Unbalanced indicator

Intermittent fasting (IF). That is what I have learned to call the eat, fast and live longer regime explained in the Horizon documentary.

One of the indicators of ageing, which IF is supposed to delay, is the sense of balance. This deteriorates with age and can be measured simply by standing on one leg with your eyes closed and timing how long it takes to fall over.

The presenter in the programme managed about 6 seconds, typical for someone approaching 50, apparently.

I am going to use this as one of my progress indicators. IF leads to lower levels of IGF-1 growth hormone in the blood, which in turn prompts cells to repair themselves. So can following IF repair the age-related damage to my inner ear and improve my sense of balance?

I tried the balance test this morning and came up with wildly different durations from 6 seconds to 25 seconds. This was with my right foot hovering above the floor.

To try to make something more standardised, I decided to hold my right ankle behind me. Like this I managed 12 seconds three times in a row. The same time when I swapped legs.

So that will be my first unbalanced indicator.