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A simple balance test can show your real biological age

Is your body older or younger than your chronological age?

via Canva

A couple doing balance practice.

Your chronological age is the number of years you’ve lived, but that isn’t the greatest predictor of your health. Doctors often consider your biological age to determine your overall health or longevity.

There is no universal formula for determining someone’s biological age. Doctors usually consider one’s family health history, diseases, conditions, sleep, diet, and exercise habits. They can also determine someone’s biological age by checking their balance, grip strength and endurance.

A new study by the Mayo Clinic found that your ability to balance on one foot is an indicator of bone, nerve, and muscle strength and can help determine your biological age.

"Balancing on one leg requires multiple components of physiological function that each typically declines with age, including strength in the leg and postural stabilizing muscles, neuromuscular coordination, and intact sensory information and reflexes," Prof David Proctor, aging and exercise expert at Pennsylvania State University, told BBC Science Focus.

"Attempts to prevent or slow the loss of muscle strength and balance in older age could mean the difference between remaining functionally independent and early admission to a nursing home!" he continued.

The researchers asked people between the ages of 50 and 80 to balance for 30 seconds on each leg with their eyes open and closed. The team found that for every additional 10 years of age, swaying increased by 6.3% if their eyes were open and 10.5% if their eyes were closed.

So, if you are over 50 and can stand on one leg for 30 seconds without significant wavering, you’re probably doing well for your age. But if you experience considerable wavering, then you should work on training your neuromuscular system.

The study comes two years after researchers in Brazil found that older adults who cannot stand on one foot for 10 seconds or more are nearly twice as likely to die in the next 10 years. The inability to stand on one foot shows that the body has lost neuromuscular strength, but it also makes one vulnerable to falling.

“Remember that we regularly need to stay in a one-legged posture, to move out of a car, to climb or descend a step or stair and so on," the study’s author, Dr. Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, a sports and exercise physician and director of research and education at the Exercise Medicine Clinic-CLINIMEX in Rio de Janeiro, said according to NBC News. “Aged people falling are at very high risk of major fractures and other related complications," Araújo wrote. "This may play a role in the higher risk of mortality.”

The same researchers found a similar test that predicted one’s risk of death. Araújo and his colleagues released a study in 2016 that found that one’ ability to sit on the floor and then stand up without using their knees or handles for support was a good indicator of longevity.

You begin the test with a score of 10 and subtract points on your way up and down for doing the following:

Hand used for support: -1 point

Knee used for support: -1 point

Forearm used for support: -1 point

One hand on knee or thigh: -1 point

Side of leg used for support: -1 point

Those who score in the lowest range, 0 to 3, had up to a 6 times greater chance of dying than those in the highest scores (8 to 10). About 40% of those in the 0 to 3 range died within 11 years of the study.

If you are having trouble with any of these exercises, you can improve by training your neuromuscular system through swimming, running, or cycling. Training programs are also available to help increase neuromuscular fitness. As with any exercise program, please consult a physician before attempting rigorous exercise.

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18 months shy of 100, Dick Van Dyke has big plans that don’t include retirement

The unstoppable legend is still excited about what’s next.

Gage Skidmore

Dick Van Dyke is the epitome of aging goals.

If there's any Hollywood star that embodies agelessness, positivity and good old-fashioned fun, it's Dick Van Dyke. The legendary comedic actor has had a 70-year long career in film, television and stage productions and he shows no signs of stopping.

In fact, at 98-years-old, he says he'd love to take a one-man show on the road.

“Cary Grant did it,” Van Dyke told Deadline. “And Gregory Peck. Went on the road and talked about their careers. I think it’d be fun.”

The man behind the iconic dance scenes in “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” has always shown off his seemingly endless energy in his physical performances, but the fact that he’s still going strong at 18 months shy of 100 is genuinely impressive.

His secret? “Genuinely enjoying myself,” he said. He insists his success isn’t due to any particular ambition or drive, but rather that he sees his work as play. “I always loved what I was doing. If it had felt like work, I probably would have stopped it a long time ago, but I just loved it."

And it wasn’t that he was specifically trained for the work. He started at 17 as a radio announcer and then joined a comedy troupe, in fact, he’d never even had a dance lesson before he landed some of his most well-known roles.

“I was always pretty light footed,” Van Dyke told Entertainment Weekly. “When I auditioned for Bye Bye Birdie, [director] Gower Champion said, ‘You have the part.’ And I said, ‘Mr. Champion, I don't dance.’ He said, ‘I'll show you.’ And he did. He saw that I had the physical ability to do it, and it was like learning to fly.”

As is typical for his age, Van Dyke’s long-term memories are sharp while he forgets things like what he ate for breakfast. But his wife, Arlene, whom he’s been married to for 12 years, helps keep him going.

“She keeps me in shape, feeds me and I love her more everyday,” he told Forbes. “We’re just getting closer and closer.”

Arlene (52) also shared with Forbes how Van Dyke has made her a better person, reinforcing that his loveable, jolly demeanor is just who he is.

“I was very cynical, I think, when I first met him,” she said. “He’s such a great human being and he’s so pure in his thoughts and his heart, that it’s rubbed off on me. Just all the wholesome things of life—that’s what he has and he’s just made me a better person.”

Van Dyke doesn't see himself the way the rest of us do, as a legend and an icon. “It’s a little hard for me to get my brain around that,” he told Deadline. “I don’t see myself that way and I can’t comprehend myself as that."

However, the recent CBS television special that showcased his life and career in a variety show, "Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic" made it clear that his legendary status is solidly understood. Between the joy his performances have brought to children and adults alike, the positivity he exudes on screen and off, the longevity and vitality he displays on every level, he's proven himself to be entertainment and aging goals personified.

With age comes a lot of loss, however, and Van Dyke admits there's a bit of sadness in seeing his career being showcased, as most of the people he's worked with have passed. He told Deadline that Carl Reiner's death hit him particularly hard.

"“I think I learned more from Carl Reiner than anyone else,” he said. “He understood comedy. He understood drama. He had a sense of timing like nobody else. And he was just so sharp and bright and a philosopher on top of it. He was the finest human being I ever knew.”

But regardless of age, Van Dyke has no plans to retire, ever. He just did his first soap opera spot on "Days of Our Lives," and he delights in seeing how his work—his "play"—continues to make an impact.

“I’m on my third generation now of kids who are writing to me," he told Deadline. "And I’m getting wonderful mail from their parents thanking me for providing good entertainment for their kids. They’re so kind about it. That I really appreciate. I’m so lucky.”

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Identity

One woman's question asking if life gets better after 30 went viral. Here are the best responses.

No, you don't have to have life "figured out."

Photo by Marina Barcelos on Unsplash

A recent Twitter thread highlights life after turning 30.

There's something really scary about turning 30. Society places so much emphasis on reaching your fourth decade of life, giving it more importance than it actually needs. At 30, apparently, you're supposed to have figured out all the big things, including your career and your love life. It reminds me of the movie "13 Going on 30" when teenage Jenna is sitting in the closet repeating "30 and flirty and thriving" over to herself as some sort of mantra. I don't know about your experience, but the concept of "30 and flirty and thriving" for me ended up being a total myth. That's what people are trying to tell a Twitter user who needed reassurance that life "gets better" after 30.

Katherine Morgan, known as blktinabelcher on Twitter, is a writer and bookseller who asked a question of the Twitter hive mind to set her mind at ease.

"I’m 28, so I’m almost there, but can people in their 30s and older please (gently) tell me that it’s going to get better and I don’t need to have figured out my entire life in two years?" she wrote. The tweet took off, with more than 100,000 likes and thousands of replies. While everyone phrased their responses differently, the general consensus was you don't have to have anything figured out before you turn 30.

Here are some of the best replies:

"I feel like I ain’t even start living until I was 30. You good," prolific author Jason Reynolds said.

"I'm more than twice your age, and it's getting better and I'm just now starting to figure it out. You are way ahead of schedule," said user Dean Gloster.

"The good news is you don't need to figure your life out in 2 years. The semi-bad news is never fully gets figured out. That's a myth. You'll be growing and changing your whole life, and there will be periods of confusion in there. There will also be periods of stability." — sosomanysarahs

"I'm seventy in less than a month. Every decade was better than the one before. I'm so looking forward to this next one." — sandralambert

"I’m 34. You definitely do NOT need to have it all figured out. I don’t. And I’m okay with that. And things definitely do get better, there’s no doubt about that. You’ve got this. Your 30s come with a hell of a lot more clarity." — _gregorryyy

"I turned my corner at 46. It got better not because I was older, but because I finally cut loose/healed all that was holding me back. 30 is arbitrary. You’ll get there." — author Deesha Philyaw

What is it about turning 30 that scares people so much? Research on the topic turns up millions of articles about the fear and anxiety attached to the 30th birthday. I remember the way my stomach would churn as the calendar got closer to my 30th birthday. I experienced an overwhelming sense of dread because I didn't feel I had accomplished all the things that TV, films and magazines told me I should have by then.

In an article for Forbes, writer Frances Bridges points out that "thirty may not be 'that young,' but it is definitely young enough that if you do not like your job, your partner, the city you live in, etc., you can change your life and still be the success you envisioned."

That's the thing! We treat turning 30 like an ending, when should be a beginning. Now that I'm in my mid-30s, I feel like the most settled, current version of myself to date. Are there still major life changes happening? Of course, that's called being alive. There is something to be said about the emotional shifts of growing older. The more life you live, the more your perspective changes and you become more settled in who you are.

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Family

This dance crew of women over 40 has all of the right moves.

'I'm not just 'over the hill,' but I'm coming down that hill with speed, baby!'

True
Smirnoff

On a beautiful Saturday morning in Los Angeles, a group of women gathered together to get down.

It looked just like this.

All images from Ole Skool, used with permission.

And this. 

The moves are top-notch. But this isn't your run-of-the-mill dance crew. 

​Meet Ole Skool, the dancers for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks.

These women are mothers, grandmothers, teachers, and retirees to name a few — but the common bond they all have is they're over 40 years old and are passionate about dancing. 

The fierce ladies of the Ole Skool dance crew.

News flash: No matter what the media tries to tell you, women don't expire at 40.

Are you looking for women over 40 in television or movies? Good luck with that because they are few and far between. Even though the majority of the female population in the U.S. is over 40, older men appear almost 10 times more often than women in the media. 

The ladies on the Ole Skool crew want to flip the script. Not only are they all over 40, but they're here to tell you that they're living the best years of their lives right now. 

Let's meet a few of them.

The baby of the crew: 42-year-old Richelle.

Richelle is a high school teacher and said that she learned to dance right around the time she learned how to walk. When she was in her 20s, she was a dancer for the Chicago Bulls during the Michael Jordan era.

Now? She's a 41-year-old mother of two with a simple message for her fellow moms:

"Show your kids that you can do anything and be anything," she said. "That will inspire them do anything and be anything, too." 

The OD (Original Dancer): 63-year-old Marilyn.

When the L.A. Sparks formed a dance team back in 2004, Marilyn was one of the original members. 12 years later, the 63-year-old grandmother is still kicking (literally). With a smile to light up any room and the personality to match, Marilyn shares her perspective on the current state of her life. 

"People say you're over the hill when you're 40," Marilyn told Upworthy. "I'm not just 'over the hill,' but I'm coming down that hill with speed, baby!" 

The daughter of a legend: 58-year-old Virginia.

To say that Virginia's background is interesting would be an understatement. She's the daughter of musical legend Johnny Guitar Watson and said she was the casting director for Prince's first small acting gig in Los Angeles. 

While growing up, she watched her dad revolutionize the music industry, and she's honored to be a part of team that's doing the same in the dance world. 

"Make today the day that you step into your dreams," Virginia told Upworthy. "At the end of the day, the only person who can tell your story is you."

The leader: 31-year-old Lindsay.

OK, so 31-year-old Lindsay's technically not a member of the team, but that's because she's the director and choreographer of the Ole Skool crew. She will be the first to admit that she was a little hesitant at first about coaching women who are old enough to be her mother, but now she understands the effect her team is having on women everywhere.

"Being around this team is one of the biggest blessings in my life," Lindsay told Upworthy. "Just by watching them, you can tell that they make the world a better place by performing and when they're out in society." 

Make no mistake about it. The Ole Skool crew are doing amazing things on the dance floor, but their most valuable contribution is reminding us that anything is possible.

The bond between these ladies is a powerful one.

In a world where people throw the word "love" around so loosely, it's great to see a group of diverse women who truly love each other. 

Their bond is forged by the intense happiness that comes from doing what they love in an environment where looks and age mean nothing (unless you're under 40, that is — then you'll have to wait your turn). 

And in reality, if we all danced more — the world would be a happier place. 

Check out the Ole Skool crew in action!

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