Have you ever tripped over something but managed to stay on your feet? If so, your physical balance was what helped you stay upright and keep from falling down. Your ability to remain on your feet and control your movements is impacted by many factors, some that come from practice, and others that are genetic.

If you've ever wondered if your sense of physical balance comes from your family, and which biological parent in particular, AncestryDNA^® + Traits can help you find out.

The Importance of Balance

Balancing involves keeping your weight distributed in a way that helps you stay on your feet. It can also help you regain your steadiness if you trip on something. But it's not as simple as whether you have it or not. For your body to have good balance, you need several parts to work together, including your eyes, joints, bones, muscles, inner ear, and nervous system.

In sports, balance is what allows high-performance athletes to execute the impressive feats they manage, from pole vaulting to dazzling gymnastics or dance. In day-to-day life, balance is involved in carrying shopping from your car to your home or lugging the laundry basket up a flight of stairs. Physical balance is important for nearly any activity that requires you to be upright.

Balance Ability and Genetics

Though there isn't a single gene responsible for balance, your physical balance ability and genetics are linked, to some degree. Ancestry^® scientists identified over 470 DNA markers linked to an individual's ability to maintain their balance by performing a genome-wide association study. In this study, the scientists compared the DNA of over 209,000 people who self-reported answers to the question "How would you rate your physical balance?" In particular, the question defined balance as maintaining control over your body during movements to avoid falling. Based on the results, the Ancestry scientists developed a polygenic risk score to predict your physical balance ability just using your DNA.

While Ancestry scientists found many DNA markers that might influence your physical balance ability, they also determined that differences in peoples' DNA could only explain a small amount of the variation in their balance ability—only about 6%.

Environmental Influences on Physical Balance

Non-genetic factors, like your age, whether you practice balance exercises, and your overall physical health influence your physical balance ability much more than your genetics. For example, your physical strength can have a big impact on your balance. Strength imbalances can make balancing overall difficult. While strength and how your muscles fatigue is somewhat related to genetics, the vast majority of it relates to exercise and practice. When you exercise regularly, your muscles grow stronger, and your strength and endurance improve.

Temporary environmental influences can also reduce your balance in short spurts. For example, if you've ever gone on an amusement park ride that spins you rapidly, it's not uncommon to feel like you're still spinning when you get off. That's because your balance is controlled, in part, by fluid in your inner ear. That fluid bends hairs within the tube, which tells your brain your head is moving in a certain direction. When your whole body spins around quickly, the fluid in your ear continues to spin and bend the hairs, even after you've stopped. You'll probably lose your balance temporarily after spinning quickly, but it probably won't take much time to recover.

One element outside your control that impacts your balance is age. As you age, your body's abilities do as well. Around age 50, the body's ability to balance starts to decline. While physical activity and regular exercise can slow the decline to some extent, losing your ability to balance is simply a part of ageing.

If you're worried about your balance, all sorts of activities can help improve it. Physical activity helps keep your body functioning well. However, some activities target balance, including:

• Tai chi
• One-legged stands
• Yoga
• Pilates
• Walking heel to toe
• Squats

Interesting Findings About Balance

The inner ear is crucial to maintaining balance thanks to its ability to detect swaying and the direction your body is moving. However, sometimes, it doesn't function exactly as intended. Some people who have been on boats feel like they're still at sea when on the shore. This sensation predominantly affects middle-aged women, but it can affect anyone and is known as mal de debarquement syndrome.

Conversely, some people appear to have extraordinary balance, such as tightrope walkers who manage to remain upright while balancing on a swaying line. Not everyone has the risk-taking genes to help convince them to get on a tightrope. However, those who master the art of balancing on that thin line tend to have impressive balance.

Part of what helps them remain balanced is that they hold their arms out or even hold out a long pole in front of them. It's not much different than a child trying to balance on a balance beam with their arms out at their sides. The pole works to improve their balance by increasing their rotational inertia and giving them a longer time to correct any motions if they slip.

Are you interested in how your DNA stacks up in your ability to balance or perform athletic tasks? Take an AncestryDNA^® + Traits test today and see what your results reveal. If you've already tested, your Traits results are already available to review with an Ancestry^® membership.

 

References

"Balance." Harvard Health Publishing. Accessed May 9, 2024. https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/balance.

"Balance Begins to Decline as Early as Age 50." UCLA Health. May 23, 2022. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/balance-begins-to-decline-as-early-as-age-50.

Ellis, Rachel Reiff. Ways to Improve Your Balance. WebMD. August 28, 2023. https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/ss/slideshow-ways-to-improve-balance.

"Exercise: 7 Benefits of Regular Physical Activity." Mayo Clinic. August 26, 2023. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389.

Lim, Rebecca. "The Science Behind 'That Feeling' When You Stop Spinning." Hippocampus, The University of Newcastle. 14 April 2021. https://www.newcastle.edu.au/hippocampus/story/2021/dizzy.

Loury, Erin. "How to Become an Expert Tightrope Walker." American Association for the Advancement of Science. April 18, 2012. https://www.science.org/content/article/how-become-expert-tightrope-walker.

Nodjimbadem, Katie. What Happens to Your Body When You Walk on a Tightrope? Smithsonian Magazine. October 13, 2015. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-happens-your-body-when-you-walk-tightrope-180956897/.

Papp, Marian E., Ann Charlotte Grahn-Kronhed, et al. "Changes in physical activity levels and relationship to balance performance, gait speed, and self-rated health in older Swedish women: a longitudinal study." Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. November 16, 2021. doi:10.1007/s40520-021-02016-5.

Saha Kamala and Youn-Hee Cha. "Mal de Debarquement Syndrome." Seminars in Neurology. January 27, 2020. doi: 10.1055/s-0039-3402740.