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Balance declines with age, but exercise can help stave off some of the risk of falling

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evan-papa-1433146">Evan Papa</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/tufts-university-1024">Tufts University</a> My wife and I were in the grocery store recently when we noticed an older woman reaching above her head for some produce. As she stretched out her hand, she lost her balance and began falling forward. Fortunately, she leaned into her grocery cart, which prevented her from falling to the ground. Each year, about <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6537a2.htm">1 in every 4 older adults experience a fall</a>. In fact, falls are the leading cause of injuries in adults ages 65 and older. Falls are the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00298717">most common cause of hip fractures</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1553-2712.2000.tb00515.x">traumatic brain injuries</a>. Injuries like those are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199710303371806">risk factors for placement in a nursing home</a>, where the fall risk is <a href="https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-121-6-199409150-00009">nearly three times higher than for people living in the community</a>. A number of physical changes with aging often go unseen preceding falls, including muscle weakness, decreased balance and changes in vision. I am a <a href="https://facultyprofiles.tufts.edu/evan-papa">physical therapist</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=T9B_dHQAAAAJ&hl=en">clinical scientist focused on fall prevention</a> in older adults, commonly ages 65 and older. I’ve spent most of my career investigating why older adults fall and working with patients and their families to prevent falls. <h2>Why aging leads to increased risk of falls</h2> Aging is a process that affects the systems and tissues of every person. The rate and magnitude of aging may be different for each person, but overall physical decline is an inevitable part of life. Most people think aging starts in their 60s, but in fact we spend most of our life span <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fgeront%2Fgnv130">undergoing the process of decline</a>, typically beginning in our 30s. Older adults are more prone to falling for various reasons, including age-related changes in their bodies and vision changes that leave them vulnerable to environmental factors such as curbs, stairs and carpet folds. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ztPbKP68P2Q?wmode=transparent&start=24" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Some straightforward measures to improve the safety of the home environment for older adults can significantly lower the risk of falls.</figcaption></figure> Based on my experience, here are some common reasons older adults may experience falls: First, <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23167-sarcopenia">aging leads to a natural loss of muscle strength</a> and flexibility, making it more challenging to maintain balance and stability. The loss of strength and poor balance are two of the most common causes of falls. Second, older adults often have chronic conditions such as arthritis, Parkinson’s disease or diabetes that can affect their mobility, coordination and overall stability. In addition, certain medications commonly taken by older adults, <a href="https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.18f12340">such as sedatives</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.14764">blood pressure drugs</a>, can cause dizziness, drowsiness or a drop in blood pressure, leading to an increased risk of falls. Age-related vision changes, such as reduced depth perception and peripheral vision and difficulty in differentiating colors or contrasts, can make it harder to navigate and identify potential hazards. Hazards in the environment, such as uneven surfaces, slippery floors, inadequate lighting, loose rugs or carpets or cluttered pathways, can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02499-x">significantly contribute to falls among older adults</a>. Older adults who lead a sedentary lifestyle or have limited physical activity may also experience reduced strength, flexibility and balance. And finally, such conditions as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease can affect judgment, attention and spatial awareness, leading to increased fall risk. <h2>Theories of aging</h2> There are numerous theories about why we age but there is no one unifying notion that explains all the changes in our bodies. A large portion of aging-related decline is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3295054/">caused by our genes</a>, which determine the structure and function of bones, muscle growth and repair and visual depth perception, among other things. But there are also numerous lifestyle-related factors that influence our rate of aging including diet, exercise, stress and exposure to environmental toxins. A recent advance in scientific understanding of aging is that there is a difference between your <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-a-rapid-ager-biological-age-is-a-better-health-indicator-than-the-number-of-years-youve-lived-but-its-tricky-to-measure-198849">chronological age and your biological age</a>. Chronological age is simply the number of years you’ve been on the Earth. Biological age, however, refers to how old your cells and tissues are. It is based on physiological evidence from a blood test and is related to your physical and functional ability. Thus, if you’re healthy and fit, your biological age may be lower than your chronological age. However, the reverse can also be true. I encourage patients to focus on their biological age because it empowers them to take control over the aging process. We obviously have no control over when we are born. By focusing on the age of our cells, we can avoid long-held beliefs that our bodies are destined to develop cancer, diabetes or other conditions that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.07.024">have historically been tied to how long we live</a>. And by taking control of diet, exercise, sleep and other lifestyle factors you can actually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Facel.13538">decrease your biological age</a> and improve your quality of life. As one example, our team’s research has shown that moderate amounts of aerobic exercise <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188538">can slow down motor decline</a> even when a person begins exercise in the latter half of the life span. <h2>Fall prevention</h2> Adopting lifestyle changes such as regular, long-term exercise can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.5406">reduce the consequences of aging</a>, including falls and injuries. Following a healthy diet, managing chronic conditions, reviewing medications with health care professionals, maintaining a safe home environment and getting regular vision checkups can also help reduce the risk of falls in older adults. There are several exercises that physical therapists use to improve balance for patients. It is important to note however, that before starting any exercise program, everyone should consult with a health care professional or a qualified physical therapist to determine the most appropriate exercises for their specific needs. Here are five forms of exercise I commonly recommend to my patients to improve balance: <ol> <li> Balance training can help improve coordination and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/proprioception">proprioception</a>, which is the body’s ability to sense where it is in space. By practicing movements that challenge the body’s balance, such as standing on one leg or walking heel-to-toe, the nervous system becomes better at coordinating movement and maintaining balance. A large research study analyzing nearly 8,000 older adults found that balance and functional exercises <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd012424.pub2">reduce the rate of falls by 24%</a>. </li> <li> Strength training exercises involve lifting weights or using resistance bands to increase muscle strength and power. By strengthening the muscles in the legs, hips and core, older adults can improve their ability to maintain balance and stability. Our research has shown that strength training can also lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2147/cia.s104674">improvements in walking speed and a reduction in fall risk</a>. </li> <li> Tai chi is a gentle martial art that focuses on slow, controlled movements and shifting body weight. Research shows that it can improve balance, strength and flexibility in older adults. Several combined studies in tai chi have demonstrated a 20% reduction in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd012424.pub2">number of people who experience falls</a>. </li> <li> Certain yoga poses can enhance balance and stability. Tree pose, warrior pose and mountain pose are examples of poses that can help improve balance. It’s best to <a href="https://theconversation.com/yoga-modern-research-shows-a-variety-of-benefits-to-both-body-and-mind-from-the-ancient-practice-197662">practice yoga</a> under the guidance of a qualified instructor who can adapt the poses to individual abilities. </li> <li> Flexibility training involves stretching the muscles and joints, which can improve range of motion and reduce stiffness. By improving range of motion, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3990889/">older adults can improve their ability to move safely</a> and avoid falls caused by limitations in mobility. </li> <li> Use of assistive devices can be helpful when strength or balance impairments are present. Research studies involving the evaluation of canes and walkers used by older adults confirm that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2004.04.023">these devices can improve balance and mobility</a>. Training from a physical or occupational therapist in the proper use of assistive devices is an important part of improving safety. </li> </ol> When I think back about the woman who nearly fell in the grocery store, I wish I could share everything we have learned about healthy aging with her. There’s no way to know if she was already putting these tips into practice, but I’m comforted by the thought that she may have avoided the fall by being in the right place at the right time. After all, she was standing in the produce aisle.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204174/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evan-papa-1433146">Evan Papa</a>, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/tufts-university-1024">Tufts University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/balance-declines-with-age-but-exercise-can-help-stave-off-some-of-the-risk-of-falling-204174">original article</a>. </div>

Body

Could you cope with a shock to your bank balance? 5 ways to check you are financially resilient

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bomikazi-zeka-680577">Bomikazi Zeka</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> Imagine the dentist has just said you urgently need a A$2,000 dental crown. A week later, a pipe in your bathroom bursts, causing $8,000 worth of damage. Suddenly, you’ve been hit with a $10,000 financial shock. As the cost-of-living crisis plunges more households into financial uncertainty and at least <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/data/taking-the-pulse-of-the-nation-2022/2023/australians-face-challenging-budgetary-constraints#:%7E:text=Over%20the%20past%20six%20months,has%20increased%20to%2060%20percent.">one-third</a> of Australians struggle to make ends meet, it’s more important than ever to ask yourself: how financially resilient am I? Being financially resilient means you aren’t left financially devastated when an expensive emergency creeps up on you. Here are five key signs of financial resilience. <h2>1. You have a plan for what you’d do if you suddenly lost your salary</h2> Financial resilience means having a plan to fall back on during tough times. This extends to how you’d make money if you lost your job. In practice, that means things like making sure your skills and contacts are kept up to date so you can more easily find a new job. You might also consider whether a “side hustle” job such as tutoring could work for you in the short term, and how you’d put that plan into practice if needed. Perhaps you have a spare room in your home you could rent out for a period of time if you lost your salary. Those examples won’t work for everyone, of course, but it’s still worth asking yourself the question: what would I do if I lost my salary tomorrow? <h2>2. You have enough liquid assets to meet an unexpected financial expense</h2> Liquid assets means money that can be accessed quickly and easily to overcome an unplanned financial expense. Savings are a good example. They provide a buffer so you can cope in the short term if a financial shock strikes. The federal government’s Moneysmart website suggests you aim to have enough in your emergency savings fund to cover <a href="https://moneysmart.gov.au/saving/save-for-an-emergency-fund">three months of expenses</a>. Having an <a href="https://moneysmart.gov.au/glossary/offset-account">offset account</a> as part of a mortgage is another option that provides a buffer. Putting money in an offset account helps you save while reducing the amount of interest on a home loan. You can still access the money in an offset account at any time. <h2>3. You have bought the right financial products, such as insurance</h2> Financial products, such as insurance, hedge against potential losses. Personal insurance is important because it provides income in the event of death, illness or injury. Examples include: <ul> <li> life insurance (which pays out to your beneficiaries, such as your partner or children, when you die) </li> <li> total and permanent disability insurance (which means you may get some money if you acquire a disability that prevents you from working) </li> <li> income protection (which provides you with an income if you can no longer work) </li> <li> trauma cover (which covers a life-changing illness or injury, such as cancer or a stroke). </li> </ul> Check if your superannuation has any of these insurances included in it. <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/295770/FPRJ-V4-ISS1-pp-53-75-insurance-literacy-in-australia.pdf">Research</a> has found that many Australians are underinsured. <h2>4. You can still pay your debts when times are tough</h2> Being able to borrow money can help when you’re in a tight spot. But knowing where to borrow from, how much to borrow and how to manage debt repayments is crucial. Financially resilient people use debt responsibly. That means: <ul> <li> not using debt for frivolous expenses like after-work drinks </li> <li> staying away from private money lenders </li> <li> being cautious about buy-now-pay-later services </li> <li> watching out for debts with high interest rates, such as payday loans and credit card debt </li> <li> maintaining debt repayments consistently. </li> </ul> If you’re having debt problems, talk to your lender about renegotiating your repayment arrangements, or contact the <a href="https://ndh.org.au/">National Debt Helpline</a> on 1800 007 007. <h2>5. You are financially literate</h2> Being financially literate means you can assess the benefits and risks of using savings or taking out debt to meet an unplanned financial need. As I have <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-financially-literate-here-are-7-signs-youre-on-the-right-track-202331">written</a> before on The Conversation, key signs of financial literacy include tracking your cashflow, building a budget, as well as understanding what debts you have and which to pay first. It also means storing your money across different places (such as superannuation, savings accounts, property and the share market) and understanding how financial assets like cash, shares and bonds work. Being aware of your financial strengths and weaknesses, and having financial goals is also important. Nobody is born knowing how to make sound financial decisions; it’s a skill that must be learned. It’s good to think about the resources you would draw upon to help get yourself out of a difficult financial situation – well before disaster strikes.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218126/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bomikazi-zeka-680577">Bomikazi Zeka</a>, Assistant Professor in Finance and Financial Planning, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-you-cope-with-a-shock-to-your-bank-balance-5-ways-to-check-you-are-financially-resilient-218126">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

Improving your balance: Tandem walking for stronger muscles

As we age, our muscles tend to become weaker, which is why it’s important to stay in shape with easy and effective exercises. In this video, Taylor Harrison – author, senior’s health expert and Director of <a href="http://www.activeseniors.net.au/">Active Seniors Health Centre</a> – shows you how to do the tandem walk to improve your balance and coordination while regaining strength in your muscles. <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/295089820" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> To see more videos and articles on improving your health and fitness from Taylor Harrison, <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/search.aspx?Keyword=taylor+harrison">click here</a>. Image credit: Shutterstock

Body

Could this 10 second balance test determine the longevity of your life?

For adults who fall in the older age bracket, being able to balance briefly on one foot may predict how long they’ll live. People who failed the 10-second balance test, which involves standing on one foot were nearly twice as likely to die in the next 10 years, according to a report in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Unlike aerobic fitness, flexibility and muscle strength, balance tends to be preserved until the sixth decade of life. After that, balance tends to wane quite quickly. Exactly why a simple balance test can predict risk of death is not yet known, said the study’s lead author, Dr Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo. Poor balance and poor muscular fitness can be linked with frailty in older adults. “Aged people falling are in very high risk of major fractures and other related complications,” Araújo wrote. “This may play a role in the higher risk of mortality.” Checking balance on one foot, even for those few seconds, can be valuable way to determine someone’s risk of falling. How does balance predict longevity? To explore whether a balance test might reveal insight into a person’s risk of death from any cause during the next decade, Araújo and his team reexamined data from the 1994 CLINIMEX Exercise cohort study. This study assessed associations between physical fitness, cardiovascular risk factors, and the risk of developing poor health and dying. For the new report, the researchers focused on 1702 participants from ages 51 to 75 with the average age being 61. At their first study checkup, when weight, waist size and measures of body fat were collected. The researchers included only people who could walk steadily in their analysis. At the first checkup, participants were asked to stand on one leg for 10 seconds without holding onto anything to support themselves. The participants were allowed three tries and were asked to place the front of the uplifted foot on the back of the weight bearing leg, while keeping their arms by their sides and their gaze fixed straight ahead. Overall, one in five failed the test with researchers noting inability to pass the test rose with age. In general, those who failed the test were in poorer health than those who passed, with a higher proportion being obese, having cardiovascular disease and unhealthy blood cholesterol levels. Type 2 diabetes was three times more common among people who failed the test as those who passed. After accounting for factors such as age, sex, BMI, history of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol, the researchers found that the risk of death within 10 years was 1.84-fold higher in participants who failed the balance test. The good news, Araújo said, is “it is never too late to improve balance by specific training. A couple of minutes a day - at home or in a gym could help a lot,” he continued. During a physical, doctors typically check people’s hearts, lungs, cholesterol and blood pressure, but usually don’t measure what shape they’re in. If a doctor can determine if a patient has balance issues a program can be issued to improve overall fitness and wellbeing. Image: Getty

Caring

New study reveals fascinating fact about gender balance in books

Characters in books are almost four times more likely to be male than female, according to a new artificial intelligence study on female prevalence in literature. Researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering used artificial intelligence to examine more than 3,000 English-language books with genres ranging from science fiction, to mystery and romance, including novels, short stories, and poetry. The team used Named Entity Recognition (NER), a prominent NLP method used to extract gender-specific characters. Lead researcher Mayank Kejriwal was inspired to research the topic and was surprised to find that gender bias was prevalent in the books. “Gender bias is very real, and when we see females four times less in literature, it has a subliminal impact on people consuming the culture,” she said. “We quantitatively revealed in an indirect way in which bias persists in culture.” Co-author of the study Akarsh Nagaraj discovered the four to one ratio which showed male characters were more common in books. “Books are a window to the past, and the writing of these authors gives us a glimpse into how people perceive the world, and how it has changed,” she said. “It clearly showed us that women in those times would represent themselves much more than a male writer would.” Using the technology, the team found the most common adjectives used to describe gender specific characters. “Even with misattributions, the words associated with women were adjectives like ‘weak,’ ‘amiable,’ ‘pretty,’ and sometimes ‘stupid,’” said Nagaraj. “For male characters, the words describing them included ‘leadership,’ ‘power,’ ‘strength’ and ‘politics.’” Image: Shutterstock

Books

The death of the open-plan office? Not exactly but a revolution is in the air

“What will it take to encourage much more widespread reliance on working at home for at least part of each week?” asked Frank Schiff, the chief economist of the US Committee for Economic Development, in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1979/09/02/working-at-home-can-save-gasoline/ffa475c7-d1a8-476e-8411-8cb53f1f3470/">The Washington Post</a> in 1979. Four decades on, we have the answer. But COVID-19 doesn’t spell the end of the centralised office predicted by futurists since at least the 1970s. The organisational benefits of the “propinquity effect” – the tendency to develop deeper relationships with those we see most regularly – are well-established. The open-plan office will have to evolve, though, finding its true purpose as a collaborative work space augmented by remote work. If we’re smart about it, necessity might turn out to be the mother of reinvention, giving us the best of both centralised and decentralised, collaborative and private working worlds. Cultural resistance Organisational culture, not technology, has long been the key force keeping us in central offices. “That was the case in 1974 and is still the case today,” observed the “father of telecommuting” Jack Nilles <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/12/what-telecommuting-looked-like-in-1973/418473/?sf43013774=1">in 2015</a>, three decades after he and his University of Southern California colleagues published their landmark report <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/book/10.5555/540203">Telecommunications-Transportation Tradeoff: Options for Tomorrow</a>. “The adoption of telework is still well behind its potential.” Until now. But it has taken a pandemic to change the status quo – evidence enough of culture resistance. In his 1979 article, Schiff outlined three key objections to working from home: <ul> <li>how to tell how well workers are doing, or if they are working at all</li> <li>employees’ need for contact with coworkers and others</li> <li>too many distractions.</li> </ul> To the first objection, Schiff responded that experts agreed performance is best judged by output and the organisation’s objectives. To the third, he noted: “In many cases, the opposite is likely to be true.” The COVID-19 experiment so far supports him. Most <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/54-percent-adults-want-mainly-work-remote-after-pandemic-study-2020-5">workers</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/working-from-home-remains-a-select-privilege-its-time-to-fix-our-national-employment-standards-139472">managers</a> are happy with remote working, believe they are performing just as well, and want to continue with it. Personal contact But the second argument – the need for personal contact to foster close teamwork – is harder to dismiss. There is evidence remote workers crave more feedback. As researchers Ethan Bernstein and Ben Waber note in their Harvard Business Review article <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/11/the-truth-about-open-offices">The Truth About Open Offices</a>, published in November 2019, “one of the most robust findings in sociology – proposed long before we had the technology to prove it through data – is that propinquity, or proximity, predicts social interaction”. Waber’s research at the MIT Media Lab demonstrated the probability that any two workers will interact – either in person or electronically – is directly proportional to the distance between their desks. In his 2013 book <a href="https://www.humanyze.com/people-analytics-book/">People Analytics</a> he includes the following results from a bank and information technology company. Experiments in collaboration Interest in fostering collaboration has sometimes led to disastrous workplace experiments. One was the building Frank Gehry designed for the Chiat/Day advertising agency in the late 1980s. Agency boss Jay Chiat envisioned his headquarters as a futuristic step into “flexible work” – but <a href="https://www.wired.com/1999/02/chiat-3/">workers hated</a> the lack of personal spaces. Less dystopian was the Pixar Animation Studios headquarters opened in 2000. Steve Jobs, majority shareholder and chief executive, oversaw the project. He took a keen interest in things like the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/new-work-order-from-google-and-pixar-to-innocent-the-future-of-the-office-starts-here-8687379.html">placement of bathrooms</a>, accessed through the building’s central atrium. “We wanted to find a way to force people to come together,” he said, “to create a lot of arbitrary collisions of people”. Yet Bernstein and Waber’s research shows propinquity is also strong in “campus” buildings designed to promote “serendipitous interaction”. For increased interactions, they say, workers should be “ideally on the same floor”. Being apart How to balance the organisational forces pulling us together with the health forces pushing social distancing? We know COVID-19 spreads most easily between people in enclosed spaces for extended periods. In Britain, research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine shows workplaces are the most common transmission path for adults aged <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/17/scientists-age-groups-covid-19-workplaces-shops-restaurants">20 to 50</a>. We may have to get used to wearing masks along with plenty of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438463918305911?via%3Dihub">hand sanitising</a> and disinfecting of high-traffic areas and shared facilities, from keyboards to kitchens. Every door knob and lift button is an issue. But space is the final frontier. It’s going to take more than vacating every second desk or imposing barriers like cubicle walls, which largely defeat the point of open-plan offices. An alternative vision comes from real-estate services company Cushman & Wakefield. Its “6 feet office” concept includes more space between desks and lots of visual cues to remind coworkers to maintain physical distances. Of course, to do anything like this in most offices will require a proportion of staff working at home on any given day. It will also mean then end of the individual desk for most. This part may the hardest to handle. We like our personal spaces. We’ll need to balance the sacrifice of sharing spaces against the advantages of working away from the office while still getting to see colleagues in person. We’ll need new arrangements for storing personal items beyond the old locker, and “handover” protocols for equipment and furniture. Offices will also need to need more private spaces for greater use of video conferencing and the like. These sorts of collaborative tools don’t work well if you can’t insulate yourself from distractions. But there’s a huge potential upside with the new open office. A well-managed rotation of office days and seating arrangements could help us get to know more of those colleagues who, because they used to sit a few too many desks away, we rarely talked to. It might just mean the open-plan office finally finds its mojo. Written by Andrew Wallace. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-death-of-the-open-plan-office-not-quite-but-a-revolution-is-in-the-air-140724">The Conversation.</a>

Retirement Life

A long way to the top: Australian musicians balance multiple roles to make their careers work

Over the past three years, our <a href="https://makingmusicwork.com.au/">Making Music Work</a> project has mapped the creative, social, cultural, and economic realities of a music career in Australia. We surveyed nearly 600 musicians to understand their working lives, creative goals, career paths and economic circumstances. We also conducted interviews with 11 diverse musicians to explore their careers in more depth. Our study shows the vast majority of Australian musicians undertake a portfolio career which encompasses concurrent and often impermanent roles. This is not a new phenomenon but in recent decades there have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2019.1598348">major shifts</a> in how music is made, paid for and consumed. Now, the impact of COVID-19 on the funding and policy landscape has dramatically affected how musicians develop and sustain their careers – or not. Balancing acts Musicians told us they stay in the music industry because of their love and passion for music, which is central to their identity. Far from the “starving artist” myth, they combine music and non-music work in highly entrepreneurial ways. Surveyed before the current crisis, almost half (49%) the musicians in our study held two or more concurrent paid roles. We found 560 different job titles, the most common being instrumental musician (25%) and private music teacher (10%). Musicians worked in music-related jobs as disparate as composers, sound technicians and community arts workers, and non-music jobs including sales assistants, journalists and librarians. We spoke to musicians from 18 years old to 65 and above. Almost 70% had worked in music for more than 10 years, with nearly one in three of them practising as professional musicians for more than 20 years. This gives an indication of how committed Australian musicians are to the industry and sustaining their music careers and creative practice over time. Russell Morris on career longevity. While most musicians we studied are committed to the profession, 12% said that they were thinking about leaving. The most common reasons for leaving the music industry were financial stress, lack of income and caring responsibilities – all of which have since been exacerbated by the pandemic. A live industry Performance is the most common paid activity for musicians, with two-thirds of musicians deriving at least some of their income from performance fees. Live performances are also crucial for peer networking and career development. Peer networks are mostly built and maintained through events, and are key to musicians’ building and renewing skills, developing new creative collaborations and securing jobs. Given live music was <a href="https://theconversation.com/there-is-no-easy-path-out-of-coronavirus-for-live-classical-music-138207">immediately</a> impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions and will be slow to return, the capacity of musicians to maintain their careers has been severely limited. Rob Nassif on the importance of live performance. Federal, state and local governments have initiated a range of targeted grants and subsidies to help support the sector and its workforce. However, lobby groups and representative bodies have called for significantly more funding. On 10 June, music rights organisation APRA AMCOS published an <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AtT3Gdy8aHkhP_MZmDJcg3YW7sujyj5veF8qX8MYk2w/edit">open letter</a> with more than 1,000 industry signatories imploring the Australian government to consider <a href="https://liveperformance.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/LPA-MR-345-million-plan-to-restart-and-rebuild-live-performance-industry-4-June-2020-1.pdf">a suite of proposals</a>. In making their case, the signatories assert: [w]e contribute $16 billion to the economy and we are an asset that is a lynchpin for the tourism and hospitality sectors and a powerful driver of metropolitan and regional economies and export to the world. The employment puzzle Musicians are predominantly self-employed or are employed on temporary contracts, leaving them ineligible for the current JobKeeper scheme. Only half of musicians receive all of their income from music-related work, and the most common sources of music-related income are performance fees, music teaching and grants. The average income from all work was $41,257, with a median income of $30,576. While the Australian government has permitted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/23/early-release-super-coronavirus-when-access-superannuation-how-impact-your-money">early release</a> of superannuation in response to COVID-19, our study has shown that musicians have limited access to this and other employment-related benefits. Less than one-third of our survey participants reported employer-based superannuation contributions, and only 7% had access to a health plan or private health insurance scheme. In spite of the challenges, Australian musicians have shown tremendous creativity and resilience in adapting their work to online environments during the pandemic. Emily Smart on how the internet affords opportunities to collaborate. Musicians’ resilience is unsurprising given how creatively and financially nimble they have to be when negotiating music and non-music roles. To successfully engage across a variety of markets, genres and performance sites, musicians deploy diverse and agile skill sets. If they were to receive similar support as other sectors of the economy in this current crisis, they would be well placed to survive and thrive into the future. Throughout our research, Australian musicians generously shared their expertise. They recognise the crucial role of peer networks to develop creative practices, sustain livelihoods and nurture the sector. This creative generosity will be central to the industry’s recovery from COVID-19. Written by Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, Ben Green, Christina Ballico, Dawn Bennett and Ruth Bridgstock. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-long-way-to-the-top-australian-musicians-balance-multiple-roles-to-make-their-careers-work-140840">The Conversation.</a> Scott Harrison, Vanessa Tomlinson and Paul Draper also contributed to this research.

Art

Check your super balance: Aussies scammed out of thousands of dollars

At least 150 Australians have had parts of their retirement savings siphoned off by fraudsters in a scam exploiting security holes in the Government’s early release super scheme. Earlier this year, the Federal Government announced eligible individuals affected by the COVID-19 economic crisis can apply to access up to $10,000 of their super. But last month the Government was forced to suspend withdrawals for two days after attackers allegedly lodged fraudulent applications using fake myGov accounts in their victims’ names. Angelee Basset and her husband are among the people being targeted by the scammers. Basset said duplicate myGov accounts were set up in their names and then used to apply for nearly $20,000 in their ATO portals. “Until then I had no idea it was even possible to have more than one myGov account in your name,” she told the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-01/scammers-stealing-thousands-through-coronavirus-super-scheme/12301010">ABC</a>. “In order to stop this happening to others, one of the things that should be put in place is a limit on the number of myGov accounts an individual is allowed to have.” Basset said the applications were approved in “less than 12 hours” despite the couple not fulfilling the criteria for accessing their super savings early, but they managed to prevent the money from leaving their accounts. Australian citizens and permanent residents must be unemployed, made redundant or have their working hours or turnover reduced by 20 per cent to be eligible for the scheme. The Government claimed the scheme’s security has been improved and there has been no more fraud since. “The ATO constantly recalibrates its systems so that they’re secure, and the system has been working very well since,” Assistant Minister for Superannuation Jane Hume told the outlet. The Australian Federal Police are currently investigating at least 150 cases of identity fraud. As of early May, 1.2 million Australians had used the early release scheme to cash out more than $10 billion. The <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/current-covid-19-coronavirus-scams">Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch</a> has received more than 2,700 reports of coronavirus-related scams since the outbreak – including early access super frauds – with over $1.1 million in reported losses. “Never give any information about your superannuation to someone who has contacted you,” the ACCC advised. “This includes offers to help you access your superannuation early under the government’s new arrangements.”

Money & Banking

Oprah Winfrey tumbles while preaching about balance

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey took a fall during her most recent Oprah’s 2020 VIsion: Your Life on Focus tour. She was holding her second-last event at The Forum in Los Angeles and fell to the floor while talking about wellness and balance. "Wellness to me means all things in balance, and balance doesn’t mean all things are equal or at peace at all times," she says in a video captured and posted on Twitter, before she takes a step and falls to the ground. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Oprah took a tumble today during a speaking tour in Los Angeles. Thankfully she’s okay! <a href="https://t.co/UUPuufBoXi">pic.twitter.com/UUPuufBoXi</a> — Pop Crave (@PopCrave) <a href="https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1233842455541354496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 29, 2020</a></blockquote> "Wrong shoes," she jokingly added. She addressed the incident during an Instagram video that was taken backstage at the event. "I didn't even think 'embarrassing,'" she said in the video. "I just thought 'Okay I fell, everybody knows what falling is.' You would prefer not to fall, but now I've fallen." "I thought this was a great day in spite of the fall, which now becomes a meme, I know," she said in a later video. "But I picked myself up I don't know if it was something on the floor or my foot twisted or what. I had the indication I was gonna fall before, and then it is what it is, it was a great, great day." Luckily, the event went on without a hitch with singer Jennifer Lopez attending as her special guest. The nine-stop tour has featured other special guests, including Lady Gaga, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Michelle Obama. "How do you take this energy of inspiration and people feeling triumphant in their lives? How do you use that to something that's a greater good than just my front porch?" she asked. "And that's how this idea came about. I'll try to spread that word around the country." "The hardest thing I've ever done is to ask all of these people to come on tour," she said, adding that she was glad they all accepted her invitation.

How to have a real work-life balance

Far too many Australians are stressed at work and it’s taking a toll on our physical and mental wellbeing. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), one in five workers suffers from some form of mental illness whether that be depression, anxiety, stress disorders or suicidal thoughts. Untreated mental health conditions cost Australian workplaces approximately $10.9 billion every year. The importance of easing this stress and anxiety is clear. But is the solution as simple as cutting down on work? Shannah Kennedy, life coach, corporate speaker, author and co-creator of the Master Class of Wellness, a program that empowers professionals to reach their highest potential, says you can have a successful career and achieve a happy, balanced life without giving up your work. “We’re taking our work with us everywhere we go these days. Work-life balance isn’t about having lots of time off work, it’s about blending our work and recreation to where we feel we have a sense of control over our health - mentally, physically and emotionally,” she says. Kennedy says we are often to blame for pushing ourselves too hard. One way we do this is that we don’t set clear boundaries on how we use technology and there is often no separation between our work life and our personal life. “Checking phones next to our beds, checking our emails constantly affects the neural pathways for addiction. So people aren’t sleeping properly, they are overwhelmed by information and there is no off switch,” she says. The inability to say no to people’s requests when we really should be looking after our own interests is another contributing factor. We quite often put others’ interests ahead of our own trying to be the best family member, employee, or friend that we can be. Kennedy calls this the ‘disease to please’ and it’s a habit that has to be broken if we are going to find a better work-life balance. Many people may not even be aware that they are stressed, caught up in what Kennedy calls the ‘treadmill of life’. Telltale signs include sleep apnoea, overreacting to situations and having thoughts that replay in your head constantly. You may also find that you’re not really present in your relationships, may have high blood pressure or have trouble tasting your food. Those close to retirement age can be particularly at risk of stress and anxiety as they often haven’t prepared for life beyond work and find themselves having to contemplate starting all over again. “Many have forgotten to work on their friendships and hobbies and have to start from scratch when they retire,” says Kennedy. Life coaches Shannah and Lyndall share their tips for achieving that work-life balance we all long for But by managing your workplace stress you can become more productive at work and a healthier, happier and more inspired version of yourself. Follow these key strategies to begin your transformation. Learn to say “No” “We fear rejection and we fear missing out, but it’s important to realise that you can’t do everything without it having a detrimental effect on you,” says Kennedy. But how can you say no without offending people? Kennedy says it’s about being nice first. “Thank the person for their invitation and then say ‘unfortunately I can’t make it this time’. Use the time to do something that helps you rest and rejuvenate instead,” advises Kennedy. Have a plan and track your time Track your time with a timetable and include work but also activities such as yoga, meditation and social catch ups that improve your mind, body, hobbies and relationships. You should schedule this time in the same as you would important business meetings, advises Kennedy. “Book in the asset first. You are that asset in life and it’s about protecting that asset and booking time out to work on and with that asset,” says Kennedy. Have technology boundaries Don’t sleep with your phone next to your bed and incorporate technology blackout periods into your day. Not checking your work emails will make you feel calmer, but you will also find you become more productive, free from distractions like social media. “From 8pm at night in my house, it’s phones and tablets switched off. Similarly, phones and devices are kept off until after exercise and breakfast and that gives us time to switch off too,” says Kennedy. Move your body Exercise is a perfect stress release and has the added benefit of keeping us fit, healthy and reenergised. Instead of coming home from work and having more ‘screen time’, invest in your body by going for a walk or taking an exercise class. You will feel more refreshed when you do have to tackle those stressful work deadlines. Breathe deeply Kennedy calls this her big secret that allows her to perform better and without stress in her working life. “Most of the population use only 30 per cent of their lung capacity. They are not maximising the oxygen intake into their bodies and their brains so they can’t think; they can’t make decisions,” she says. To reap the benefits of life-giving oxygen take five deep breaths three times a day. “You can change your whole mental state if you learn how to breathe properly,” says Kennedy. Use technology to help you Don’t be a slave to technology. “Make it your slave and become more productive,” says Kennedy. Program your phone’s calendar with things that are non-negotiable to you and set your phone to notify you when you should be doing them. “That means my yoga, my walk, my friend time, my finances. When you get a notification to do your finances for example, you know you can’t go to bed until you finish them,” Kennedy says. See a life coach Bring some extra help into your life by finding a life coach. “A qualified life coach can help educate you about how to better manage your work-life balance and then help you create the structure you need to be the best version of yourself by helping you improve your health, wellbeing, your family life and career,” says Kennedy. Written by Dominic Bayley. Republished with permission of <a href="http://www.Wyza.com.au">Wyza.com.au.</a>

Legal

The real work-life balance

Far too many Australians are stressed at work and it’s taking a toll on our physical and mental wellbeing. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), one in five workers suffers from some form of mental illness whether that be depression, anxiety, stress disorders or suicidal thoughts. Untreated mental health conditions cost Australian workplaces approximately $10.9 billion every year. The importance of easing this stress and anxiety is clear. But is the solution as simple as cutting down on work? Shannah Kennedy, life coach, corporate speaker, author and co-creator of the Master Class of Wellness, a program that empowers professionals to reach their highest potential, says you can have a successful career and achieve a happy, balanced life without giving up your work. “We’re taking our work with us everywhere we go these days. Work-life balance isn’t about having lots of time off work, it’s about blending our work and recreation to where we feel we have a sense of control over our health - mentally, physically and emotionally,” she says. Kennedy says we are often to blame for pushing ourselves too hard. One way we do this is that we don’t set clear boundaries on how we use technology and there is often no separation between our work life and our personal life. “Checking phones next to our beds, checking our emails constantly affects the neural pathways for addiction. So people aren’t sleeping properly, they are overwhelmed by information and there is no off switch,” she says. The inability to say no to people’s requests when we really should be looking after our own interests is another contributing factor. We quite often put others’ interests ahead of our own trying to be the best family member, employee, or friend that we can be. Kennedy calls this the ‘disease to please’ and it’s a habit that has to be broken if we are going to find a better work-life balance. Many people may not even be aware that they are stressed, caught up in what Kennedy calls the ‘treadmill of life’. Telltale signs include sleep apnoea, overreacting to situations and having thoughts that replay in your head constantly. You may also find that you’re not really present in your relationships, may have high blood pressure or have trouble tasting your food. Those close to retirement age can be particularly at risk of stress and anxiety as they often haven’t prepared for life beyond work and find themselves having to contemplate starting all over again. “Many have forgotten to work on their friendships and hobbies and have to start from scratch when they retire,” says Kennedy. But by managing your workplace stress you can become more productive at work and a healthier, happier and more inspired version of yourself. Follow these key strategies to begin your transformation. How to find a better work-life balance Learn to say “No” “We fear rejection and we fear missing out, but it’s important to realise that you can’t do everything without it having a detrimental effect on you,” says Kennedy. But how can you say no without offending people? Kennedy says it’s about being nice first. “Thank the person for their invitation and then say ‘unfortunately I can’t make it this time’. Use the time to do something that helps you rest and rejuvenate instead,” advises Kennedy. Have a plan and track your time Track your time with a timetable and include work but also activities such as yoga, meditation and social catch ups that improve your mind, body, hobbies and relationships. You should schedule this time in the same as you would important business meetings, advises Kennedy. “Book in the asset first. You are that asset in life and it’s about protecting that asset and booking time out to work on and with that asset,” says Kennedy. Have technology boundaries Don’t sleep with your phone next to your bed and incorporate technology blackout periods into your day. Not checking your work emails will make you feel calmer, but you will also find you become more productive, free from distractions like social media. “From 8pm at night in my house, it’s phones and tablets switched off. Similarly, phones and devices are kept off until after exercise and breakfast and that gives us time to switch off too,” says Kennedy. Move your body Exercise is a perfect stress release and has the added benefit of keeping us fit, healthy and reenergised. Instead of coming home from work and having more ‘screen time’, invest in your body by going for a walk or taking an exercise class. You will feel more refreshed when you do have to tackle those stressful work deadlines. Breathe deeply Kennedy calls this her big secret that allows her to perform better and without stress in her working life. “Most of the population use only 30 per cent of their lung capacity. They are not maximising the oxygen intake into their bodies and their brains so they can’t think; they can’t make decisions,” she says. To reap the benefits of life-giving oxygen take five deep breaths three times a day. “You can change your whole mental state if you learn how to breathe properly,” says Kennedy. Use technology to help you Don’t be a slave to technology. “Make it your slave and become more productive,” says Kennedy. Program your phone’s calendar with things that are non-negotiable to you and set your phone to notify you when you should be doing them. “That means my yoga, my walk, my friend time, my finances. When you get a notification to do your finances for example, you know you can’t go to bed until you finish them,” Kennedy says. See a life coach Bring some extra help into your life by finding a life coach. “A qualified life coach can help educate you about how to better manage your work-life balance and then help you create the structure you need to be the best version of yourself by helping you improve your health, wellbeing, your family life and career,” says Kennedy. Written by Dominic Bayley. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/health/wellbeing/the-real-work-life-balance.aspx">Wyza.com.au</a>

Caring

Look out Kmart! BIG W’s rival homewares range you must see

Money-saving budget retailer BIG W is launching its newest homewares collection with affordable prices and timeless elegance. The Fine Balance range includes six key home décor pieces, made perfect for a modern home looking for elegant, minimal touches. “The Fine Balance range is a perfect combination of light and dark, marrying together industrial style pieces with cool toned accessories,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Designed to bring your space back to life this winter, it uses finishes and textures that elevate and complement your existing homewares.” If you’re looking for a way to add elegance and luxury to your home without emptying your pockets dry, then BIG W’s latest range may be just what you’re looking for. Starting from $19, shoppers can have a stunning lamp to keep by their bedside along with an industrial-looking side table priced at $35. One of the biggest standouts in the latest capsule collection release includes a mauve toned, velvety quilt set priced at $39. For an extra $10, customers can own a charcoal grey ottoman to add a luxury touch to their homes. “The contrasting tones and textures from the entire new BIG W collection is all designed to complement existing décor, making a seasonal home refresh affordable and accessible for all families,” the spokesperson said. Online, the collection is already causing a stir as customers get ready to purchase the items for themselves. “So luxe,” one user wrote. Another comment read: “What a stunning look!” The Fine Balance range drops in stores next Thursday and is available for pre-order online. Scroll through the gallery above to see the Fine Balance range.

Home & Garden

Cruise descends into "pure chaos" as ship loses its balance

It was supposed to be a relaxing five-day cruise trip to the Caribbean, but instead, passengers were faced with their worst nightmare after a malfunctioning switchboard forced the ship to tilt to its side. The Carnival Sunshine cruise liner left Port Carnaveral on Sunday, October 28, and it didn’t take long for problems to start arising as the unbalanced cruise ship caused chaos with passengers flying out of their seats and plates and glasses falling to the ground in pieces. Those on board compared the incident to the Titanic, with one person claiming that water was seeping into the ship during dinnertime. “We were actually at the table where the window broke and the water came in,” said a passenger to Orlando news station WFTV. “Next thing we know, the whole boat tilted … we were literally hanging on for our lives, dangling … it was really like a scene from the Titanic.” David Crews, a passenger on board the doomed ship, said he didn’t think the back and forth rocking of the ship was a problem until he saw others crying and screaming for help. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> This is the inside of the Carnival Sunshine cruise ship on Sunday evening. <a href="https://twitter.com/CarnivalCruise?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CarnivalCruise</a> says the ship listed (tilted or leaned) because of a technical issue just hours after leaving <a href="https://twitter.com/PortCanaveral?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PortCanaveral</a>. (H/t to David Crews for the pictures) <a href="https://t.co/usSaQsZBzG">pic.twitter.com/usSaQsZBzG</a> — Clay LePard (@ClayLePard) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayLePard/status/1057717193968943106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">31 October 2018</a></blockquote> “Plates and silverware started sliding off the tables. Then the tables themselves started to slide. Glasses and plates started to fall and shatter. At this point, it was pure chaos. Screams. Cries. Panic.” Speaking to <a rel="noopener" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/cruise-descends-pure-chaos-ship-loses-balance-005339076.html" target="_blank">Yahoo Lifestyle</a>, a spokesperson claims that everything was under control after a minute into the chaos. “There was never any issue with the safe operation of the ship and our officers quickly intervened to correct the situation,” said the spokesperson, as they also admitted to some passengers walking away with minor injuries. The day after the incident took place, the captain issued a note to each guest to explain what went wrong. “We have identified that an electrical switchboard malfunction impacted the use of the fin stabilisers,” it said. “It’s important to note that fin stabilisers are not a safety feature; they are deployed solely for guest comfort to minimise any potential ship motion while at sea. There was never any issue with the safe operation of the ship, and our officers quickly intervened to correct the situation.” Although the cruise line offered compensation of $50 to each guest, many were not impressed and chose to end their journey after the terrifying event.

Travel Trouble

The exercise that will challenge your balance

If you want to enjoy gardening, bushwalking and remain active, it is important to maintain good balance. In this video, Taylor Harrison, author, senior’s health expert and Director of <a href="http://www.activeseniors.net.au/">Active Seniors Health Centre</a>, shares a challenging exercise that will help you to improve your balance. <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/293874485" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> To see more videos and articles on improving your health and fitness from Taylor Harrison, <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/search.aspx?Keyword=taylor+harrison">click here</a>. How long can you do the exercise for? Let us know in the comments below.

Caring

Jessica Rowe reveals the exact moment she knew she had to quit Studio 10 for her family

<a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/2018/03/jessica-rowe-leaves-studio-10-in-shock-decision/">Jessica Rowe shocked her co-hosts</a> when she announced she’d be departing Studio 10 in March earlier this year. Even though it was “the best job she’d ever had”, Jess had made the difficult decision to leave the gig to “be more present for her daughters”. “It was a big decision to leave full-time work but I knew it was the right thing, and right time, for me,” she told <a href="https://honey.nine.com.au/2018/05/10/15/56/jessica-rowe-on-parenting-and-leaving-studio-10-for-daughters">9Honey</a>. “I thought long and hard about it for about six to seven months.” After weighing up the pros and cons for months – she jokingly admits she must have bored her husband, Channel Nine news anchor Peter Overton – she wasn’t closer to making the big decision. But one moment after returning from a family holiday in Thailand made her choice crystal clear. "I was happy and relaxed and the girls were too. Suddenly I thought, ‘I need to bring this state of mind back with me - how can I do that?’ I realised it meant changing my work,” she explained. The mother to Allegra, 11, and Giselle, 9, said her girls are growing up fast and she wanted to be with them every step of the way. “I was finding in the afternoons I'd be getting grumpier and I don't like feeling like that and I thought something has to give,” she told the publication. “When they were younger I felt they needed me physically, and now it's more emotional, and I want to be there for them.” It’s been a couple of months since she left the morning show, but Jess said she has no regrets. In fact, a conversation with her youngest daughter proved she had made the right decision. “I had never taken Giselle to school as I started Studio 10 at the same time,” she said. “We were walking down the road and she was holding my hand and she said: 'Mummy I love you taking me to school,’ with this big smile on her face and I knew everything was right.” Now she’s spending more time with her family, Jess says she feels “happy, lighter and taller”. “Families always have to juggle and weigh up things, but you have to be open to change, often it can be hard and frightening but it’s good.”

Family & Pets

How good is your balance? Take the 30 second test

When it comes to preventing falls as we age, maintaining our balance is our best defence. But just how good is your balance? After the incredible response to his previous instructional videos, Taylor Harrison, author, seniors’ health expert and Director of <a href="http://www.activeseniors.net.au/" target="_blank">Active Seniors Health Centre</a>, has returned with a new series of videos to help you maintain your health and fitness over 60. In this one, he shares a simple way to test and improve your balance – and all it takes is 30 seconds. To see more videos and articles on improving your health and fitness from Taylor, <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/search.aspx?Keyword=taylor+harrison" target="_blank">click here</a>.

Body

6 easy ways to improve your bank balance

Follow these few simple tips and watch the numbers grow. 1. Have a written budget Budgeting is (really) hard. Writing everything down is a good way to start and it gives you something physical to stick to. You can go old fashioned and use a notebook or go digital with an Excel spreadsheet or even a simple app. Set a budget, stick to it and record everything that goes in or out. 2. Use only cash We are quickly becoming a cashless society, with every transaction now available with a tap or a swipe. The problem is, you don’t actually see the money going out when you use a card, so you can quickly forget how much you’re spending – and it’s a shock to see your account balance. Take out a set amount of cash and then spend it. Once it’s gone, you can withdraw more, but you will have a much better idea of where you are at. 3. Pre prepare your meals Shopping as you go or buying lots of take away can be very expensive. For big savings, do one large shop and then pre prepare some meals ahead for the week. You can make big batches of soup, stews or pasta sauce, freeze them and then they are ready to go during the week. That way, you won’t be tempted to order pizza because there’s nothing in the fridge. 4. Find some free fun things The movies, happy hour or concerts can all add up quickly. Look for new entertainment options that don’t cost money. This could be going for a walk in the park, doing puzzles at home, inviting friends out for a trivia night or binging on a new TV series. Even if you replace one activity a week with something free, the savings will quickly add up. 5. Compare your insurance Home, health, car, life, travel – all your different insurance policies can quickly add up. And while these are necessities, you can make some simple changes and save lots of cash. Put all your policies with the one company, find credit cards that offer free insurance or consolidate your family policies to make sure you’re getting the best deal. 6. Be smart with your bills Gas, electricity and water bills are a fact of life, but there are a few ways you can reduce your payments. Follow basic energy and water saving principles to lower your bills as a whole. Then, make sure you pay them on time or early to avoid any excess fees. It could also be worth moving all your utilities to the one provider to get a multi discount. Do you think you’ll take any of these tips onboard?

Retirement Income

Easy yoga moves to strengthen feet and improve balance

Tracy Adshead is a yoga teacher specialising in yoga for seniors. She is passionate about bringing healing and healthy ageing to the community. For improving balance, it’s important to practice a wide variety of balance practices and this sequence offers you three different movements focusing on your feet. The good news is that it’s never too late to improve your sense of balance. Balancing practices are also beneficial to your posture and coordination and that helps to avoid injury. The key to lasting success is to find ways of integrating these practices into your daily routine, so you could try brushing your teeth whilst lifting all of your toes off the floor or training yourself to balance on one leg with your eyes half-closed (with something to hold on to nearby). They’re are simple to do and could make a big difference. Before you start make sure that you have a clear space with no tripping hazards. If you are really struggling with your balance and experience regular dizziness you should consider talking to your doctor. Follow Tracy on Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TracyChairYoga/" target="_blank">here</a>.

Body

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Balance declines with age, but exercise can help stave off some of the risk of falling

Could you cope with a shock to your bank balance? 5 ways to check you are financially resilient

Improving your balance: Tandem walking for stronger muscles

Could this 10 second balance test determine the longevity of your life?

New study reveals fascinating fact about gender balance in books

The death of the open-plan office? Not exactly but a revolution is in the air

A long way to the top: Australian musicians balance multiple roles to make their careers work

Check your super balance: Aussies scammed out of thousands of dollars

Oprah Winfrey tumbles while preaching about balance

How to have a real work-life balance

The real work-life balance

Look out Kmart! BIG W’s rival homewares range you must see

Cruise descends into "pure chaos" as ship loses its balance

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Jessica Rowe reveals the exact moment she knew she had to quit Studio 10 for her family

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