Flexibility to extend your life? It might not be a stretch.

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Want to add years to your life? Start by touching your toes — or at least give it a go.

New research suggests that increased flexibility might lower the risk of premature death among middle-aged adults.

Danish researchers studied over 3,000 adults between the ages of 46 and 65 who were part of an exercise study in Brazil. Researchers followed the participants for an average of 13 years and tracked their health and survival rates.

Participants were assigned a “Flexindex” [flex index] score based on their range of motion in 20 joint movements.

The researchers found that better flexibility had a significant positive impact on survival. Participants with higher Flexindex scores were less likely to die during the follow-up period compared with those who had lower scores, even after accounting for other factors, like age and body mass index.

The least flexible men in the study had a 21.2% chance of dying during the follow-up period, while that was true of just under 8% of the flexible men.

Women are more flexible, in general, the researchers noted. Those with lower flexibility scores had a 15.4% risk of dying during the study’s follow-up years, while that was true for just 2% of the most flexible women.

The researchers acknowledged their study doesn’t prove flexibility has a direct tie to longevity since poor flexibility could be linked to other health conditions.

Still, flexibility might be a helpful indicator, suggesting that flexibility training might be an important part of an exercise plan. So, the next time you hit the gym for some cardio or strength training, build in time for a good stretch after.