Want to Know How Well You’re Aging? Try Standing on One Leg

Forget about a palm reading to know your inner self—striking a flamingo pose might give you more insight into how well you’re doing. In a new study published this week, researchers have found evidence that a one-legged balance test can be a reliable marker of aging, one that might even outperform other commonly used tests.

As we age, all of our bodies get weaker and more prone to numerous ailments. But not everyone declines at the same rate, and there are many things we can do to extend the years of relatively good health left on our mortal clock. In this new research, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists at the Mayo Clinic wanted to compare different methods of measuring someone’s age-related health, in hopes of making it easier to track how well we’re aging in our golden years.

The study involved 40 healthy people over the age of 50, with half being under 65. The volunteers underwent several physical tests, including having their hand grip strength and gait (a person’s walking and running pattern) measured. They also took several tests of their balance, one of which had them try to stand on their non-dominant leg for 30 seconds.

The researchers found that most measures correlated well with age, in that as people got older, they tended to have lower grip or knee strength, for instance. The exception was gait, which didn’t appear to be significantly affected by age. And the single clearest measure associated with age was actually how long a person was able to stand like a flamingo on one leg. This pattern held true for men and women as well.

“These findings suggest that the duration of unipedal stance can serve as a reliable and gender-independent measure of neuromuscular aging for both elderly male and female subjects,” the researchers found.

While we might not think about it most of the time, having good balance is key to our health and our ability to live independently, especially as we get older. Accidental falls are the leading cause of death from injury in people over 65, and it’s estimated that about 3 million elderly Americans end up in the emergency room as a result of falling every year.

“Balance is an important measure because, in addition to muscle strength, it requires input from vision, the vestibular system and the somatosensory systems,” said senior author and Mayo Clinic researcher Kenton Kaufman in a statement from the Mayo Clinic. “Changes in balance are noteworthy. If you have poor balance, you’re at risk of falling, whether or not you’re moving. Falls are a severe health risk with serious consequences.”

Kaufman says that as long as you can manage to stand upright on one leg for 30 seconds, you’re doing alright. But if that isn’t the case or you’re simply looking to keep your stability up, you can improve your balance over time by regularly attempting exercises like a one-legged stand (other balance exercises can be seen here). Of course, any kind of exercise done routinely can improve your health, no matter the age.

“If you don’t use it, you lose it. If you use it, you maintain it,” he said. “It’s easy to do. It doesn’t require special equipment, and you can do it every day.”