The Power of Your Eyes: How Vision Affects Balance

Summary

Areas of Science

Sports Science
Human Biology & Health
Mechanical Engineering

Difficulty

Method

Scientific Method

Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Cost

Very Low (under $20)

Safety

Do the balance test on a flat surface and have someone nearby to prevent falls.

Credits

Renee Sample, PhD, Science Buddies

Science Buddies is committed to creating content authored by scientists and educators. Learn more about our process and how we use AI.

Image Credit: Pezibear / Pixabay Content License

Abstract

Staying balanced might feel simple, but there’s so much more involved than you would think! The way your body balances is actually the result of several body systems working together. Your muscles and joints provide feedback (proprioception) about where your body is in space, your inner ear senses movement and position, and your eyes give you important visual cues about your surroundings. Vision is especially important because it helps your brain judge where you are in relation to the ground and to objects around you.

When your eyes are open, you can use visual cues to stay steady, but what happens when you close your eyes? Without vision, your body has to rely more on your inner ear and muscles to stay upright, which can make balancing harder. That’s why people often sway or wobble more when they try to stand still with their eyes closed. This is a technique often used by physical therapists and biomechanists to identify if an individual has an underlying balance issue. 

In this project, you will test how vision affects balance by evaluating the variability of the participants’ balance when they stand on one foot with their eyes open compared to standing on one foot with their eyes closed. You can start by measuring things such as length of time on one foot, sway amount, step corrections, or range of motion. By collecting data from yourself and others, you’ll see how much vision contributes to keeping the body steady. This simple experiment highlights how our senses work together to prevent falls and keep us safe during everyday activities like walking, climbing stairs, or playing sports.

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Global Goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

This project explores topics key to Good Health and Well-Being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

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If you are injured in an accident, suffer a stroke, heart attack, or loss of a limb, or are born with conditions that make it difficult to move your body, then you will often be cared for by a physical therapist. Physical therapists review a patient's medical history, test and measure his or her physical condition (things like range of motion, strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, muscle function), and then develop a treatment plan to meet some physical goals. They coach, motivate, and… Read more

Athletic Trainer

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Sports injuries can be painful and debilitating. Athletic trainers help athletes, and other physically active people, avoid such injuries, while also working to improve their strength and conditioning. Should a sports injury occur, athletic trainers help to evaluate the injury, determine the treatment needed, and design a fitness regime to rehabilitate the athlete so he or she is ready to go out and compete again. Read more

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Optometrists are the primary caretakers of our most important sense—vision. They diagnose and detect problems not only with vision, but with the health of the eye and the whole body. Based on their diagnoses, they prescribe glasses, contact lenses, and medications; refer patients to ophthalmologists for surgery; or develop treatment plans, like vision therapy, to help correct for deficits in depth perception. Their work helps people live better at every stage of life. Read more

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