EquinoxEquinoxThe Aliveness Index

The Aliveness Index

You are alive.But howaliveare you?

We explored six dimensions to understand how alive America really feels.

12 questions in 2 minutes.
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Explore the study

The study

How alive
is America?

We asked 3,847 adults how alive they felt, across 6 dimensions.

How we measured aliveness.

Hover over a dimension to learn more.Tap a dimension to learn more.

What we found

We’re tired and we’re distracted.

A face partially reflected and obscured by phones.
In the past month
49%

felt tired on a typical morning.

In the past month
74%

ended their day feeling unrestored.

71%

aren’t fully focused on the people at the dinner table.

But our capacity for love and joy hasn’t faded.

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In the past month

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We experience aliveness differently as we age.

Letting new people into our lives becomes rarer with age.

Share of people who hadn’t made a new close friend in three years or more, by generation
Two figures moving toward one another.
Two people held in a close embrace.

But our relationships grow deeper with those who matter most.

Share of people who saw their favorite person in the past week, by generation

Regardless of age, movement and connection are the two constants that make us feel most alive.

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People who move experience more highs and fewer lows.

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Compared to those who don’t often get an energy lift from movement

Equinox Members score higher across all dimensions.

Average scores out of 100Equinox MembersAmerica

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A look at you

How alive
do you feel?

12 questions in 2 minutes.
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How alive do you feel?

12 questions in 2 minutes.
Your Aliveness score{{ qz.progress }}

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Review my answers

Back to results

Change an answer, then save it to update your score.

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About the study

Where the Aliveness Index comes from.

In August 2026, Equinox asked 3,847 adults across 13 major U.S. cities how alive they feel.

How it came to be

A feeling, measured.

Equinox set out to put a number on something people feel but rarely measure: how alive they are. Not fitness, not happiness, but the vitality — the energy, presence, connection, intensity with which we experience life. Who you saw this week. How you woke up. When you last laughed until you couldn’t breathe.

Each answer became a point on a scale, and the scale became a score.

A separate survey asked 1,598 Equinox Members the same questions, so Equinox Members could be compared against America.

Who we asked

Who we asked

3,847adults, ages 21 and over
1,598Equinox Members, in a separate survey

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Answers were collected August 8–10, 2026. Members answered through September 7, 2026. Generations are defined as: Gen Z is ages 21–29, Millennials 30–45, Gen X 46–61 and Boomers+ 62 and over.

The six dimensions

6 dimensions explored

Below are the questions asked.

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    2.

How the score works

Scoring methodology

  1. We assigned each response a score from 0 to 100.

  2. We normalized the results so that the highest score was set to 100.

  3. To calculate the score of each dimension, we took the average score of its two questions.

  4. To calculate the Aliveness score, we took the average score of the 6 dimensions.

Where the numbers come from

Sample composition & weighting

Participants were recruited, and responses were weighted to reflect the U.S. population by age, household income, gender, and geographic region.

Equinox Members are compared against the study’s sample, labeled “America.” Member responses are not weighted.

This survey was conducted by AYTM (Ask Your Target Market) on behalf of Equinox among 3,847 U.S. adults ages 21 and over in 13 major metro areas, August 8–10, 2026, and among 1,598 Equinox Members through September 7, 2026.

A look at you

How alive do you feel?

12 questions in 2 minutes.