Do your eyes make your body sway?
{ Multi-Sensory }
When you use this hands-on exhibit…you’ll stand up close to a swaying, black and white striped board. Can you keep your balance?
If you’re standing on a footpath watching passing traffic (particularly large buses), you may start to feel a little unbalanced.
Or when you play a computer game, or watch a movie, you may get a strong sense of movement, even though you’re sitting still.
Your sense of balance is strongly influenced by what you see.
When you see that your world is swaying and shaking, your reference point becomes difficult to rely upon and your body may adjust itself in response, even though the ground is completely still beneath your feet.
Did the Earth just move, or did your balance betray you?
When you see your surroundings move, your environment is likely to be moving too (just like when you’re riding on an escalator).
At other times, if you see your surroundings move, it means that you’re falling over.
To prevent yourself from toppling over, your body often adjusts how you’re standing.
To stay upright, your brain combines signals from—most importantly—your vision, as well as your vestibular system (inner ear fluid canals), and stretch receptors in your joints and muscles (proprioceptors).
If you stand still with your eyes closed, you sway 20-70% more than usual, because you are missing vital visual information about how your body is positioned in space.
As we grow older, our vision deteriorates. We often think that this only means it becomes difficult to read or watch television, but it also leads to an increase in falls.