Balancing Act

Yoga postures are hard enough; try doing them with your eyes closed and it becomes almost impossible. Kids on the other hand seem do those same poses fairly easily with their eyes closed.

 

I understood why it’s easier for kids to balance with their eyes closed as I was reading this excerpt from Eureka!: Mindblowing Science Every Day of the Year. The answer starts with an interesting observation:

“Children obviously enjoy the feeling of dizziness -- just look at how roundabouts in parks and playgrounds are packed with young­sters.”

Why is that? Because, it turns out, our balance system is controlled by 3 senses:

  1. Inner ear (vestibular system)
  2. Receptors in joints and muscles (proprioceptor system)
  3. Eyes (visual system)

 

These 3 systems mature at different rates from the time we are born:

“The vestibular system is fully operational by the time a child has reached 6 months of age; proprioceptors need three or four years more. The development of the visual element is complete by around 16 years of age.”

Notice how long it takes for the visual system to mature? 16 years! Those kids on those roundabouts at the playground? Much, much younger than 16.

 

Ok, you say. but how does this explain why kids don’t get dizzy on roundabouts or why kids can balance their yoga poses with their eyes closed? Take an adult:

“The sensation of dizziness and nausea following a spinning move­ment is… a result of the conflicting information our brain receives from the three elements mentioned above. When our body is rotating at speed our vestibular system and proprioceptors can feel it, but our eyes can't locate the horizon. Our brain is desperately trying to resolve this conflict and, because humans are primarily visual, it assumes that the other senses are hallucinating, probably because of intoxication. So the brain tries to get rid of the assumed poison by provoking vomiting.”

 

But kids, where the visual system is not yet contributing to balance yet, don’t experience such a mismatch in signals and thus don’t feel dizzy on roundabouts. And since they don’t rely on sight for balance, no wonder they can do those yoga poses with their eyes closed.

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