{"id":11,"date":"2026-01-14T15:50:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T15:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/?page_id=11"},"modified":"2026-08-25T16:56:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T15:56:24","slug":"lifestyle","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/guidance\/lifestyle\/","title":{"rendered":"Being active"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Moving more, getting stronger, and improving your balance can help lower your risk of falling. It can also help you feel less worried about falling.<\/p>\n<p>It may feel safer to move less, but even small amounts of activity can help you stay independent. Staying stronger also means that even if you do fall, it may be easier to get back up again.<\/p>\n<p>Simple movements done often can help keep you steady, safe, and confident.<\/p>\n<h2>What to do<\/h2>\n<p>Move every day:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Move more, even for 5 to 10 minutes at a time<\/li>\n<li>Break up long periods of sitting<\/li>\n<li>Walk short distances if you can<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Practise strength and balance exercises at least twice a week.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Strength exercises<\/strong> help make your muscles, bones and joints stronger. They help you stay active and make everyday things easier, like getting out of bed, standing up from a chair, or walking to the toilet or shower. You do not need a gym or heavy weights. Simple exercises at home can help. As you get stronger, you may also have less pain because your joints get more support.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balance exercises<\/strong> help you stay steady on your feet and feel more confident. They can help stop you from tripping or falling and help you move safely. With regular practice, your balance can get better quite quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a handy print out of <a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2026\/06\/6-Strength-and-Balance-Exercises.pdf\">6 strength and balance exercises to do at home<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Staying safe when being active<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Wear shoes that fit well and support your feet<\/li>\n<li>Wear layered clothes that are easy to move in<\/li>\n<li>Start slowly and build up at your own pace<\/li>\n<li>Hold onto something sturdy when doing balance exercises<\/li>\n<li>Drink plenty of water, especially in warm weather<\/li>\n<li>Stop if you feel dizzy or unwell<\/li>\n<li>During hot weather try to do exercises in the morning or evening when it is cooler, and take regular breaks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Supporting someone to be active<\/h2>\n<p>Support from someone they trust can make a big difference. Help the person choose activities they feel comfortable doing. Start slowly, and build confidence over time. If they are worried about joining a class, you could help them find out what to expect, or go with them to their first session.<\/p>\n<h2>Additional support<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ageuk.org.uk\/oxfordshire\/our-services\/physical-activity-stay-strong-and-steady-3cba42a2-780b-ee11-a81c-6045bd94e88e\/\">Age UK Oxfordshire Stay Strong and Steady<\/a> &#8211; Free falls prevention exercise and information programme. It is for people who may fall or who have already had a fall. Sessions are run by trained staff in local community places across Oxfordshire<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ageuk.org.uk\/bp-assets\/globalassets\/oxfordshire\/moving-more-1125.pdf\">Moving More &#8211; A guide to keeping active as you age.<\/a> &#8211; This booklet has 7 simple exercise routines you can do at home. It also gives tips to help you stay active and reduce your risk of falling.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ageuk.org.uk\/oxfordshire\/our-services\/physical-activity-strength-and-balance-388e80e5-7d0b-ee11-a81c-6045bd94e88e\/\">Age UK Oxfordshire Strength and Balance Exercise Classes<\/a> &#8211; These are friendly group classes you can join in person or online. You can exercise with others, have fun and stay active together.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/live-well\/exercise\/strength-exercises\/\">NHS Live-Well<\/a> &#8211; A collection of simple exercises you can complete at home.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Moving more, getting stronger, and improving your balance can help lower your risk of falling. It can also help you&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":519,"parent":7,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":499,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions\/499"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/falls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}