This article originally appeared in Well+Good.
Sitting on the floor may not be that comfortable, especially when compared with the relative luxury of a chair, but the simple practice is great for your longevity, according to a study of the world's longest-living populations.

Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner says that people living in Okinawa, Japan, keep furniture to a minimum in their homes, so they naturally do most of their sitting on the floor. And, he says, the health benefits are evident.

"The longest-lived women in the history of the world lived in Okinawa, and I know from personal experience that they sat on the floor," he says. "I spent two days with a 103-year-old woman and saw her get up and down from the floor 30 or 40 times, so that's like 30 or 40 squats done daily."

Read more...