Gaby
When you stand on one leg, a wobble or fall can reveal that your body is aging faster than you thought.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota say the length of time you can balance on one leg reflects how quickly your neuromuscular sensory system is aging.
This system consists of nerves that connect muscles to the brain and spinal cord, allowing muscles to move when needed. Deterioration of this system occurs with age and can lead to slower movements and reactions.
What Did the Scientists Discover?
A study published in PLOS assessed the ability of 40 participants aged 50 to 80 to balance on one leg. All participants had similar height, weight, and levels of regular activity. The main difference among them was their age.
Each volunteer was asked to balance for 30 seconds four times: two attempts on each leg, first with their eyes closed and then again with their eyes open. To see how age affects balance, the team tracked how many seconds each person was able to maintain their balance during the 30-second period.
The team found that for every subsequent decade, wobbling increased by 6.3 percent with eyes open and by 10.5 percent with eyes closed. The study also showed that the time participants could balance decreased by 2.2 seconds per decade on the non-dominant leg and by 1.7 seconds on the dominant leg.
That suggests how long someone can hold their balance is a real indicator of biological aging.
“Balancing on one leg requires many physiological functions that typically decline with age — leg muscle strength, neuromuscular coordination, and the retention of sensory information and reflexes,” said Professor David Proctor, an aging and exercise expert at Penn State University who was not involved in the study, to BBC Science Focus.
In fact, balancing for 30 seconds doesn’t require much muscle strength, but it does demand adequate neuromuscular control. However, with age, the number of wobbles increases, and the time spent balancing decreases.
So, what can be done about this? Try balance exercises and aerobic activities such as swimming, running, or cycling to help slow these age-related changes.
