Brain Skills And Senior Balance Exercises

Senior Balance Exercises To Help With Aging

By Suzanne Stoke, Physical Therapist @ Exercise For Balance via www.exerciseforbalance.com

   To help slow the progress of changes in the brain that occur with age, older adults can perform senior balance exercises as part of a regular fitness program. Please see more information at   http://www.exerciseforbalance.com/buy-now In the last few years, medical researchers have been studying the changes that occur as people age to try to help older individuals make lifestyle changes that will enhance healthy and active living. As an example, medical scientists have found that one commonly held misconception is that aging results in an inevitable loss of all cognitive abilities and that nothing can be done to halt this decline.  Research, however, does not support these claims.  While certain areas of thinking do show a normal decline as we age, others remain stable.  Moreover, interventions ( like proper diet and exercise that includes balance training) may actually slow some of the changes that do occur. Medical researchers have evaluated a few functions of older adults and found:   Intelligence: “Chrystalized” intelligence, i.e., knowledge or experience accumulated over time, actually remains stable with age.  On the other hand, “fluid” intelligence or abilities not based on experience or education tend to decline. Memory:  Remote memory or recall of past events that have been stored over many years remains relatively preserved in old age.  Recent memory or the formation of new memories, however, is more vulnerable to aging.

Attention:  Simple or focused attention such as the ability to attend to a television program tends to be preserved in older age.  Difficulties may be encountered, however, when divided attention is required such as trying to pay attention to the television and simultaneously talk on the telephone.

Mobility: Older individuals have a greater risk for falling as their components of balance ( sensory input from the feet, vision and the inner ear vestibular system) all decline with age. As a result, medical researchers and healthcare providers recommend that aging individuals perform senior balance exercises to boost their stability and limit the possibility of a fall.

Senior Balance Exercises For Later Years

     Despite changes in the brain in the later years of life, older individuals are able to maintain their active lifestyle by practicing senior balance exercises on a daily basis. There are several simple equilibrium routines that older adults can engage in every day that will help develop needed balance abilities. As an example, you can stand near a sink, counter or table in a single leg standing position. The single leg stance routine involves standing on one leg for twenty seconds and repeating that position three times on each leg. The single leg standing routine will develop strong balance reactions at the feet and ankles which will translate into improved steadiness with all standing and walking activities. You can learn how to accomplish a standing balance exercise as well as additional senior balance exercises by following the direction of a knowledgeable physical therapist in the exercise for balance DVD.

Senior Balance Exercises In The Exercise For Balance DVD

    Even though there are predictable changes that occur in the brain during the aging process, you can still stay steady and avoid falls by geting started on a course of the best balance exercises with the Exercise For Balance DVD. The healthcare provider recommended Exercise For Balance DVD is a high quality instructional DVD to use at home or in a group setting. The easy to understand and simple to follow Exercise For Balance DVD includes  a step by step series of the latest balance and strength exercises necessary to optimize senior fitness and to carry out basic daily activities like shopping, doing laundry,  walking, standing, cleaning house, stair climbing or to advance to more difficult pursuits like skiing, dancing, playing golf and hiking. In the  comprehensive Exercise For Balance DVD, you will learn how to improve stability, how to apply steadiness techniques and how to safely execute balance routines from a  qualified balance specialist --- licensed Physical Therapist---who has worked with balance and dizziness disorders for over 25 years. Get your copy of the Exercise For Balance DVD by clicking on the BUY NOW button

Be strong and start balance exercises today with the Exercise For Balance DVD to improve balance and prevent falls.
For more information see http://www.mayoclinic.com/health-information/