The 10-Second Balance Test Every Woman Over 50 Should Try
Late last night, after I was already in bed, I stumbled across an intriguing challenge: see how long you can balance on one foot. Apparently, if you can’t remain balanced for 10 seconds, you’re at increased risk of an early death.
Researchers in one study measured one-leg balance among men and women ages 51 to 75 and tracked deaths that occurred during subsequent years. They found that being unable to stand on one foot for 10 seconds was associated with an increased risk of dying during that time.
I’m 51 and wondered whether my balance is starting to slip.
There’s plenty of reasons to work on steadiness besides longevity, including avoiding falls and maintaining mobility. And the test itself is a snapshot. It doesn’t predict your individual risk of mortality or any other outcomes.
Try the test
Stand up and place your hands on your hips, stare at a specific spot in front of you, lift your foot and touch it lightly against your other ankle, and hold this pose counting to 10 out loud.
Try to hold that pose without hopping, grabbing something to help yourself or letting your free foot drag on the floor.
Then switch legs. Chances are one leg felt much steadier than the other.
Being able to do this for 10 seconds on each side is encouraging. If you were wobbling a lot, that’s where your opportunities for improvement lie.
What can 10 seconds tell you?
Maintaining balance in this position takes a lot of processes working together at once, and any weakness may result in some swaying.
More immediately, balance affects how easily we can move around day to day. It’s a combination of healthy hips and leg muscles, visual cues, messages from inner-ear balance centers, pressure sensors in the feet and quick-thinking from our brains to correct for slips and other problems.
To avoid falls, it helps to have strong legs and a sure-footed balance. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four people ages 65+ falls every year, making falls the leading cause of injury-related death for adults in that age group.
Many people respond to falls by limiting activity, which makes them less steady.
Balance needs practice earlier than you might think
Balance can be a silent casualty of our adult lives. We no longer leap across creeks like we did as kids. Instead, our days involve lots of sitting and walking around on flat surfaces.
Balance can quietly erode along with reaction times starting around your fifties. That can raise the risk of falls and other problems.
What I do now
In general, I’m unlikely to commit to a standalone balance training program. But it’s easier to slip a few extra balance-focused behaviors onto things I’m already doing, like brushing my teeth or walking down the hallway.
The simplest and most convenient balance drill I’ve found is to stand on one foot after brushing your teeth. Aim for about two minutes total, alternating feet. It’s an easy way to build a little balance training into a task you’re already doing every morning.
Heel/toe walking, similar to a tightrope trick, is another challenge you can weave into your day. I live in a house where I have to pass through a short hallway between my bedroom and laundry room several times each day. It’s a handy opportunity to walk heel-toe on my way through the hallway.
I didn’t do all of the above perfectly each day. But after about 30 days, I’m comfortable balancing for 10 seconds on my good side. My other leg improved a bit, too.
Many senior centers and YMCAs offer tai chi classes at modest cost.
If you wobbled, start with support
Stand beside a counter. Put two fingers on it and lift one foot off the floor. When you’re ready, use just one finger. Soon you’ll be hovering your finger just above the edge of the counter.
Try several times a day with the leg you’re weaker on.
If you get dizzy, see a doctor. Balance problems are different from dizziness or lightheadedness, which could be a sign of a bigger issue.
- Balance with two fingers on the counter.
- Reduce the support to one finger.
- Hover your hand just above the counter.
- Try holding without support on each side.
Make the practice easy to remember
My favorite way to incorporate this into my life was after brushing my teeth. It was easy to remember to do it because it’s such a part of my everyday life. For two minutes, I’d practice balancing. No equipment, classes, or appointments were necessary.
Balance is an underrated fitness goal. It’s worth a couple minutes each day to preserve mobility and confidence around the house.
What the study doesn’t tell you about your future
The finding about risk of death grabs attention, but it needs some context. The study was observational and found an association between people who couldn’t balance on one leg and an increased risk of death over subsequent years, not a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
It also didn’t show that practicing until you can stand on one leg for 10 seconds will make you live longer. According to the University of Bristol’s summary of the research, it included 1,702 people ages 51 to 75, roughly two-thirds of them men, and only people with a stable gait, all of them white Brazilians. So it’s unclear whether the results apply to everyone else.
The results shouldn’t be applied as an individualized prediction for all women over 50. Your one-time test in the kitchen isn’t going to predict how many more healthy years you have to live. But if you’re having trouble with it, it’s a conversation you may want to have and a skill that may be worth practicing.
Set up for practice before lifting a foot
Find a spot to practice that’s on a level surface, has nothing in the way, and has a solid countertop for support. Make sure you can reach the counter without taking a step or leaning. Don’t stand by something flimsy, such as a towel rail or a chair or piece of furniture that can slide around.
For footwear, the National Institute on Aging advises nonskid, rubber-soled, low-heeled shoes. NIA also says not to walk on floors in socks or in shoes and slippers with smooth soles. Skip the unsupported test at home if you feel unsteady when you’re walking or even just standing. Get a balance assessment from a professional instead.
The goal is to find out about your balance without falling. Having support ready doesn’t make the practice any less worthwhile.
Keep both feet down if that’s where you need to begin
Standing on one leg is just one way to challenge your balance. The NHS’s balance exercises are a good place to look. They include sideways walking, heel-to-toe walking and a one-leg stand facing a wall with your fingertips touching it. The NHS suggests doing these exercises near a wall or a steady chair that you can grab if you lose your balance. It also advises building up slowly.
For a simpler practice session, stand next to your counter with your feet a comfortable distance apart. With one hand on the counter, shift your weight to one side. Then, bring it back to the middle. Both feet stay firmly planted the whole time. But you’re able to get a feel for transferring your weight.
If even that feels uncertain, stop and talk to a professional. A physical therapist can help you find the right level of difficulty to start with, challenging your balance but still safe. Then you’ll be able to build your confidence in small increments rather than take risks with exercises that are too hard.
Give balance practice your full attention
Pairing a balance exercise with something you already do makes it easier to remember, but that doesn’t mean doing both at once. For a beginner, ‘after brushing my teeth’ may be a better reminder than ‘while brushing my teeth’, so finish brushing, make sure the floor is dry, and practice with both hands free.
The same goes for getting dressed, so sit down to put your socks on if standing makes you wobble, and work on balance separately where you have more control. There’s no need to turn daily life into an obstacle course, and carrying laundry while walking heel to toe, closing your eyes or standing on a cushion adds difficulty you may not need. Start with eyes open, one thing at a time, a solid surface and sturdy support.
Practice both sides without making the weaker leg a punishment
Chances are, one side felt a bit shakier than the other. That’s totally OK. At this point, you’re not necessarily able to identify why there’s a difference, but pain or past injuries could be part of it, among other things that change what it feels like to be confident standing on one leg.
It’s not necessarily a question of doubling the number of reps on the unsteady side, as there’s no universal rule for that, but rather, finding a way to practice that is manageable. That might look like putting your foot back down before you’re wobbling, taking a pause, starting again.
Using your hands for support is totally OK, which is another way to find out what you can do right now, and keep yourself safe. Forcing yourself to do more reps through discomfort won’t necessarily tell you what each side needs.
If the difference is large or new, especially if it comes with pain or weakness, talk to your doctor or physical therapist.
Make your home easier to move through
Balance exercises won’t improve poor lighting in your staircase or remove an electrical cord that runs along the hall. To be able to maneuver in your environment safely and prevent falls, it helps to take a look at your space.
The CDC’s fall prevention advice includes doing strength and balance exercises, having your eyes checked at least once a year, getting rid of things you could trip over, adding grab bars inside and outside the tub or shower and next to the toilet, putting railings on both sides of stairs, and adding more or brighter light.
Consider the spaces you use the most. Can you get to the light before walking from your bedroom to the bathroom? Can you see the rug that may catch your foot as you walk by? Can you reach the items you use the most? Pay special attention to places in your home where you carry things. Making these changes will complement your exercises by allowing you to maneuver around your home with more confidence.
Bring your medication list to the conversation
If your steadiness has changed, tell your doctor or pharmacist about all the prescription and over-the-counter medicines and supplements you’re taking. The CDC recommends asking your doctor or pharmacist to review your medicines to see if any might make you dizzy or sleepy. Don’t stop a medicine or change a dose on your own, though.
Tell them if you’ve been feeling unsteady at certain times or if it started after a change in medications. Tell them if you’ve felt lightheaded when you stand up. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), low blood pressure can lead to dizziness when you stand up too quickly.
Details like this could be more helpful to your doctor than how long you were able to stand on one leg.
Know when wobbling needs medical attention
Balance problems and dizziness commonly overlap. According to the NIDCD, symptoms of a balance disorder can include dizziness or a sense of spinning, staggering when walking, feeling faint or lightheaded and blurry vision. It’s best to see a doctor early on if you’re having frequent bouts of dizziness, if you’ve had falls you can’t explain, or if you’ve noticed a real drop in how steady you are.
Have you suddenly lost your balance? That’s different from gradually finding out that standing on one leg is hard. The CDC lists sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, sudden trouble seeing, sudden numbness or weakness especially on one side of the body, and sudden confusion or trouble speaking as signs of a stroke.
For any of these, the CDC says to call 9-1-1. Symptoms that go away after a few minutes may be a transient ischemic attack, which the CDC says is a sign of a serious condition that still needs medical help. If something is causing you to suddenly lose your balance, practicing won’t help.
Measure progress in everyday confidence, too
While a longer hold can be encouraging, it isn’t the only thing worth noticing. Maybe you feel more comfortable standing at the counter or moving around a familiar room. Or maybe an assessment helped you find a vision issue, a shoe that doesn’t suit you, or a movement worth practicing differently.
If you repeat the test now and then, do it the same way each time, as a test in the morning, well rested, on a firm surface is not comparable to a test in the evening when fatigued on the carpet. Always have something to hold onto nearby when testing. Don’t try to extend your hold if you are losing control.
Confidence in everyday movements is the point of working on balance. Ten seconds can be a starting point without having to become the whole goal.
