‘Balance Training’ Is Key To Better Ageing

Strength training is one of the best activities we can engage in as we age. It can help us live longer, may reduce our risk of dementia, and helps to decrease our risk of falls.

Meanwhile aerobic training, like jogging, walking, and swimming, is also linked to better heart health in older age and might benefit our brains too.

Some research has found that a combination of exercise, rather than sticking to one type of training, is linked to better longevity outcomes.

And according to the National Institute on Ageing, we need to add an underrated exercise to our routines, too. “Research has shown that it’s important to get all three types: aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and balance,” researchers write.

Balance training, which the NHS says can improve your “health and mobility”, should be done at least twice a week. It involves movements which improve your stabilising muscles.

• Calf raises,
• Knee raises,
• Standing with your eyes closed,
• Tai chi,
• Yoga,
• Walking backwards or sideways,
• Using a wobble board,
• Dancing,
• Single-leg training,
• Standing from a seated position.

There are benefits no matter what stage of life you’re in: yoga, for instance, seems to be unusually good at helping us sleep; while, in general, balance training leads to better joint stability and coordination.

But calling the training type “neglected”, the University of Strathclyde said it can benefit older adults in particular, whose balance “can deteriorate” over time.

Balance training can help to reduce the risk of falls and related fractures, which are most common among those over 65.

That’s partly because balance training helps to improve something called proprioception, which is one of our senses and helps us to know where our bodies are in space and how they’re moving.