A Big Bird Told Me I’m Old (or not)
I’m aware that most of the people who read these posts are in their early 20’s and maybe even late teens. Which means my readership could be my children:(
So, most of you probably don’t spend tons of time thinking about getting old and especially the consequences of aging. And that’s fine. I know I didn’t when I was in my 20’s. And that’s not to say that you don’t work out, play sports, etc.
I read this ARTICLE this past week that claims one can gauge their health through their balance. Basically, the amount of time you can stand on one foot can be used to gauge your health. Hmm, interesting. Check out the article and try it out if you have time. And I know all of you are dying to know how your old professor did so check it out below:
I found this article fascinating, especially from the perspective of a dancer. While I can only imagine how it must feel to recognize your body slowing down and functioning less smoothly as you age, I think I can understand to a certain extent. Two years ago, I participated in a dance camp where I danced for 8+ hours a day. At the end of the two week intensive, I gained knee injuries that still impact me today. While this article would argue that my ability to balance (which I would think is probably better than the average person due to my dancing experience) reflects my youthful age and overall health, my knee injuries drastically decrease my overall health and wellbeing.
I’m genuinely surprised by this article. It is shocking to know that something as simple as mimicking a flamingo could be an indicator of our age and health. It’s booming to realize that something we take for granted in our younger years could become a challenge as we age. I’m honestly constantly worried about getting old and sometimes when I talk to people about feeling old they tell me I need to stop complaining because I’m too young and I just need to enjoy the good moments right now. I also feel like sometimes we don’t realize how lucky we are in our lives and everything we have until something bad happens to us, so we have to appreciate everything every single second of our lives. By the way, thank you for the video and for showing us how long you can stand on one foot!
This article interested me because I have been a wrestler for most of my life. I have always had decent balance but never thought it might matter more than for athletics and agility. However, when the article describes it as a way to gauge how well the bodies systems are interacting was interesting. It makes sense at face value that you lose balance with age and declining health. I would like to see more studies done to see if this actually correlates to poor health or just happens to be a coincidence. It is interesting though to view balance as a simple way to check overall health because it shows how the body is interacting with itself.
This article was pretty interesting! I had never heard of nor thought to look at balance as an indication of health and age. I used to have great balance when I was younger. I cheered and did gymnastics for nearly 10 years and had always seen myself as someone who had great balance. It wasn’t until after my time in the military that I noticed by balance being far worse than it was previously. My health had significantly declined during my time in the military so for me personally it would make sense that my balance declined with it when taking into consideration the possible link between the two. I am not quite sold yet, so I would definitely be curious to read more into the study and future ones that look at the same thing. I do think things like yoga and Pilates helps with balance! Due to the fact I can’t do many traditional workouts with some of my physical limitations, I have done a fair amount of both Pilates and yoga to help stay moving and I feel the difference it has made. Plus, I have noticed my balance getting slightly better!
This article was extremely interesting to me. I played all the sports in high school and I ride horses now so you would think I should have a pretty good balance. That would be wrong. I have a hard time standing on one leg. The ability to balance is linked to a longer life amazes me. It makes sense that if you have good balance then your chances of falling are quite a bit smaller. I think I should probably start working on my balance if I want to stay healthier longer.
Wow, what an interesting read! I find it fascinating that something as trivial as standing on one leg can be a marker of not only physical strength and coordination, but also of the health of the brain and heart. As an avid runner, I tend not to think much of improving my balance through exercises such as yoga, but after reading this article, I am rethinking that. I think that most people view going to the gym and lifting heavy weight as activities that keep them healthy and live longer, but it seems to me doing everyday activities like walking in the dark can actually benefit one the most. I wonder if the rate of successful balancing is declining in today’s youth as compared to the youth a decade ago? Neat read!
This article spoke right to me. I recently read another article about aging and that article stated that humans feel very real changes to their body’s, regarding aging, at around 45 yoa and 65 yoa. It was explained that the body experiences significant efficiency changes and we can feel a noticeable slow down. I currently am approaching the first of these milestones and already feel it to some extent. Regarding the big bird article I may have a bit of an advantage due to substantial practice ballencing throughout my career. With almost 20 years of road side sobriety training for administering the one leg stand during a DWUI investigation I can stand on one leg for quite some time. Anyway, cool article at a time I’m already feeling my own mortality.
I found this article interesting. I guess for myself these past few years it seems like my balance has been off slightly. It never once occurred to me that it would be tied to getting old. Even though I’m only in my mid-30s and when I was younger, I was a decent athlete, so this coordination that I experience from time to time can be related to aging and health. I guess in order to improve my health, I need to improve my balance. Maybe a way to reverse the aging process.
I never thought about how simple physical tasks may indicate the longevity of one’s life! I think it’s interesting to see how balance can indicate someone’s overall health, especially as we begin age. The fact that the ability to stand on one leg declines more rapidly than other physical abilities highlights how important it is to have balance throughout life. Although, I do frequently partake in long distance running, I was surprisingly able to hold my leg up for a decent amount of time, especially cause I usually have very bad balance! I also really like how the article mentioned how to improve balance in old age as it is accessible to anyone and can be easily practiced at home. Personally, I’ve noticed that I often overlook balance exercises when I work out, but this article is definitely motivating to incorporate them into my fitness routine!
I found this article really interesting because I didn’t know the ability to balance declined with age. I do think its important to get some sort of exercise a day even if its just 30 mins. So fitness, balance or yoga classes. But standing on one leg to see if you are healthy or not is really interesting! Having good balance is key.
The article was interesting to read. Working in the medical field, movement is always encouraged, whether that is walking, cycling, or yoga. Keeping the body in motion is suitable for overall health. Regarding standing on one leg, I think it is very interesting to read. I currently work in an office setting and have a yoga mat, so I can take a few minutes to stretch out of my day during the week. With the snow coming, I won’t be able to walk outside as much as I would like, so anything to keep my muscles moving and grooving.
I thought this article was very interesting. Balance may seem like a weird way to measure health and age, but this article showed how useful it can be. Balance can indicate underlying health conditions. Being active is so important and I know that I should be more active than I am. As an online student it can be difficult to be active, but this article gave me insight into how important it is. I would also like to see more studies done on balance, how it declines with age, and if practicing balance exercises would make a difference. Thanks for the interesting article!