WHY IT CHANGES AND HOW TO IMPROVE IT
Ever get out of bed, take a few steps, and feel a little less steady than you used to?
Maybe you grab the railing when going downstairs. Perhaps you wobble while putting on your pants. Or you find yourself looking down more often when walking on uneven ground.
You might think, “Well, I guess that’s just getting older.”
Not so fast!
Your balance does change as you age. But here’s something I want you to understand: Balance isn’t controlled by just one part of your body. It’s a team effort.
Your eyes, inner ears, muscles, feet, and brain all work together to keep you upright. When one member of that team starts slacking off, the others have to work harder.
The encouraging news? Many of the things that affect your balance can be improved.
Let’s look at what’s happening inside your body—and what you can do about it.
1. Your Eyes: The Lookouts
Imagine walking down a dark hallway at night.
You probably move more slowly. You might reach for the wall or furniture.
Why? Because your eyes provide your brain with important information about where you are and what’s around you. They help you judge distances, spot obstacles, and recognize changes in the ground.
As we age, several things can interfere with this system:
- Cataracts can make vision cloudy.
- Poor contrast sensitivity makes it harder to see the edge of a step.
- Changes in depth perception make judging distances more difficult.
- Reduced night vision makes walking in dim light riskier.
Even something as simple as switching to new bifocals can temporarily affect how you judge steps.
Dr. Mike’s Take
Your eyes are part of your balance system. Regular eye exams, updated prescriptions, and good lighting are fall-prevention tools—not just ways to improve your vision.
One particularly useful habit? Turn on the lights before making that midnight trip to the bathroom.
Your bladder may be in a hurry, but your balance system deserves a fighting chance.
2. Your Inner Ears: The Built-In Motion Sensors
Deep inside each ear is a tiny system that acts like a motion detector. It’s called the vestibular system.
It contains fluid-filled semicircular canals that detect head rotation and two small structures that sense gravity and straight-line movement.
When you turn your head, bend over, or stand up, these sensors send information to your brain.
They also help keep your vision steady while your head moves.
As we get older, some of these sensors and their nerve connections may become less effective.
The result? You might feel less steady when turning quickly, walking in the dark, or moving your head while walking. Some people also develop benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV. That’s the condition where tiny calcium crystals move into the wrong part of the inner ear. Rolling over in bed or looking upward can trigger a brief spinning sensation.
BPPV becomes more common with age, but it is often treatable with specific repositioning maneuvers.
Remember This: Dizziness isn’t automatically a normal part of aging. New, persistent, or recurring dizziness deserves a medical evaluation.
3. Your Muscles: The Emergency Response Team
Let’s say you’re walking down the sidewalk and your foot catches on an uneven piece of concrete.
What keeps you from falling? Your muscles! Your ankles make quick adjustments. Your hips shift your weight. Your legs may take a rapid step to catch you.
All of this happens in a fraction of a second.
But as we age, we tend to lose muscle mass, strength, and power—especially if we aren’t physically active. Muscle power is particularly important. Strength is how much force you can produce. Power is how quickly you can produce that force.
If you stumble, your muscles don’t have five minutes to decide what to do. They need to respond immediately!
Weak legs, slow reactions, and reduced ankle strength can make recovering from a stumble more difficult.
Dr. Mike’s Take
This is one reason I emphasize strength training after 50.
Exercises such as chair stands, step-ups, calf raises, and appropriately progressed resistance training can improve the strength you need for everyday activities.
And balance exercises help you learn to use that strength effectively.
You need both.
4. Your Feet: The Ground Reporters
Your feet do much more than carry you around.
They contain thousands of sensory nerve endings that tell your brain where your feet are and how they’re contacting the ground.
This information is part of a sense called proprioception—your body’s ability to know where its parts are without looking.
Try this: With your eyes open, lift one foot slightly off the floor. You know where that foot is even without looking directly at it. That’s proprioception at work.
As we age, sensation in our feet may decline.
Diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, and other nerve conditions can make this problem worse.
If your brain isn’t getting accurate information from your feet, maintaining balance becomes harder—particularly in the dark or on uneven ground.
Imagine trying to walk while wearing thick, numb boots.
That’s a little like what happens when sensation is reduced.
What can help?
Proper footwear, treatment of foot problems, and balance training can improve stability. If you notice numbness, tingling, or reduced sensation, have your feet evaluated.
And please, don’t ignore painful feet. Pain can change how you walk and increase your risk of falling.
5. Your Brain: The Team Captain
Now comes the most impressive part. Your brain receives all that information from your eyes, inner ears, and feet. It compares the signals, figures out where your body is, and tells your muscles what to do. This happens constantly, without you thinking about it.
The cerebellum, a structure near the back of your brain, plays an important role in coordinating movement and balance.
Other brain regions help with attention, planning, and reacting to unexpected changes.
With aging, processing and reaction speed may slow. That’s one reason walking while talking on the phone or looking around a busy store can become more challenging. Your brain is trying to do several jobs at once.
Dr. Mike’s Take
Balance is a skill that requires practice. Exercises that safely challenge your balance help your brain and body work together more effectively.
The key is choosing an appropriate challenge—not attempting to imitate a tightrope walker on your first day!
Why Balance Problems Often Sneak Up on You
Here’s something I want you to understand. Balance problems often develop gradually. A little less muscle strength. Slightly worse vision. Some loss of sensation in the feet. Slower reactions.
Individually, these changes may seem minor.
But when several happen together, your risk of falling increases. The CDC identifies multiple contributing factors, many of which can be addressed.
That’s why balance deserves attention before you experience a serious fall.
And remember, medications that cause dizziness or drowsiness and blood pressure that drops when you stand can also affect stability.
If you’ve noticed a change in your balance, discuss it with your healthcare professional rather than assuming it’s simply age.
Sudden balance loss accompanied by trouble speaking, facial drooping, weakness, or double vision requires emergency medical attention.
Dr. Mike’s Bottom Line
Your balance is not a lost cause.
Aging can affect your eyes, inner ears, muscles, nerves, and brain.
But you can improve many of the factors that help keep you upright.
Strength training, balance exercises, good vision, proper footwear, and attention to medical problems can all help reduce your risk of falling.
You’re not too old to work on your balance. You’re too young to give up on it!
A Word From Our Sponsor: Momentous
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Maintaining muscle strength is an important part of staying steady on your feet.
Our sponsor, Momentous, offers protein powders and creatine supplements that may help support muscle health when combined with resistance training and appropriate nutrition.
Supplements don’t replace balance training, and they’re not a cure for balance problems.
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