Time yourself walking the length of your hallway at your normal pace: it’s the test geriatricians run first after 60
A simple five-second walk down your hallway can reveal more about your health than you might expect. Geriatricians worldwide use gait speed—the time it takes to walk a short distance—as their first assessment tool for adults over 60, and research shows it’s a more accurate predictor of life expectancy than age itself.