It is well understood that our bodies gradually slow down in their motions as we age.
Some possible factors include a slower metabolism, a loss of muscular mass, and a gradual decrease in activity.
According to University of Colorado Boulder experts, older folks may walk slowly because it requires more energy than younger adults.
Researchers recruited 84 healthy volunteers for this study, which included both young persons aged 18 to 35 and older adults aged 66 to 87.
Participants were asked to reach for a goal on a screen while holding a robotic arm in their right hand. The robotic arm worked similarly to a computer mouse.
Scientists discovered that elderly persons adjusted their motions at particular times to help conserve their more restricted levels of energy when compared to younger adults.
“With age, our muscle cells may become less efficient in transforming energy into muscle force and, ultimately, movement,” Alaa A. Ahmed, PhD, professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder and senior author of this study, explained to news.
“We also lose efficiency in our movement patterns, possibly to compensate for decreased strength. So we use more muscles, which consumes more energy, to complete the same activities.”
Researchers believe their findings may help lead to new diagnostic tools for movement-related disorders. “Movement slowing as we age can significantly impact our quality of life,” Ahmed explained. “It can restrict not only physical but social activities.
It’s important to understand the underlying causes and determine if there are potential interventions that can help slow or eliminate the decline.” “Additionally, slowing of movement not only occurs with age but is a symptom of a number of neurological disorders,” she continued.
Ahmed and her team also wanted to investigate how aging would influence the “reward circuitryTrusted Source” in the brain, as the body produces less dopamine as we age.
Participants were again requested to use the robotic arm to move a cursor on a computer screen. The goal was to achieve a specified target on the screen. Participants who hit the target were rewarded with a “bing” sound.
Researchers discovered that both young and elderly persons got to their targets faster when they knew they would hear the “bing.”
However, scientists claim they accomplished this in a different way: younger persons simply moved their arms faster, whereas older adults improved their reaction times, beginning their reach with the robotic arm roughly 17 milliseconds earlier on average.
