How long can you stand on one leg?

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Yesterday I read an article stating that a simple new measure of healthy ageing is the length of time a person can stand on one leg. I have since found several articles on the subject – here’s one – https://www.sciencealert.com/standing-on-one-leg-can-reveal-a-huge-amount-about-your-health and the gist of it is that a healthy adult aged up to 40 should be able to stand on their non-dominant leg, with their eyes open, for 45 seconds, while over 50 they should expect 30 seconds. Thereafter the time they can manage declines by a couple of seconds per decade. This simple test is useful because it can be performed so easily and as well as testing muscle strength, it also reflects the state of the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems. Balance is important because falls are a significant risk in older people, often leading to very poor outcomes. Of course after reading that I had to try it myself. On my right leg, which I think is my dominant leg, I managed over 8 minutes, while on the left only 3 minutes 40 seconds. How about you? Picture is nothing to do with it of course – unless you interpret fallen leaves as a metaphor for old age All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2024.