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What Grip Strength Reveals About Your Brain, Mental Health, and Overall Well-Being
Published 3 months, 4 weeks ago
Description
- Grip strength is a quick, noninvasive marker of overall health, linked to aging, resilience, neurological coordination, and risk of chronic disease and early mortality
- A 2025 study found that weaker grip strength in early psychosis patients correlated with poorer well-being and disruptions in key brain network connectivity patterns
- Stronger grip strength was linked to better communication between brain regions involved in movement, emotion, and self-reflection, especially within the brain's default mode network
- Beyond brain health, grip strength also reflects cardiovascular fitness, immune function, cognitive performance, physical independence, and is widely used to detect early signs of frailty
- Grip strength is easy to track at home with a dynamometer, and exercises like daily dead hangs help support psychomotor coordination and neurological stability