As you get older, you might look for different ways to improve your health such as changing your diet or exercising more. You may make an effort to stay mentally active too, so you can potentially reduce the chances of cognitive issues.
It’s equally important that you monitor and develop your “proprioception”, sometimes known as your “sixth sense”. This is your ability to sense where your body is in space, and it’s very important for your overall health and mobility as you get older.
Read on to learn more about proprioception and how you could improve it.
Proprioception affects your mobility, balance, and coordination
If you close your eyes and move your arms around, you can still tell where your hands are in relation to your body. This is proprioception at work. You don’t need to look at your arms and hands to know where they are in space because you can sense it.
This sixth sense is more important than you might realise and you rely on it when performing many everyday tasks including:
- Walking and running
- Climbing stairs
- Writing
- Carrying objects.
The sixth sense is governed by “proprioceptors” – receptors in your muscles, tendons, and joints – that pick up minute movements and transmit signals to your brain. If your proprioceptors are well-developed and the signals to your brain are strong, you may have a better sense of your body in space.
Additionally, you might have strong proprioception in some situations but not others. For example, you may regularly practice yoga and have brilliant balance, yet still struggle with hand-eye coordination.
This suggests that you can develop your proprioception skills by practising a certain movement or action.
As you get older, your proprioception skills may naturally decrease. Unfortunately, this could mean that you experience more problems with mobility and could have an increased risk of trips and falls.
You may also find it more difficult to stay active and perform day to day tasks such as writing, washing up, or cooking.
That’s why it’s important to measure your sixth sense and take steps to strengthen it throughout your life.
The “rock pass drill” could help you test your proprioception
Simple movement exercises including the “rock pass drill” can help you gauge how developed your proprioception skills are.
To do this, close your eyes and hold your arms out to the side while standing on one leg. Then, imagine that you are holding a rock in one hand. Pass the rock over your head from one hand to the other, without putting your leg down.
Try to repeat this 10 times without losing your balance, and this will give you an idea of how well your sixth sense is functioning.
If you find it challenging, you might need to do some more exercises to improve proprioception.
Incorporate movement where you can to improve proprioception
One of the easiest ways to improve your proprioception skills is to incorporate movement wherever you can in your everyday life.
For instance, you might stand on one leg when brushing your teeth or take the stairs instead of using a lift. Any activities that involve balance and controlled movements could be beneficial.
Additionally, performing everyday tasks with your eyes closed forces you to rely on your sixth sense, and can strengthen your proprioceptors.
Exercises such as yoga and Tai Chi focus on balance and strengthen your sixth sense
If you’re looking for specific activities to test and improve your sense of your body in space, yoga and Tai Chi – a martial art focused on slow, controlled movements – are both excellent.
These are exercises that rely heavily on balance. You also need to be quite specific about the movement and shape of your body, so you’re training your proprioceptors.
Yoga and Tai Chi can also strengthen the muscles and joints, further improving your balance and mobility.
Indeed, according to Science Direct, regular Tai Chi practice can decrease the risk of falls in older adults.
Throwing and catching exercises are brilliant for developing proprioception
The simple act of throwing and catching a ball tests your proprioception skills. This is because you need to have a good sense of where the ball is in relation to your hand and move quickly to successfully catch it.
If you struggle with hand-eye coordination, you might benefit from exercises such as throwing a ball from one hand to the other. Alternatively, you could bounce a ball off a wall and catch it.
Practising for a few minutes a day could make a significant difference to your proprioception skills over time.
Developing your sixth sense in this way could have a positive effect on your life as it may mean you can stay more active and live independently as you get older.