The simple daily exercise that can predict how long you might live – and 3 hacks to try

The ability to sit down and get up cross-legged could reveal how likely you are to live a long life, experts say.

The simple exercise provides information about how mobile you are – and could show that you are less likely to fall as you get older.

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Known as “sitting and standing,” this movement involves crossing your feet in front of each other and slowly lowering yourself to the floor without using your hands.

You then have to get up the same way and without any aids.

A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiologyshowed that people who could do the exercise generally survived longer.

Researchers followed a group of 51- to 80-year-old adults for three years to see if this was related to their likelihood of dying.

dr Kelly Starrett, a physical therapist and author, said the ability to do this can be an indication that you will live longer.

He said The Daily Telegraph: “The ability to do this is a sign that in later years you are less likely to suffer a debilitating fall and your overall health is better.”

In general, sitting on the floor is good for your health, he said, because it forces the body to balance and engages the core.

dr Starett said, “People in non-Western countries, for example, crouch down while waiting for the bus or sit cross-legged while eating.”

“This could be why people in China, for example, are 80 to 90 percent less likely to suffer from arthritic hip pain than people in the West.”

And it’s not just sitting and standing that can help you live longer — a number of exercises have been shown to improve life expectancy.

team sport

Sporting activities in a team have proven to be particularly conducive to prolonging life.

The social aspect of playing on a team or against an opponent contributes to the physical benefits, researchers say.

A study published in Mayo Clinic Procedures showed that tennis, badminton, and soccer are better for longevity than cycling, swimming, jogging, or the gym.

dr James O’Keefe of Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute said so Time: “For mental and physical well-being and longevity, we recognize that our social connections are probably the most important attribute of living a long, healthy and happy life.”

“If you’re interested in exercising for your health, longevity and well-being, perhaps the most important feature of your exercise program is that it should include a game meet.”

squats

To keep your bones strong as you age, weight lifting is vital.

Aleksandra Stacha-Fleming of New York’s Longevity Lab said pumping iron is especially important for women.

This is because bones become less dense during menopause.

she said Well+Good: “You need to train your muscles to give signals to your bones to get stronger.

“Loading exercises will help you build stronger bones, which will help you maintain your strength over the long term.”

Squats are a particularly good exercise with weights because they’re easy to extend and engage multiple parts of the body at once.

Joel Giffin of Flex Physical Therapy said, “When done at its best, a squat is beneficial regardless of the difficulty because it’s a functional exercise that’s a movement that we need to do every day.”

stress fitness

Another trick you can use to slow down your aging is stress fitness.

Dr. Elissa Epel of the University of California, San Francisco, refers to exercises that apply a brief burst of stress to your body.

This trains the body to respond to everyday stress, which has been shown to cause you to age faster.

Chronic stress causes body cells to wear out faster, increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease, dementia and depression.

dr Epel suggests trying high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to train your body against it.

This includes doing a top-level exercise for 30 seconds, e.g. B. Sprint before resting for 10 seconds.

Repeating this until seven minutes is up is a good start, and you can increase the reps as your anabolic fitness improves.