.
Walk-
It’s hard to remember what it was like without conveniences like Uber, Lyft, or streamlined metro systems. Nonna’s have long been speed walking around town, hitting every errand with efficiency. At least during the warmer months, commit to walking more often.
If an errand isn’t super far away, walk. Go for a walk when you first wake up or digest your dinner with an evening stroll. However you choose to get it, start walking. It’s such a simple way to get exercise without overexerting yourself if you’re not in the mood for a full workout session. Grab friends or your dog and head out to soak in some fresh air and vitamin D.
Community-
Italians are known for their strong family ties and their commitment to their community. You’ll often see them congregate on their front porch or balcony with an espresso in hand, keeping watch and gathering all the tea. Sunday dinners are mandatory, and their daily walks with friends are non-negotiable.
Spend time people watching the next time you sit outside with a coffee. Enjoy fresh air and remember that not every activity needs to be accompanied by a scroll. Volunteer for a local cause that speaks to you, join a club that interests you, host a dinner, or bring baked goods to loved ones or coworkers for no reason other than just because.
Ways to integrate into your community:
- People watch
- Volunteer
- Cook or bake for loved ones for no reason
- Host a dinner
- Join a walking or running club
Slow Activities-
Many of us live constantly in our heads. A way to Irish exit out of your brain is to get your hands working. Activate your green thumb or make things from scratch, whether it’s from pasta dough, knitting, or crochet. Using your hands to make or grow something can help to get you out of your head and into the present moment.
Digging in soil to plant seeds or peeling and chopping vegetables to make soup can feel therapeutic and help ground you, especially when you’re feeling stressed or anxious. Aim to do these slow activities more often and see what beautiful or delicious things you end up creating.
Slow Activites:
- Gardening
- Cooking from scratch
- Knitting or crochet
- Card games or puzzles
- Scrapbooking
- Paint or draw
- Journaling
Cooking-
Cooking is fun once you figure out your way around a kitchen. While your skills might not be up to par with nonnas everywhere, with practice, you can improve. If you’re already relatively skilled, try making pasta or pizza dough from scratch. If you’re someone who burns toast, find simple, beginner-friendly recipes to learn. Cooking for yourself is so much healthier and less expensive than eating out regularly. Nonna knows how to utilize in-season produce to make the freshest, best-tasting meals.
Peaceful Dopamine-
Some might find nonnamaxxing activities ‘boring,’ but we live in a time where our brains are constantly searching for dopamine hits. That might come from phone notifications, scrolling, vaping, gambling, drinking, or external validation. Nonna’s come from a time when those quick and often unhealthy dopamine hits weren’t as accessible.
Training your brain to be present in the quiet or boredom can actually be really healthy for you. You’ll learn to exist without constantly chasing harmful sources of dopamine and find solace in the peace and quiet.
Final Thoughts-
Nonnamaxxing isn’t just another wellness trend. The components really work to help you slow down and live in the present moment. As tempting as it is to optimize every second of your day, get lost in your phone, or never give yourself a break from working, in the long term, those habits do more harm than good.
Nonnamaxxing is here to remind you of the important things in life. Things like getting involved in your community and prioritizing time with your friends and family over home-cooked meals or long walks. Spend more time on analog activities and fight back against hustle culture and burnout. Tend to a garden, knit, read, or make dough. You might’ve been yearning for a different way of life, but were unsure what that entailed. Nonnamaxxing is here to help you live like an Italian grandma and see if this simpler, slower way of living brings you more happiness, and overall well-being.
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