The wellness industry has made a sh*t ton of money convincing people they’re falling apart. Step counts, sleep scores, recovery grades—there’s always something to “optimize,” something to worry about. But most people are probably doing better than the algorithm is telling them.
These eight physical indicators are boring, free to check, and according to research, more telling than anything your wearable can track.
You Can Get Up Without Using Your Hands
Try it right now. No hands, no furniture, no knees hitting the ground first. If you managed it, that one movement just tested your strength, balance, mobility, and coordination in one shot. Kelly Fisher, health and wellbeing nurse at Benenden Health, told Metro this move “can be a really great indicator of your aerobic fitness, muscle and core strength, stability, flexibility and balance—all key things we need to age healthily and reduce the risk of injuries from falls.”
You Can Put Your Socks on Standing Up
Single-leg balance is one of the strongest predictors of longevity researchers have found. A 2022 study found that adults who couldn’t hold a one-leg stance for 10 seconds had an 84% higher risk of death within the following decade. Balance draws on muscle strength, joint stability, and neurological function—and it deteriorates way before most people notice anything’s off in daily life.
Your Grip Is Solid
Yeah yeah, get the grip jokes out of the way. But, seriously, a 2024 review in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition has been pushing to classify hand grip strength as an official vital sign—right up there with blood pressure and pulse. Weak grip predicts cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and earlier death. The fact that you can open a jar without asking anyone for help is more medically relevant than it sounds.
Your Resting Heart Rate Is on the Lower Side
Here’s one your smartwatch actually gets right. A 2024 study in Scientific Reports tracked three major population cohorts and found people with a resting heart rate near 60 bpm lived years longer than those above 90—nine years longer in one French cohort. The lower the number, the less effort your heart is exerting to keep you upright. That’s a good thing.
You Can Climb Four Flights of Stairs Without Stopping
The European Society of Cardiology uses a four-flight stair climb as a marker of cardiac health. The target: 60 steps at a brisk, steady pace in under 90 seconds, no stopping, no chest pain. People who hit that mark were found to be at lower risk of coronary artery disease. People who couldn’t—or experienced significant breathlessness or chest pain—had a higher chance of developing it.
You Wake Up Feeling Rested
The number of hours means very little if you wake up feeling like you got hit by something. Fisher points out that grogginess on waking can indicate poor sleep quality even after a full night. Research has linked chronic poor sleep to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, and mental health conditions. Feeling truly rested in the morning is actually pretty rare—and medically, it counts.
You Can Hold a Deep, Flat-Footed Squat
Not a gym squat—a resting squat, heels flat on the floor, held without tipping backward. Think “yoga squat”—malasana, if you will. And if you spend most of your day sitting, this one is probably harder than it should be. Hip and ankle mobility take a major hit when you’re sedentary, and getting them back requires consistent work. Being able to drop into and hold this position for a few minutes is a great indicator of your joint health.
You Get Hungry at Regular Times
Your body knows when it’s hungry, and if it’s telling you on a schedule, that’s actually a good sign. Erratic hunger—eating because you’re bored, stressed, or four coffees deep—is a different story. Dr. Donald Grant, GP and senior clinical advisor at The Independent Pharmacy, told Metro that predictable hunger “can reflect settled blood sugar and eating patterns.” Your metabolism running the way it’s supposed to is boring good news, but it’s still good news.
It’s still important to get your checkups. But if you can climb four flights, open a jar, and wake up feeling human, your body is doing pretty damn well.
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