Mental Fatigue Impairs Postural Stability in Older Adults

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Postural instability is a significant risk factor for falls in the elderly population.
• Understanding factors that compromise balance in older adults is crucial for fall prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of mental fatigue on postural stability in healthy older adults.
• To determine if cognitive tasks, specifically the Stroop task, induce mental fatigue that affects balance.

Main Methods:

• Healthy older adults were divided into experimental (Stroop task) and control (documentary) groups.
• Postural stability was assessed using the Biodex Balance System (BBS) pre- and post-intervention.
• Subjective mental fatigue was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).

Main Results:

• The experimental group showed significantly improved BBS scores post-Stroop task, indicating reduced stability (P ≤ 0.001).
• No significant changes in BBS scores were observed in the control group (P = .688).
• The experimental group reported significantly higher mental fatigue than the control group, with a correlation between VAS and BBS scores (rs = 0.712, P = .002).

Conclusions:

• Mental fatigue induced by cognitive tasks like the Stroop task impairs postural stability in older adults.
• Reduced attentional resources due to mental fatigue may explain the decline in postural control.
• Mental fatigue should be considered a potential risk factor contributing to falls in the elderly.