# Why do we stop taking stairs quickly. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2011, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497 "2011-05-11T10:13:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/21 "2011-05-11T13:25:31Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > a sign of fitness is if you can beat the elevator (doing a nonstop) for about eight floors. This reminds me of my last trip to a convention… the elevator was teeny tiny, and pretty clunky to boot, so I looked at it, looked at my two fairly awkward and decently heavy bags, shrugged, and said - eh.. stairs it is! The funny thing is, I matched the speed of the elevator, smiling and waving at the elevator people at each landing we came to, for 7 floors going up. No speed record, but I was dragging luggage. I was sad when it didn’t stop at 8 and I couldn’t manage to catch back up. (I did try, but my luggage was too much.) ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/22 "2011-05-11T13:45:03Z")
> [@Dravin](#): > > Propriety? That works. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/23 "2011-05-11T13:59:19Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > I matched the speed of the elevator, smiling and waving at the elevator people at each landing we came to, for 7 floors going up. No speed record, but I was dragging luggage. I was sad when it didn’t stop at 8 and I couldn’t manage to catch back up. (I did try, but my luggage was too much.) The strange part is, that probably gave them a bizarre sense of superiority. “HA HA we passed you!” (finally after seven floors with machine assistance) ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/24 "2011-05-11T14:08:13Z")
There’s also a safety factor in some places. There’s a major push at work to reduce (hopefully eliminate) any and all preventable injuries and other human safety issues. Obviously, injuries on stairwells can be serious. So, the rule is always one hand on the rail and don’t go too fast. And people do call you on it, if you try to run or hop multiple steps. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/25 "2011-05-11T14:21:49Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I think sometimes it’s a dignity thing - if I’m wearing a nice button down shirt, nice slacks, and a good pair of shoes, I’m just not going to go dashing up and down stairs. It seems out of place. If I’m in shorts and a tee-shirt, different story… OK, everybody – enough with the dignity! Run up those stairs, belt out that tune on the sidewalk, compliment that random lady at the bus stop, wear those Chuck Taylors to the office, whistle while you work! Don’t get old until you have to… and don’t get old on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/26 "2011-05-11T14:30:59Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > There’s also a safety factor in some places. There’s a major push at work to reduce (hopefully eliminate) any and all preventable injuries and other human safety issues. Obviously, injuries on stairwells can be serious. So, the rule is always one hand on the rail and don’t go too fast. And people do call you on it, if you try to run or hop multiple steps. Bill Bryson says some interesting things about falls on stairs in his recent book _At Home_, including [QUOTE=Bill Bryson] People in good shape fall more often than people in bad shape, largely because they do a lot more bounding and don’t descend as carefully and with as many rest stops as the tubby or infirm. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/27 "2011-05-11T14:50:39Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > I have always run up and down any stairs I take. Not sprint mind you, but a rapid pop, pop, pop when going down, and the same or two at a time on the way up. > > I am 42 and I notice many of my peers just walk on stairs, and you rarely if ever see an octogenarian taking stairs quickly. Why is that? Is it a deterioration in the sureness of balance? When does this typically set in? > > I [found this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=255837) It doesn’t address the age related aspect, but did give me some insight why some younger people may no longer run on stairs. I’m curious why you have focused your question on stairs. What about when you’re walking on level ground (i.e., not on stairs)? Do you always run/jog? Or do you sometimes walk? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/28 "2011-05-11T14:52:28Z")
People just generally don’t travel on stairs any faster than they walk. Why should they speed up right at the point where a fall would be more dangerous? Kids do it because they are having fun, but that type of fun loses its appeal after you’ve done it enough. Throw in increasing infirmity of age and decreased physical shape, and you really lose any reason to enjoy it. Oh, and I regard people who move on escalators as thrill seekers. I’ve been to quite a few malls, and I’ve never seen anyone but little kids do this (and wind up almost falling when they get to the top) You’re on a moving platform with sharp edges fairly high above the ground. It’s silly to do for everyday walking. Might as well just go run up the stairs. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/29 "2011-05-11T14:55:17Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > There’s also a safety factor in some places. That ties into the locked-stairwell factor – the usual reason is security, because stairwells provide criminals with both a hiding place and an escape route. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/30 "2011-05-11T14:57:25Z")
I’m somewhere between 42 and octogeneraian. I’m actually in better shape now than I was a few years ago, and while I _can_ run the stairs, I’m not going to do it. My legs are strong, but they don’t have anywhere near the “springiness” they had when I was young. It takes me something like twice as much work just to warm up as when I was half this age, and when I overdo it, the result is less likely to be a tweak and more likely to knock me right off my feet for a day or two. And for some people, it absolutely is a matter of balance. Before he died, my father started walking with more and more of that “old person’s shuffle.” We found out he wasn’t doing it because of leg problems, but because he was having trouble keeping his balance. The less he picked up his feet, the less he had to balance. My father-in-law has had several falls, and now we notice he’s doing it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/31 "2011-05-11T14:58:43Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > What about when you’re walking on level ground (i.e., not on stairs)? Do you always run/jog? Or do you sometimes walk? The sidewalk’s for regular walking, not for fancy walking. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/32 "2011-05-11T15:21:18Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The sidewalk’s for regular walking, not for fancy walking. In my day, the sidewalk was for sidewalking! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/33 "2011-05-11T15:24:10Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Oh, and I regard people who move on escalators as thrill seekers. I’ve been to quite a few malls, and I’ve never seen anyone but little kids do this (and wind up almost falling when they get to the top) You’re on a moving platform with sharp edges fairly high above the ground. It’s silly to do for everyday walking. > > Might as well just go run up the stairs. I often resort to having to run up the stairs when clueless people are standing on escalators without leaving a path for the non-lazy to walk. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/34 "2011-05-11T15:36:24Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > I have always run up and down any stairs I haven’t. And maybe most of the people you observe haven’t either. So the question maybe isn’t “why do we stop”, but “why do some people run up and down stairs, when others do not”. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/35 "2011-05-11T15:39:38Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Buildings often lock the stairwells from the outside (except on the ground floor) so they can’t be used for any purpose other than a fire escape. That trains people to use the elevator. Slight hijack, but this is irritatingly common. I physically cannot walk up a single flight of stairs because the doors are locked. Every five floors or so, there’s an unlocked crossover floor, but that rarely lines up with my desired destination. I hate, hate, hate this trend. (While understanding it’s for fire safety and building security reasons). ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/36 "2011-05-11T15:40:45Z")
I’m 55, not obese, don’t exercise regularly but don’t think of myself as horribly out of shape. I’ll trot up a single flight of stairs, but… I take the stairs to my office on the 6th floor, and when I’m going up, I pretty much have to take them at a slow walk in order to not get out of breath, and that doesn’t strike me as all that unusual. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/37 "2011-05-11T15:42:44Z")
There’s also this - the wisdom of age. Or, What’s the point? Just because when you’re young you do things a certain way, doesn’t mean that has to be the way they’re done forever. I occasionally do go up stairs two at a time, if I’m in something of a hurry. But most of the time I am simply taking it one step at a time because there’s no reason to do it any faster. I’m 67. The answer to the OP has as much to to with mental and psychological factors as physical. (One other thing: Bill Bryson is a marvelous writer, but there are times he asserts things because he believes they are true, but not because he knows them to be true. In the case of the above reference, I imagine one could make the opposite case: that people in poor shape fall _more_ frequently because their lack of flexibility, strenght, and balance cause them to trip more and to be unable to recover sufficiently to avoid the actual fall. In either case, some data and more specifics would help make the point.) ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/38 "2011-05-11T15:49:42Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > Eyesight related issues? Bifocals and going down poorly lit stairs are a recipe for disaster. Same for me. Bifocals + knees. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/39 "2011-05-11T16:39:20Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > I have always run up and down any stairs I take. Not sprint mind you, but a rapid pop, pop, pop when going down, and the same or two at a time on the way up. As another poster said, why do you take the stairs quickly? Why run the stairs? I assume you walked to the stairwell. Why walk to the stairwell and then run the stairs? Personally, I go up the stairs slowly because it’s easier than taking them quickly. I go down the stairs slowly because it’s safer and not as hard on my knees and ankles. ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_N.Cheese)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/40 "2011-05-11T16:46:41Z")
I wasn’t advocating running up and down the stairs necessarily, just that people could use them more. I try to use them when ever possible. Obviously there are valid reasons why people do not.I was thinking more along the lines of laziness as being a top contender for non-use. Not judging strangers, just co-workers. Ha! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497.md?page=3)