If you can touch your toes, research shows you’ll live a long life. A new study from Brazilian researchers found that flexibility improves longevity.

Researchers from the Exercise Medicine Clinic (CLINIMEX) in Rio de Janeiro assessed more than 3,000 men and women and found that those with higher flexibility ranges lived longer than those with lower ranges.

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According to Medical News Today, flexibility refers to “the range of motion of muscle and connective tissues at a joint or group of joints.” Just as physical movement has been repeatedly linked to good health, the scientists found that flexibility plays an important role in maintaining body integrity.

For example, poor hamstring flexibility can lead to tight hamstrings that cause pain in the thighs and back, reducing mobility. Daily stretching can improve and maintain flexibility.

For the study of 3,139 people ages 46 to 65, researchers assessed vitals and body mass measurements and administered a flexibility test called Flexitest that measures range of motion in 20 body joints.

Based on the results, they gave each participant a “Flexindex” score from 0 to 80. The study lasted from 1994 to 2023, and the average follow-up was 13 years. The data revealed that people who had higher flexibility scores also had better survival rates related to natural, non-COVID-19 causes. In general, women score better, with a 35% higher Flexindex score than men.

In the group of women, participants with lower flexibility scores had a 4.78 increased risk of dying than those with greater flexibility.  In men, those with lower scores had a 1.87 times increased chance of mortality than those with higher scores.

The authors of the study acknowledged that further research is needed, but said the results illustrate how important fitness, especially flexibility, is in long-term health.

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“An assessment of body flexibility using the Flexitest may serve as a useful complement to routine evaluation protocols for providing exercise recommendations and prescriptions to healthy and unhealthy middle-aged individuals,” wrote the authors.