Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr 20;14(1):73.
doi: 10.1186/s13102-022-00467-5.

Does the time of day differently impact the effects of an exercise program on postural control in older subjects? A pilot study

Frédéric Noé  1 , Karim Korchi  2 , Noëlle Bru  3 , Thierry Paillard  1
Affiliations

Does the time of day differently impact the effects of an exercise program on postural control in older subjects? A pilot study

Frédéric Noé et al. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. .

Abstract

Background: The time of day that people exercise can potentially influence the efficiency of exercises for fall prevention in older adults. The present pilot study was conducted to explore the feasibility and effects of morning versus afternoon exercising on postural control in institutionalized older adults.

Methods: Nine older adults completed a 3-month multimodal exercise program in its entirety (14 participants were recruited at the beginning and were initially randomly separated into two groups). One group exercised in the morning (ME; n = 4) and the other in the afternoon (AE; n = 5). Postural control was assessed with a force platform at pre and post-intervention at the following times: 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Results: Postural control significantly improved only in the AE group post-intervention. Improvements in postural control in the AE group were mainly observed in the morning.

Conclusions: The afternoon would be the best period to implement exercise sessions dedicated to improve postural control in older subjects with benefits mainly observed in the morning. Further studies are needed with a larger sample in order to confirm these results.

Keywords: Aging; Balance; Chronobiology; Fall prevention; Physical activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Diagram showing the flow of participants through the study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Paillard T. Plasticity of the postural function to sport and/or motor experience. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017;72:129–152. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.11.015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Laughton CA, Slavin M, Katdare K, Nolan L, Bean JF, Kerrigan DC, et al. Aging, muscle activity, and balance control: physiologic changes associated with balance impairment. Gait Posture. 2003;18(2):101–108. doi: 10.1016/S0966-6362(02)00200-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Melzer I, Benjuya N, Kaplanski J. Postural stability in the elderly: a comparison between fallers and non-fallers. Age Ageing. 2004;33(6):602–607. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afh218. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Burns E, Kakara M. Deaths from falls among persons aged ≥ 65 years—United States, 2007–2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018;67(18):509–514. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6718a1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nachreiner NM, Findorff MJ, Wyman JF, McCarthy TC. Circumstances and consequences of falls in community-dwelling older women. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2007;16(10):1437–1446. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2006.0245. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources