Would you pass the most objective visual youth test?
A few years ago, at a family gathering, someone came up with the idea to check whether our perception of our own height matched reality.
Each person in turn announced their height, then walked over to the doorway, where “official measurers” stood waiting with a pencil and a tape measure.
Those who went through the procedure stepped out looking puzzled, as the crowd burst into laughter: “The doorframe doesn’t lie!” Incredibly, not once did the doorframe confirm the number someone had declared.
Our kids had grown taller, unlike the boy on the cover photo, but every single adult — ages ranging from just past thirty to just past fifty — turned out to be 3–6 cm shorter than what they had confidently claimed.
The doorframe surprised me too. For years I’d been sure my height was 174 cm, ever since school. In reality? Four centimeters less. The only comfort was that those who loudly proclaimed 170 turned out to be clearly shorter, and the doorframe gave them a shock as well.
Why does this happen? The secret lies in posture. Stress, pregnancies, children carried on the hip, heavy bags, love of gadgets, hours slouched over a computer — all this pushes our spine further and further away from its ideal curves. And it’s posture where most age-related changes begin.
Ever notice that a protruding belly or sagging chest is often just the result of slouching?
Or that the shape of your jawline is directly tied to posture and the stability of your neck? And that’s only the beginning… the list of problems (aesthetic and otherwise) caused by spinal misalignment could go on forever.
Sadly, the realization that we ourselves are our worst enemies usually comes too late. In my youth, I was endlessly annoyed at my dad for constantly tapping my back and telling me to straighten up — only twenty years later did I finally thank him for it.
If only I had understood as a child how much posture determines the speed of aging… why didn’t I listen to my dad?
Aging doesn’t sneak up out of nowhere — we just refuse to notice the small changes, until one day we’re staring at a photo or mirror and hardly recognize ourselves.
So even if you think none of this applies to you, it’s still worth taking the “doorframe test.” Because fooling yourself is easy, but…
The doorframe doesn’t lie.
The original Russian version of this article was published on July 17, 2020.
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