Balance — the physical connection in your mind — part II

Spinning apes, figure skaters, and Cheetahs

“Wheee!…Look at me, Daddy!”, yelled my wild 3 yo as she continued to joyfully spin around. She stopped and tried to steady herself while her little brain tried to comprehend the dizziness she was enjoying. In this regard, we are probably not too different from our ape ancestors. I present to you the cutest exhibit A to demonstrate the point.

So, why do we feel dizzy right after we stop spinning? In my previous article, I talked about our beautiful sense of balance. It is based on an intricate feedback circuitry that relies on a rich set of information to predict our body’s orientation in space. This information is both visual and based on the sensory data from the vestibular system.

From these studies, the cerebellum emerges as a master learner. It sits on top of the sensory information gateway and then streamlines our movements to such a delicate level that makes it easy for me to type this article, instead of doing a jerking spider dance on my keyboard. From the slow, delicate movement of a batting eyelid to a furious golf swing, it orchestrates multi-limb motion. It learns how to ride a bike but it, also, learns how to have meaningful conversations. — fitdollar, medium article (referenced above)

The coffee cup in your inner ear

Imagine you swirl around a cup of coffee. After you set the cup down, the coffee takes a little bit of time to settle down. Inside your ears, there are three semi-circular rings that are filled with liquid (part of the vestibular system). Lining the inside of these rings is small hair that can sense if the liquid is moving around.

When you spin around, the liquid in your vestibular system detects continuously that you are moving. But, once you stop moving, the liquid takes time to settle down just like the coffee inside the cup. Your Cerebellum gets confused in this case as it gets conflicting information and it’s trying its best to make sense of it.

Let’s take a short detour at this point because the vestibular system itself is a bit fascinating. All mammals share the same basic hardware. The three semi-circular rings are similar between us and let’s say a cheetah. But, the cheetah has amazing balance while running at 75 mph. Just look at this footage below.

So, how is it that the cheetah can have such a remarkable balance? One of the key differences is in the vestibular system. Instead of the three semi-circular rings like we have, two of those rings are elongated. This modification enables them to adapt to higher speeds. The three symmetrical rings that apes and us share are more suited for acrobatics.

One of the great characteristics of the cerebellum is that it is a learning machine.

First, the cerebellum thrives on practicing. It is a learning machine and wants to keep learning. Repeated and smart variations of the motion that you throw at it help training the cerebellum in that context (apart from strengthening your muscles and joints).

But, it doesn’t seem like the Cerebellum can learn to deal with the dizziness. The sensing of moving liquid inside of your ear is governed by the laws of physics. You spin around, the liquid will move. There is no way of getting around it. The Cerebellum cannot train to counteract the laws of physics. No matter how much you practice, you will always feel dizzy once you stop spinning.

Stop the spin

In the sci-fi thriller Interstellar, there is a powerful scene where the protagonist tries to dock their rotating pod to the spaceship. It is a stellar scene where Matthew does not pass out even when the pod is spinning at 67 rotations per minute. Anne’s character passes out though. With a great deal of attention to detail, Matthew’s character is seen to tilt his head in the opposite direction to counteract the gravitational forces. So, is it really possible to overcome dizziness induced by physical effects?

It does turn out that our brains are remarkable. It is possible to overcome dizziness after spinning around. I can’t believe that it took me a little while to realize this but there is an entire sport that is based on just this. Figure skaters and gymnasts spin professionally. They do so by training to counter the effects of the spin.

Maybe pilots and astronauts also would be training to counteract any of these dizzying effects. It continues to amaze me the fascinating amount of interesting information is on the subject of balance. So, next time you are talking to any of these guys — do try to pick their brain (so to speak) about how they train to counteract the effects.

I am not sure if my daughter would be interested in acrobatics or gymnastics but if she does, she is well on her way with all the practice she has been putting into spinning. And, I am dizzy with joy.