It was the very first night of my two-week vacation, and I had just arrived at my mother’s house after a 12-hour drive. My mother was happy to see me, and we spent a great evening catching up on all the local goings-on. We turned in early, anticipating a fun tomorrow. Well, that was the plan, anyway.

That night, in the wee hours of the morning, Mom got up to go to the bathroom and promptly fell—the first time she had ever done so in her life. It banged her up right proper, and she spent the better part of the next week in the hospital. Upon her return home, I had to extend my vacation to help her get back to her old self. Thus, I have both professional and personal experience with falls and their consequences.

Falls can happen to anyone, anywhere, and anytime—and can be particularly dangerous in the dark of night.

Let’s do something about falls. Trust me, it’s a whole lot easier to avoid them than to fix the consequences.

Tips to Increase Your Safety at Night

Walking in the dark can increase the risk of falls. The following strategies can help reduce that risk:

• Use Night Lights: Keeping a few night lights lit after the sun goes down can mean the difference between falling and not falling. Keeping a flashlight handy is also a great idea.


• Avoid Hazards: Anything on the floor can potentially cause a fall. Be sure that all of your walkways are completely clear of hazards. Even one is enough to trip you up.


• Give It Time: When getting up out of bed in the night, sit on the edge of the bed for at least 30 seconds to allow your blood pressure to stabilize. This can help prevent dizziness after standing and reduce the risk of falls.


• Install Grab Bars: Placing grab bars in your bathroom, especially in places like the shower—where your balance can be challenged—can help increase your stability.

6 Exercises for Better Balance at Every Age

You needn’t be getting old to keep up with balance—it’s a use-it-or-lose-it ability. Remember, too, that getting older doesn’t guarantee that balance will become poor. My advice is to keep your balance honed at any age, as falls can occur at any time and in many situations.

The following exercises work well for my patients, but I recommend speaking with your medical provider to ensure they are appropriate for your situation.

1. High Knee Marching

Weak hip flexors can cause toe catches, in which your toes make contact with the floor and snag, increasing the risk of falls. High knee marching works directly on hip flexors, but instead of simply performing them statically, this exercise has a movement component that will allow you to also work on balance.

Step 1: Begin marching by bringing your knees as high as you can and then back down at approximately one march per second. Step forward approximately one foot with each step. March for one minute.

Step 2: Marching for one minute counts as one set. Try performing three sets.

Modifications: Only lift your legs as far as you comfortably can. If you struggle with balance, stand near a stable surface to help maintain it.

Why I Like It: Marching is an exaggerated version of a regular walking pattern, with high lifts that strengthen the hip flexors.

2. Standing Hip Abduction

Hip abduction can work wonders for strengthening your abductor muscles, which bring your legs straight out to the sides.

Step 1: Stand by a chair for balance support.

Step 2: With your feet side-by-side—or with a little bit of separation—bring your right leg straight out to the side while maintaining an upright posture. Avoid the temptation to lean away from the movement to bring the legs up.

Step 3: Once you move your leg up as far as you comfortably can, return it to its original position.

Step 4: Bringing your leg up and then back down counts as one repetition. Try to perform three sets of 12 repetitions per side. You can perform all movements on one side, and then the other, or alternate sides as you go. Resist the temptation to speed up; maintain your movement quality throughout the repetitions.

Modifications: Only lift as far as you comfortably can, because hip abductor muscles can often start weak. Don’t worry, you'll get stronger as you go.

Why I Like It: Hip abductions work directly on strengthening your hips—a frequently neglected area of the body. Strong abductor muscles can help maximize your balance and movement quality.

3. Single Leg Stance

Standing on one leg builds your balance even when you’re standing still. I say that because we can never really ever stand completely still. Our bodies are constantly making tiny postural changes to maintain our balance when we’re standing, and we’ll be tapping into that mechanism for this exercise.

Step 1: Stand with your feet approximately 1 foot apart, bend your right knee, and lift your foot straight up off the ground until your knee is bent 90 degrees. Try to hold this position for 30 seconds without grabbing something or putting your foot down to stabilize, which can be quite challenging for many of us. If you have to stabilize, just stop counting until you can return to position.

Step 2: Holding your foot up for 30 seconds counts as one set. Try to perform three 30-second sets per side. You can alternate sides or perform all sets on one side, then the other.

Modifications: Stand behind a chair if you struggle with balance during this exercise. Only lift your foot a little off the ground at first, because there’s a high chance that you will need to put it down quickly at first.

Why I Like It: The single leg stance is a great balance builder that’s easy to perform. In fact, it’s a lot more effective than it appears.

4. Standing Weight Shifting

While the last exercise involved a static hold where you try to maintain your balance without moving, this one involves dynamic weight shifting onto one leg at a time during a side-to-side movement.

Step 1: Stand with your feet approximately 1 foot apart.

Step 2: Step approximately 1 foot to the right and place all the weight on your right foot while lifting your entire left foot off the ground. Hold for five seconds. If you struggle with balance while lifting your foot, lean further over onto the right foot before trying to lift your foot.

Step 3: Immediately and slowly move to the left and repeat the movement on the other side, standing only on your left foot while lifting the right foot. Pace the side-to-side transitions at approximately two seconds.

Modifications: Take smaller steps if you can’t balance with larger steps. Decrease the amount of time you stand on one leg if you struggle with your balance over longer periods. You should be able to stand longer over time.

Why I Like It: Rapid side-to-side movement provides a great dynamic balance workout.

5. Tandem Standing

I often have patients perform standing task performance in a tandem stance, and I love how it challenges their balance. Even just standing in position can be challenging.

Step 1: In standing, place one foot directly in front of the other, with the toes on one foot touching the heel of the other. It’s a good idea to stand in front of a counter or behind a chair so that you can have something to hold onto when you need to stabilize.

Step 2: Once in position, try to release the support surface and stand independently.

Step 3: Try to stand independently for 30 seconds before reversing your foot order and trying to stand for another 30 seconds.

Step 4: Standing for 30 seconds counts as one set. Try to perform three 30-second sets per side.

Modifications: If the tandem stance gives you fits, and you just can’t master it, place your feet side-by-side (touching) and then move one foot forward so that the toes of one foot are equal with the heel of the other. This is a semi-tandem stance and should be a bit easier to master.

Why I Like It: The tandem stance is an effective balance builder that introduces significant left-right movement and requires postural correction.

6. Tandem Walking

Tandem walking puts the tandem stance into motion. Get good with this one, and you’ll have excellent stability when walking regularly.

Step 1: Start this exercise in the tandem stance.

Step 2: Bring your rear foot out from behind the forward foot and place it heel to toe in front of it.

Step 3: Try to perform 30 steps per set, and try to perform three total sets. Feel free to modify sets and step counts to best suit your needs.

Modifications: Holding your arms out like “airplane wings” can help maintain your balance as you walk.

Why I Like It: Master this movement, and you will definitely improve your balance.

These safety tips and exercises can improve your balance and help prevent nighttime falls. Not only that, but you may very well find that your balance in general increases, and that you are given a new sense of surefootedness. I recommend performing them at least three times per week, but optimally five times per week. I hope these exercises work well for you, and believe you will benefit greatly from them.

About the Fitness Model: Aerowenn Hunter is a health editor and fitness model for The Epoch Times. She’s an accredited yoga therapist with more than three decades of teaching experience.