How Long Can You Stand on One Leg?

weirdly accurate.

How Long Can You Stand on One Leg?

How long can you stand on one leg?

On a one-leg stand test with eyes open, most healthy adults under 40 last close to 45 seconds; with their eyes closed, only about 15. That is from a 2007 study that timed 549 adults aged 18 to 99, best of three tries. The times fall with age: people in their sixties averaged 32.1 seconds eyes open and 4.4 eyes closed, and people over 80 averaged 9.4 and 1.9.

This test follows that study’s method, the unipedal stance test: eyes open first, then eyes closed, up to three tries each, your best try counts, and the clock stops at 45 seconds, the same ceiling the researchers used. On a phone you hold it flat on your chest with your arms crossed over it, as the study had people cross their arms; a bell starts the clock and the motion sensor stops it when your foot comes down or your arms come away. On a computer you hold a button and let go when your foot touches the floor. Your best times are set against each age group’s average in the study, and on a phone you also see a drawing of how you swayed.

It is a balance game, not a medical or fall-risk test, and it can’t tell you anything about your health. One try includes the moment it takes to lift your foot, and the phone can end a try a little early or late. The comparison group was US military health-care beneficiaries without known balance problems, timed in 2004 with a stopwatch, so the averages are reference points, not a ranking. If your balance worries you, or you have had falls, a doctor or physiotherapist can check it properly.

What the test measures

One thing: how long you can stand on one leg, with your eyes open and then with them shut.

The task

  • The unipedal stance test as timed by Springer and colleagues (2007): eyes open, then eyes closed
  • Up to three tries each way; your best counts, and 45 seconds is full time
  • On a phone: hold it flat on your chest with your arms crossed over it, lift a foot at the bell; the try ends when the sensor feels your foot land, the phone tilts as your arms come away, you tap the screen, or 45 seconds pass
  • On a computer, or if you don’t allow motion access: lift a foot, then press and hold the space bar or the button, and let go when your foot touches down

Your result

  • Your best time with eyes open and with eyes closed, in seconds; the headline uses eyes closed, because with eyes open most younger adults reach the 45-second ceiling
  • Which age group’s average in the study your time matches, from 18–39 to 80–99, with a picker for your own age
  • Each try drawn as a bar, and the ratio of your eyes-closed time to your eyes-open time
  • On a phone, a top-down drawing of how your chest swayed and how much faster you swayed with your eyes shut; there are no population figures for this, so it is you against you
  • A shareable card and a link that challenges a friend to beat your times

Before you start

  • A firm, flat floor with clear space, and a wall, table or sturdy chair within arm’s reach; barefoot or flat shoes
  • Stop if you feel dizzy. If you’ve had falls or have trouble with balance, stand right next to that support, or skip eyes closed
  • Sound on: a bell tells you when to lift your foot, which matters when your eyes are shut. On an iPhone, switch off silent mode first
  • A phone works best; iPhones ask for motion access when you tap Start
  • About two minutes

One-leg stand test FAQ

Is this test free? Do I need to sign up to see my result?

Yes, it’s free, and there’s nothing to sign up for: no account, no email, no payment. Your result appears on this page the moment you finish, and you can share it or play again straight away.

How long should you be able to stand on one leg for your age?

In Springer et al.’s 2007 study of 549 healthy adults, the average best of three with eyes open was 44.7 seconds at ages 18–39, 41.9 at 40–49, 41.2 at 50–59, 32.1 at 60–69, 21.5 at 70–79 and 9.4 at 80–99. With eyes closed the same groups averaged 15.2, 12.7, 8.3, 4.4, 3.1 and 1.9 seconds. These are averages, not pass marks.

How accurate is a one-leg stand test on a phone?

A phone gets close to a stopwatch, with small differences. The clock starts at the bell, so each try includes the moment it takes to lift your foot, and the motion sensor judges the end by the bump of your foot landing, which can come a little early or late. The study also alternated eyes open and eyes closed, while this test does three eyes-open tries first.

Why is standing on one leg so much harder with your eyes closed?

Balance relies on three senses: the eyes, the balance organs of the inner ear, and the nerves in the ankle and sole. Closing the eyes removes one, and the brain has to shift its trust to the other two, a process Peterka (2002) measured as sensory reweighting. In Springer et al.’s study, 18–39-year-olds averaged 44.7 seconds with eyes open but 15.2 with eyes closed.

What does it mean if you can’t stand on one leg for 10 seconds?

On its own, not much for any one person. In a Brazilian study by Araujo and colleagues (2022), about one in five of 1,702 people aged 51–75 could not stand 10 seconds on one leg, and over about seven years 17.5% of them died, against 4.6% of those who could. That is a pattern across a clinic’s patients, not a forecast, and one try on a phone is not that test.

Is the one-leg stand test a medical test for balance or falls?

No. This one-leg stand test is a balance game with published reference times, and it can’t tell you anything about your health or your risk of falling. If your balance worries you, you feel dizzy, or you have had falls, a doctor or physiotherapist can assess it properly.

Is it safe to do the one-leg stand test at home?

It is safe for most people if you set up first: a firm, flat floor with clear space, a wall, table or sturdy chair within arm’s reach, and bare feet or flat shoes. Stop if you feel dizzy. If you’ve had falls or have trouble with balance, stand right next to the support, or skip the eyes-closed part.

Where the numbers come from

Age-group averages are the men-and-women totals from Table 1 of Springer et al. (2007), who found no difference by sex; the study gives no percentiles, so none are shown. Your times and your sway trace stay on your device; a share link carries only your two best times, after the # in the address. The site does not publish its own players’ data.

How it is scored

Unipedal stance test

Stand on one leg with the raised foot near, but not touching, the standing ankle and the arms crossed over the chest. Springer et al. (2007) stopped the clock when the arms uncrossed, the foot touched down or moved, the eyes opened, or 45 seconds passed.

Best of three

Like the study, the test keeps the best of up to three tries in each condition. The second and third tries are optional, and a try that reaches 45 seconds ends that condition.

Age-group averages, not percentiles

The study reports each age group’s average best time but not how the times spread, and many younger people hit the 45-second ceiling. So your result is matched to the age group whose average is closest, without a percentile.