# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/41 "2011-05-11T16:48:42Z")
Quoth **johnpost** : > [@](#): > > a sign of fitness is if you can beat the elevator (doing a nonstop) for about eight floors. I can do exactly that, if the folks using the elevator have to call it from another floor. On a good day, I can still carry on a conversation when I get to the top. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/42 "2011-05-11T16:59:25Z")
Older people realize IF they get hurt, they are more likely to stay that way. And even if you do fall and recover, it’s more than likely you won’t be the same. Taking steps two at a time or doing other things you don’t have to do, is becomes a matter of risk management. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/43 "2011-05-11T17:10:02Z")
I walk quickly around the hospital when I can, but when I get to the stairs, sure, I go up them quickly and two-at-a-time. Going down is often just a quicker 1-at-a-time; my feet are too big to go down the same way unless I turn to my side, which just looks goofy. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/44 "2011-05-11T17:15:20Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > Eyesight related issues? Bifocals and going down poorly lit stairs are a recipe for disaster. I’m closer to 50 than 40 and still easily take stairs two at a time. And I wear bifocals. Yes, at first going up and down was an issue when I got my first pair of those, but after about two weeks I adjusted just fine. Poorly lit stairs are a hazard regardless of one’s eyesight. It depends on fitness, agility, perceptions of what is and is not “proper” to one’s age (and whether or not one gives a damn about acting one’s age, whatever that means). Going down stairs has always been one at a time for me, mainly because I perceive it as safer, but I still might take 'em pretty fast. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/45 "2011-05-11T17:21:38Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > 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? Stairs because almost without exception I go up and down rapidly. I won’t go barging past people and occasionally I get caught up in a conversation that carries on to stairs. Otherwise, decorum be damned I am going quick. And maybe even with a flourish at the end. It gives me a smile. When walking I walk, not the fastest, but I don’t shuffle along. Depends on the prevailing crowd somewhat. I do jog on rare occasions, and even break into a sprint now and then if I am in danger of missing the bus. Mainly stairs, because I assume some day I will become a stair walker and am curious what factors will lead to that. The comment about vision from No Umlaut was an eye opener. I have been one of those lucky persons who don’t know the consequences of needing vision correction. I often fail to take that into consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/46 "2011-05-11T17:31:04Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > 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? It puts a smile on my face and makes me feel good inside. > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **Big T** > Kids do it because they are having fun… I think it just never lost the fun factor for me. Maybe I’m just immature? ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/47 "2011-05-11T17:38:29Z")
> [@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. If anything, I find that the steps on escalators better match my walking stride length than most stairs, so I don’t regard walking up the escalator as more dangerous than walking up the stairs (except maybe that bit at the end, which I would have to do anyway). Growing up near D.C., land of the rushed commuter and Metro escalators, it feels weird to me to NOT walk on the escalator unless I’m burdened by multiple bags - I’m already being saved a number of steps compared to the stairs. In my mind, the escalator is a way to get places more efficiently, and standing still while goes at a snail’s pace (slower than people walking on the stairs usually) defeats that purpose. ---
**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, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/48 "2011-05-11T18:09:22Z")
> [@CC](#): > > (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. Indeed. He also doesn’t include footnotes/endnotes, which would have decreased readability but facilitated fact-checking. He does include a bibliography, but I didn’t feel like reading through it trying to figure out where he might have gotten his facts about stairs. ---
**Author:** ![Hambil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3be4f8/32.png) [@Hambil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hambil)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/49 "2011-05-11T18:13:21Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I also think that I’m no longer in quite the hurry that I used to be - people tend to mellow a little with age. I think this is the key, though I would put it differently. I would say that your sense of wonder declines as you age, because you’ve seen more. As a kid, there is always something exciting at the top of the steps (at the end of any ‘journey’ really); steps are just in the way of getting to what you want. As we get older we realize that the stuff at the top of the stairs is the same stuff that was there yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that… ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/50 "2011-05-11T18:24:50Z")
> [@Hambil](#): > > I think this is the key, though I would put it differently. I would say that your sense of wonder declines as you age, because you’ve seen more. As a kid, there is always something exciting at the top of the steps (at the end of any ‘journey’ really); steps are just in the way of getting to what you want. > > As we get older we realize that the stuff at the top of the stairs is the same stuff that was there yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that… Interesting, the journey has always been the exciting part for me. May just be me, vacation trips usually consist of pointing the car or motorcycle in a direction. A destination or two in mind but mostly just exploring until it is time to head back. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/51 "2011-05-11T19:00:50Z")
I go quickly down stairs in flats, but much more slowly in heels. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/52 "2011-05-11T19:07:23Z")
> [@mrpayday](#): > > It’s an Australian proverb, never run up stairs or take odds on I’m very confused - take odds on _what_? I used to run down stairs, I used to have simply energy. I now feel even older than I did 10 minutes ago. I still go up stairs two at a time, so at least there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/53 "2011-05-11T19:50:01Z")
I think the leading candidates are, Fitness / Health Issues Decorum Caution / Fear And Zsofia illuminated another thing this troglodyte of a man failed to consider. Apparel. Shoes for one, I bet tight skirts and certain dresses make it impractical or impossible too. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/54 "2011-05-11T20:39:45Z")
A related story. A few years ago I decided to do as much extra little exercise as I could, so I started taking the stairs and parking further away, etc. I would park on the top of the parking garage and take the stairs down. One day I was having a good time, racing down the stairs. When I got to the bottom a very cute girls said something to the effect of: Wow, you were really moving down those stairs, and you aren’t even breathing heavy! And I kinda shrugged and said: Going \*down \*is easy! Then we both sort of realized what I had just said, we both blushed and turned away. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/55 "2011-05-11T21:11:30Z")
I don’t think I was ever fit enough to routinely take two steps at a time, even when I was younger. Part of that is the fact that I’m 5’4", so two steps at a time, particularly going down, was never going to have been all that safe for me. But I used to at least go down stairs pretty fast. But a few years, I slipped off the bottom step while heading up stairs, and because I landed funny, I broke my foot. A few months subsequently, and unrelatedly, I had surgery on that same foot, and the surgery site infected, putting me in the hospital for four days. Then, a few months later still, I got and still have intermittent vertigo. Now I take stairs pretty slowly, and I hold on to the bannister. Hard. Stairs can be dangerous, and foot surgery can be very painful. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/56 "2011-05-11T21:18:52Z")
Somehow, going a-scampering up and down stairs like a young gazelle, full of the joy of living, its bright future stretching ahead of it, pales in comparison to misstepping and falling down those stairs. Broken neck, broken leg, concussion, busted nose, lying there unconscious, bleeding and possibly dying. Just my opinion, hope it helps! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/57 "2011-05-11T21:27:09Z")
> [@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 always run up stairs. Always two at a time on the way up, though only sometimes on the way down (depends on the angle and the distance–steep, long flights I usually do one at a time). I also use the handrail to preserve my momentum when going around a bend. I sorta get the dignity thing–for some reason, I find it weird to jog around on level ground, even though I’d like to. But on the other hand, an obese oaf lumbering up the stairs isn’t exactly dignified, either. I don’t exercise regularly, so I take exercise where I can get it. I’m in relatively good shape despite this lack of effort, so I must be doing something right. ---
**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, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/58 "2011-05-11T23:33:28Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I sorta get the dignity thing–for some reason, I find it weird to jog around on level ground, even though I’d like to. But on the other hand, an obese oaf lumbering up the stairs isn’t exactly dignified, either. There is an in-between, ya know 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/59 "2011-05-12T00:34:29Z")
To me it feels like moving up the stairs quickly uses less total energy (Obviously higher intensity but for a much shorter time). When I walk up I just feel like I’m slogging forever. Since I’m the first to mention it in all these posts it must be just me :o I prefer the stairs but often they are hard to find in some of the buildings around here, they are not right next to the elevators like you would expect. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497/60 "2011-05-12T01:23:56Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > There is an in-between, ya know 🙂 I pass them at high speed either way, so there’s not much difference from my perspective :). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stop-taking-stairs-quickly/581497.md?page=4)