How Moving The Eyes Affects Aging

We talk to ourselves all the time. What are we saying? I’m too old;  I feel foolish doing something unfamiliar; that ride is too scary, what if I get hurt? It’s too much effort and I’m retired. I should have started years ago, now it’s too late. Your body talks back to you through pain, stiffness, less range of motion, fatigue. This is the dialog we have with ourselves.

Thoughts, beliefs, and actions. What we think, our cultural beliefs, and how we move controls our aging process. We are afraid of the “O” word: old. If you don’t change anything, be prepared to age badly. Look for the rocking chair and the nice retirement home now. Be prepared when the time comes.

As we age, our balance gets worse. It isn’t because of aging. It’s because of not moving. If we improve our balance, we are less fearful of moving.

Try this: walk across a room with your eyes open. Easy peasy, yes? Try the same thing with your eyes closed. The difference? Your eyes help you move better. About 70% of how we move comes from our visual system: what we see and how our brain interprets it. If we improve our visual system, we improve our balance.

The visual system (your eyes) and the vestibular system (your balance) and the proprioceptive system (movement) talk to each other. If you move your eyes more, your balance improves, and you move easier. When balance improves, we feel stable, which reduces fear, which leads to more moving, which leads to longer life. By exercising eye muscles, night vision improves, and we exhibit less fear of driving at night. With improved balance, we don’t drape on the handrail going down stairs. We feel sure of  foot placement. We might even let go of the handrail.

This is the dialog between you and your body. When you move more, practice balance by moving your eyes more, you have less pain, less stiffness, more confidence, less fatigue. You can have a dialog with your body and it doesn’t argue with you. Use your eyes more, outside their normal range, to improve your balance.

Try this: practice eye circles as big and smooth as you can. Slow down, make the circles fluid, not jumpy. Keep them smooth. Standing may make you feel unsteady, so sit until you get good at it. Do 6-8 circles one way, then reverse. Breathe. You may feel some eye strain; it’s your extra ocular eye muscles beginning to work again, after a long rest, maybe years. Repeating this drill every day will improve your vision, improving your balance, improving your confidence in moving. You might move more. You might live longer.

It’s Aging Intelligently.