I’ve just finished listening to Just One Thing by Michael Mosley from BBC Sounds. It’s a short 14 minute radio show and this episode is about the benefits of standing on one leg.

I wrote a blog post a while ago about standing in a deep horse stance when brushing your teeth as a life hack for building leg strength. It was a bit of a throw-away post, but surprisingly it consistently turns up in my blog statistics as one of my most popular stories.

Michael does something similar while brushing his teeth, but he stands on one leg instead.

It turns out that your ability to stand on one leg for an extended period of time is a good indicator of how long you’re going to live, and it decreases significantly after age 35. It’s something to do with the brain slowing down as we age and the fact that balance requires the integration of so many body systems, but the good news is that we can improve our balance with practice.

You can give your self a little test of your balance right now if you like. Try and stand on one leg for 30 seconds each side, and for 10 seconds with your eyes shut. Be careful though, standing on one leg with your eyes shut is very tricky!

So, what’s the best way to improve you balance? Professor Dawn Skelton from Glasgow Caledonian University was interviewed in the programme about all things relating to balance, and at 10 minutes 59 seconds she recommends Tai Chi as one of the best activities to improve your balance and prevent your first serious fall – especially for old people. It is 3 dimensional movement, so your head moves at different times to the rest of your body, and because it’s slow and controlled you get great feedback from joints.

So there you go – yet more evidence that Tai Chi is good for you and will help you live longer!