Balance training alleviates age-related complaints according to Swiss study

Typical age-related complaints such as poorer sleep quality, reduced motor control or cognitive disorders are due to a dysfunction of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the brain, among other things, as the University of Fribourg (Unifr) explained in a press release on Wednesday.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid is a so-called neurotransmitter. Its task is to slow down the activity of neurons in order to prevent excessive excitation in the brain. However, this inhibition decreases with increasing age.

In their study, which was published in The Journal of Physiology, the researchers have now shown for the first time that balance training counteracts this age-related decrease in inhibition.

Challenging exercises

For the study, 40 senior citizens aged between 66 and 81 were divided into two groups. One group carried out balance training twice a week over a period of six months, while the control group did not complete any specific exercises. The training included challenging balance exercises such as walking on unstable ground, using a balance plate or balancing on a slackline.

After six months, the trained group showed a 16.5 percent improvement in the inhibitory function of the neurotransmitter and a 15 percent increase in balance ability compared to the untrained group.

In a further step, study leader Yves-Alain Kuhn and his colleagues now want to investigate whether this improvement also has a positive effect on sleep quality and pain control.