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Longevity test: If you can hang from a bar this long, you’re likely to live longer

Hang time is a great measurement of overall health.

via Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels and Dinielle De Veyra/Pexels

A man and a woman doing dead hangs.

Would you really want to know how long you have to live? On one hand, it’d probably inspire you to go out and complete your bucket list. On the other, it may be depressing to know just how many days you have left. Well, science has yet to discover a way to determine the average person's life expectancy. However, some indicators can show whether someone is in danger of having their life cut short by deteriorating health.

A study published by Clinical Interventions in Aging in 2019 determined that handgrip strength can be a reliable proxy for how long one has to live. One of the best ways to judge handgrip strength is to time how long you can hang from a bar. To test your grip strength, find yourself a pull-up bar, whether at a gym or local park, take a deep breath and start hanging.

The study found that 30 seconds is a good target for women and 60 is an excellent goal for men. Therefore, if you go longer than the goal, you’re looking at a long life. But if you can’t quite get there, your life may be shorter than you’d like.



Dr. Peter Attia believes that grip strength is a great way to determine one’s overall health.

“It's just a great proxy for overall body strength and muscle mass, but I think it's also a very functional form of strength,” he said on “The Drive” podcast. “Basically, everything in your upper body is mediated through your hands. And if your grip is weak, everything Downstream of that is weak. When you watch someone, who's got a weak grip deadlifting. It's very difficult for them to deadlift correctly because they don't create a proper wedge.

Doctors Eve M. Glazier and Elizabeth Ko at UCLA Health say poor grip strength is connected to numerous diseases. “Research continues to link a decline in grip strength to a range of adverse health issues, including heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. It has also been found to be a predictor of the likelihood of post-surgical complications, post-surgical recovery time and mortality,” they wrote on the UCLA Health blog.

Weight can also significantly affect how long a person can hang from a bar. So don’t lighter people have an unfair advantage advantage than those on the heavier side? Well, weight is also an important indicator of longevity. A study published in Aging Cell found a direct correlation between increased body mass and decreased longevity.



The good news for people who didn’t quite make their hang time goal is that you can improve it by practicing dead hangs.

How to perform a dead hang (according to Healthline):

  • Use a secure overhead bar. Use a step or bench to reach the bar with your arms easily. You don’t want to jump straight into a dead hang.
  • Grip the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you). Aim to keep your arms shoulder-width apart.
  • Move your feet off the step or bench so you’re hanging on to the bar.
  • Keep your arms straight and stay relaxed.
  • If you’re new to the exercise, hang for 10 seconds. Then, work your way up to 45 seconds to 1 minute at a time.
  • Slowly step back onto the step or bench before releasing your arms. Repeat up to 3 times if you wish.
This article originally appeared in August.



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Yale psychologist says this simple mindset change can help you live 7.5 years longer

Aging is all in the mind.

via Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels

An older woman spending time with her daughter.

Folks with a positive attitude about getting older often say, “Age ain’t nothing but a number.” But according to Yale professor Becca Levy, the more accurate philosophy should be, “Age ain’t nothing but an attitude.”

According to Levy’s work, developing the correct attitude about aging can help increase our lifespans. The problem is that ageism is embedded deeply into Western culture. For example, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of an older person? The most common answer in the U.S. is “memory loss.” However, in China, it’s “wisdom.”

The average life expectancy in China is 78.2 years, compared to 77.5 in the U.S. Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, at 85.2 years, and a lot of that has to do with the country's attitudes towards aging.

“[Levy] noticed that in Japan, old age is treated as a time to enjoy rather than to fear," a Yale School of Public Health article examining her career said. “The Japanese don't make a lot of fuss about menopause, for example, treating it as a valued phase of life, unlike in the U.S. where it is sometimes treated like a midlife affliction,” Levy said. “As a result, older Japanese women are less likely to experience hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause than women of the same age in the U.S."

via Tristan Le/Pexels

How does a positive attitude affect longevity?

Levy’s research led to a landmark 23-year study in which she and her team found that those with a positive view about aging live an average of 7.5 years longer than those without.

The study looked at responses that 660 older people in a small town in Ohio gave to a survey about their attitudes toward aging. It found that those with positive attitudes toward aging had a greater lust for life, positively affecting their longevity. It also found that when people encounter negative stereotypes associated with aging, they have an adverse cardiovascular response to stress.

"Our study carries two messages. The discouraging one is that negative self-perceptions can diminish life expectancy; the encouraging one is that positive self-perceptions can prolong life expectancy," say the authors.

via Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels

How to have a positive attitude about aging

Eric Kim, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia and Hannah Giasson from the University of Michigan’s Department of Psychology shared four ways people can improve their attitudes towards aging with the American Heart Association.

1. Maintain a sense of purpose

"People's purposes can be quite different," Kim said. If your family is a high priority, find ways to help out your loved ones. If you're passionate about the environment, find an organization that allows you to give back. “Volunteer work is a great way to [have a sense of purpose]," he said.

2. Reject negative messages about aging

"Develop an awareness of these messages," Giasson suggests. “Understand how they influence us." Rejecting negative ideas about aging, such as the idea that disease is inevitable, gives us more reason to care for our health and feel we have control over our future.

via Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels

3. Stay socially active

People may lose loved ones as they age and social isolation is a big problem. Loneliness increases the risks of heart attacks, strokes, depression and low self-esteem. However, positive social connections can have a positive effect on health.

4. Try something new

People often stop doing activities they enjoyed when they were younger because they lack the physical ability. "Don't fall into the mindset that it's too late to try something new," Giasson said. “It's never too late, and you're never too old to explore new interests."


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‘I feel good, so why stop?’ 91-year-old opens up a new barber shop.

Staying active is the key to a long life.

via Google

Bob Rohloff gives a haircut at his new barber shop.

The old saying goes, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life," and it’s true. When you love what you do, a job isn’t work at all. It can be as enjoyable as your favorite hobby while making money at the same time.

Loving what you do is also great for your health. Studies show that people who love their work live longer, and those who are constantly stressed at their jobs have a significantly higher risk of heart disease.

Bob Rohloff is a beautiful example of the benefits of having a job you love. At 91, he opened a new business, Bob’s Old Fashioned Barbershop, in Hortonville, Wisconsin.

Rohloff started cutting hair in 1948, and 60 years later, he retired with his wife, Marian, in Arizona, but it didn’t last long. After a few months, he “unretired” and went back to cutting hair. In 2010, the couple moved back to Wisconsin, and Rohloff cut hair at the Hortonville Family Barbershop.

“Retirement isn’t that easy,” Rohloff told CNBC. “You need to stay active in something, whether it’s a hobby or a job, and I happened to enjoy my job very much … it’s fun coming into the shop; I like to do it, and I feel good, so why stop?”

Rohloff estimates he’s given over 100,000 haircuts in his life.

Fate intervened when 55-year-old Mark Karweick, who had recently returned to Wisconsin from Michigan, was introduced to Rohloff. After talking to each other for 90 minutes, they decided to open up a shop together.

The team’s new shop is a throwback to an old-school barbershop, complete with a 100-year-old chair that Rohloff jokes is the only thing in the palace older than him. “There aren’t that many old-fashioned shops left in the country, and we’re gonna try and keep it that way,” Rohloff told Spectrum News. The shop also boasts furniture relocated from an old barber shop in Michigan.

The prices are old-fashioned, too. A standard cut is just $14 and $12 for seniors.

Rohloff is a true believer in the idea that the key to good health and longevity is to keep doing what you love. “Sitting in a La-Z-Boy, that’s no way to live. Most people got their health issues, and they either give up, or they think they can’t do anything after a certain age, but they can,” Karweick said.

There’s a lot of truth to Rohloff’s philosophy. Colin Milner, founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging, tells Fortune that following the principles of Active Aging can extend longevity and quality of life.

“Physical activity is just one of the many elements that makes up a person,” Milner says. “It’s just as important that we are socially connected and that we are intellectually active.” The keys to being an “active ager” are to stay positive, socially connected, involved with community groups, curious and calm. It’s also important to eat right and stay away from tobacco.

When asked about his advice for living a long, happy life, Rohloff believes in the importance of being active as well. “Don’t quit. I don’t think you will enjoy yourselves. Stay active in something, whether it’s a hobby or a job, but you got to stay active,” Rohloff said.

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A 100-year-old neurologist who's still working shares his secrets to longevity

Guinness World Records named him 'world's oldest practicing doctor.'

via St. Vincent Charity Health

Dr. Howard Tucker from St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.

Dr. Howard Tucker added another honor to his illustrious career last year when the Guinness Book of World Records named him the world’s oldest practicing doctor. At the time, the neurologist was 99 years old and still seeing patients.

Now, at the age of 100, he told TODAY he recently stopped seeing patients but keeps himself busy teaching medical residents at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, twice a week.

Dr. Tucker believes his long career is a major reason for his incredible longevity. “I look upon retirement as the enemy of longevity,” Tucker told TODAY.

The doctor was born in 1922, graduated from The Ohio State University College of Medicine in 1947 and served as a Navy neurologist during the Korean War. “Anyone who was discharged from the Navy for neurological reasons, if his residence was east of the Mississippi, I had to examine him before he could be discharged,” Tucker told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Dr. Tucker practiced neurology at a time when CT scans and MRIs didn’t exist, so diagnosed his patients using little more than his knowledge of medicine.

“We used to have to really think through a problem because there weren’t any diagnostic tools of that magnitude,” Tucker told JTA. “We used to agonize over a problem. Is this a pattern of a tumor? Is this a pattern of abnormality with a stroke? In those days we had to work harder, but it was fun.”

It’s no surprise that, as a neurologist, he believes keeping mentally active is the secret to a long life. He told News 5 Cleveland that he tries to learn something new every day with a focus on new advancements in the medical field.

He stresses the fact that people should remain active as they age, whether that means staying in their careers or engaging in mentally challenging hobbies.

“I think that to retire, one can face potential shriveling up and ending in a nursing home. It’s fun staying alive and working," he told TODAY. “It’s delightful work. Every day I learn something new.

“I’m going to caution (people): If they retire from their work, they should at least do something as a hobby, whether it be communal work or self-hobbies,” he continued, “you need a stimulus for the brain daily.”

Dr. Tucker clearly knows what he’s talking about both as a centenarian and a medical professional. A 2016 study of 3,000 adults published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that staying at work for an extra year reduced the risk of dying from any cause by 11%, over the following 20 years.

"Retiring earlier would seem healthy because you might escape a stressful workplace or have more time to exercise—a few studies have shown this," CBC longevity columnist Sharon Basaraba said. "But more and larger studies have concluded that early retirement is actually a risk factor for early death."

Dr. Tucker attributes his longevity partially to his genetics because his mother lived to be 84 and his father, 96. But lifestyle habits are important, too. “Everything in moderation, except no cigarette smoking—that’s about it,” he told TODAY.

He also has a philosophy he lives by.

"Study each day as if you were to live forever, and live each day as if you were to die tomorrow," he told WKYC. "I've carried that with me all the time."

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