The Relationship Between Dual-task Gait Performance, Physical Activity Levels, Sleep and Aging in Healthy Adults

The co-ordination and control of body segments are integral in providing and maintaining postural stability. It is widely accepted that attentional demands for postural control are placed upon the individual, but these vary according to the nature of the task, the age of the individual and their postural stability. It is thought that divided attention (a technique whereby two tasks are performed at the same time whilst rapidly switching attention between the two tasks) is commonly used when multi-tasking. Divided attention may have important clinical implications to falls risk, in that older adults that experience falls have increased difficulty in switching attention between tasks such as walking and talking. Dual tasking paradigms which present postural and cognitive tasks are often used to test attentional demands for posture control and interference between the two tasks. At present it is not known what impact balance confidence, sleep, activity levels or cognitive ability impact on a person's ability to multi-task when performing complex walking tasks that reflect the complexity of mobilising in real-life situations.