How Long You Can Balance on One Leg Reveals This About Your Biological Age

People in the blue zones would have you believe that aging is preventable with proper nutrition, but professionals know that one of the biggest ways to maintain your well-being as you get older is to stay active. It turns out there's a surprising way to measure whether you're aging gracefully, according to a recent study from the Mayo Clinic.

A new study shows that how long you can balance on one leg is a direct indicator of how well you're aging. All in all, praise be to strange exercises.

The researchers studied 40 healthy men and women, half of whom were over 65 years of age and half of whom were under 65 years old. Researchers used tests of gait, balance, grip strength and knee strength to determine age-related decline.

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To test the participant's balance ability, they stood on force plates in different ways for 30 seconds; on both feet with eyes open, on both feet with eyes closed, on non-dominant leg with eyes open, and on dominant leg with eyes open.

“Balance is an important measure because it requires input from vision, the vestibular system, and somatosensory systems in addition to muscle strength,” said Kenton Kaufman, senior author of the study and director of Movement Analysis. laboratory at Mayo Clinic. “Changes in balance are significant. If your balance is poor, you are at risk of falling whether you are moving or not. Falls are a serious health risk with serious consequences.”

Across all tests, the researchers found that how long a person maintained balance while standing on one leg, especially the non-dominant leg, was a greater measure of aging than changes in leg strength or gait.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are the leading cause of injury for adults ages 65 and older. Additionally, 1 in 4 older adults report falling each year.

Kaufman states that an easy way to eliminate the effects of aging is to constantly apply the movements mentioned above. By practicing these regularly, you can improve your balance ability and reduce the risk of falling.

Dr. “If you don't use it, you lose it. If you use it, you preserve it,” says Kaufman. “It's easy to do. It doesn't require special equipment and you can do it every day.”

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