Probably, if you're generally healthy — but roughly one in five adults between the ages of 51 and 75 in a 2022 study couldn't hold the position for the full ten seconds, and over a median of seven years of follow-up, that group's risk of dying from any cause was 84% higher than the group that could, even after researchers adjusted for age, sex, weight and existing health conditions.
The test itself, as researchers and several independent write-ups of the study describe performing it, takes about ten seconds and no equipment:
- Stand barefoot in a safe, open space, ideally near a wall or counter in case you lose your balance.
- Keep your arms relaxed at your sides and your eyes open, looking straight ahead.
- Lift one foot and rest the top of that foot against the back of your other leg's calf.
- Once you're steady in that position, start a timer (or have someone count for you).
- Hold it, unsupported, for 10 full seconds. Either leg counts as a pass — you don't need to succeed on both.
What did the study find?
A team led by exercise physiologist Claudio Gil Araujo tracked 1,702 adults ages 51 to 75 — 68% men — who were tested on the stance between 2008 and 2020, then followed for vital status.¹ About 20% of the group couldn't hold the position for the full 10 seconds on either leg. Over a median follow-up of 7 years, 7.2% of the whole group died: 4.6% among the people who passed the test, compared with 17.5% among the people who failed it.
That gap narrows, but doesn't disappear, once researchers account for the obvious confounders. After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index and existing health conditions, people who couldn't hold the 10-second stance had an 84% higher risk of dying from any cause than people who could (hazard ratio 1.84, 95% confidence interval 1.23 to 2.78). The researchers also found that adding the test's result to a model already built from standard risk factors measurably improved how well that model predicted who would die during the study — the balance test was adding information age, sex and the other variables weren't already capturing on their own.
Does failing the test mean something is wrong?
Not on its own. A single failed stance doesn't diagnose a specific disease — it's a snapshot of how well several systems are working together in that moment: inner-ear balance signals, muscle strength in the legs and core, joint position sense, and reaction time, all of which tend to decline with age and with inactivity. The study's authors describe the test as a marker that adds useful information to a routine physical exam, not a stand-alone diagnostic tool, and they're explicit that their analysis couldn't account for every relevant factor — including a recent history of falls or how physically active each person actually was day to day, either of which could explain part of the link.
If you fail the test, that's a reasonable prompt to mention it at your next physical rather than a reason for alarm on its own.
What the research says
Araujo and colleagues' 2022 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that the inability to complete a 10-second one-legged stance was independently associated with an 84% higher risk of all-cause mortality over a median of 7 years, after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index and comorbidities.¹ The study is observational — it followed people and recorded who could and couldn't do the test, rather than assigning balance ability — so it can show an association but can't prove that poor balance itself causes earlier death; the more likely explanation is that balance reflects underlying muscle strength, nervous-system function and overall frailty, each of which independently predicts mortality on its own. The authors also flag that they didn't measure two factors that could influence both balance and survival — recent falls and habitual physical activity level — so some of the association may be explained by differences in those unmeasured habits between the two groups, not by balance ability itself.
What you can do this week
- Try the test yourself, barefoot, near a wall or counter you can reach if needed. Test both legs and note which one, if either, you couldn't hold for the full 10 seconds.
- If you couldn't hold it, add balance practice to your week rather than waiting for it to improve on its own — standing on one leg while brushing your teeth, a tai chi or balance-focused class, or single-leg exercises in a strength routine are common starting points people use to build the skill back up.
- Treat it as one data point among several, the way grip strength doubles as a simple marker of aging — neither test replaces a clinician's exam, but both are quick, equipment-free ways to notice a change worth asking about.
A 10-second stance won't tell you everything about how you're aging. But it's rare to find a test this simple that researchers have linked this directly to a measurable health outcome — which is probably reason enough to try it once and see where you land.
