How long can you stand on one leg?
Eyes open, then eyes shut.
Sex
Eyes
Nearly everyone under forty maxes this out, which is why the young rows below read as they do.
Arms crossed on your chest, either foot, best of three. It ends when your arms come down, the raised foot moves, or the standing foot shifts.
One-leg stand by age and sex, in seconds
| Age | Men, eyes open | Men, eyes shut | Women, eyes open | Women, eyes shut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-39 | 44.4 s | 16.9 s | 45.1 s | 13.1 s |
| 40-49 | 41.6 s | 12 s | 42.1 s | 13.5 s |
| 50-59 | 41.5 s | 8.6 s | 40.9 s | 7.9 s |
| 60-69 | 33.8 s | 5.1 s | 30.4 s | 3.6 s |
| 70-79 | 25.9 s | 2.6 s | 16.7 s | 3.7 s |
| 80+ | 8.7 s | 1.8 s | 10.6 s | 2.1 s |
Best of three, each trial stopped at 45 seconds, which is why the young eyes-open figures sit just under that. The eyes-shut column is the one that falls off a cliff: around fifteen seconds in your thirties, eight in your fifties, under five past sixty. Source: Springer et al, Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy 2007, 549 adults.
How many people cannot hold ten seconds
| Age | Failed the ten-second stand |
|---|---|
| 51-55 | 4.7% |
| 56-60 | 8.1% |
| 61-65 | 17.8% |
| 66-70 | 36.8% |
| 71-75 | 53.6% |
Eyes open, either foot, up to three attempts. Below fifty the failure rate approaches zero, so passing it says very little at forty and a great deal at seventy. Source: Araujo et al, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2022, 1,702 adults.
All six together
nothing measured yetThree things the six tests measure, each against a published cohort. Two minutes apiece.
Results stay on this device unless you save them.
Eyes open, most healthy adults under forty can hold a one-leg stand for as long as anybody bothers to time them, so the useful version is eyes closed, where the average falls from about fifteen seconds in your thirties to under five past sixty. The ten second test people quote comes from 1,702 adults aged 51 to 75: one in five could not hold it, and their death rate over seven years was 1.84 times higher once age, sex, weight and existing conditions were accounted for. The 4.58 figure in the newspapers was before that adjustment.
What actually prevents falls
Exercise cuts falls 23 percent across 108 trials, but only the right kind at the right dose. Walking is not it, and neither is vitamin D.
Common questions
How long should I be able to stand on one leg?
With your eyes open, essentially as long as you like until about sixty: the study behind the norms stopped every trial at 45 seconds and almost everyone under forty reached it. With your eyes closed, the averages are around fifteen seconds in your thirties, eight in your fifties, and under five past sixty. The eyes-closed version is the one that tells a younger adult anything.
What does failing the ten second balance test mean?
In 1,702 adults aged 51 to 75, those who could not hold a ten second one-leg stand had 1.84 times the death rate over seven years after adjustment for age, sex, weight and existing conditions. It is a marker of overall physical reserve rather than a cause of anything, and below fifty almost nobody fails it, so passing says very little at forty and a good deal at seventy.
How do I perform the test properly?
Arms crossed on your chest, either foot, looking at a fixed point ahead of you. The trial ends when your arms come down, the raised foot touches anything, or the standing foot shifts or rotates. Take the best of three. Stand within reach of a wall or a worktop, especially with your eyes closed.
Why does closing your eyes make such a difference?
Balance runs on three inputs: what you see, what your inner ear senses, and what your joints and feet feel. With your eyes open, vision covers for the other two. Close them and you are testing the inner ear and the sense of where your limbs are, both of which decline quietly with age. That is why the eyes-closed column falls off a cliff between the forties and the sixties while the eyes-open column barely moves.
Can balance be trained, and how quickly?
Yes, and faster than almost anything else. Across roughly a hundred trials the improvement is consistent and moderate, the usual course is about twelve weeks, and one small study found most of the resistance to a stumble appeared after a single session. Standing on one leg while you brush your teeth is a real intervention, not a joke.
Is this test a fall risk assessment?
No. It is one input. A proper falls assessment looks at your medicines, your blood pressure sitting and standing, your eyesight, your feet and your home as well. If you are over sixty five and struggling with this test, that is the conversation to ask for.
Written and checked by the AskDoc Medical Team under our Medical Director, MBBS. How we review. Health education, not medical advice.