How Fast You React Says Something About Your Health

How fast can you react? Being fast on the draw could be a lifesaver in the right situation. If someone sneaks up behind you and tries to grab you, it’s in your best interest to withdraw FAST! But there’s another way having a quick reaction time is beneficial. It may something about your future health and future longevity. As you’ll see, this isn’t surprising!

Is Reaction Time a Marker for Mortality?

How do we know reaction time matters? Researchers from the United Kingdom, as part of a larger study, looked at the reaction times of 5,000 healthy adults. To measure how fast they reacted, they used a special computer program. The program asked the participants to press a button as soon as a color changed on the screen. What they found was subjects who had the slowest reaction times for their age and gender had a higher risk of dying of a cardiovascular disease. They also had a greater mortality rate overall. Other studies also show a link between reaction time and mortality.

The next question is why people with a slower reaction time have a higher risk of dying? Reaction time is influenced by a variety of factors. To react to something, you must first detect a stimulus, either visual or auditory, and that information must travel to your brain. Then, your brain has to interpret the signal and send a counter-response. Once it travels peripherally, your muscles react by contracting. It’s a finely tuned system that happens quickly in a healthy person.

What if your reaction time is slow? Delayed reaction time could indicate a sluggish nervous system. In healthy people, the two opposing components of the nervous system, the sympathetic (fight or flight)  and parasympathetic (rest and relax), are in balance and can respond in a flash to changes in the environment. That’s a sign of health! When your nervous system is sluggish or slow to respond, it may indicate some decline somewhere in the system.

What Other Factors Impact Reaction Time?

There are some outside factors that can affect reaction time. Younger people react faster than older individuals. That’s why research in this area always controls for age when determining what the results mean. Factors like alcohol, caffeine consumption, and even medications can slow or, in the case of coffee, speed up reaction time. If you didn’t sleep well the night before, it can also delay how fast you react. That’s why it’s not safe to drive after you’ve been up for hours. The average individual has a reaction time of 0.16 to 0.2 seconds.

How to Test Your Reaction Time

By now, you’re probably wondering what your own reaction time is. You can find a variety of online sites where you can test it. One such site is humanbenchmark.com. To measure your reaction time, the website displays a screen of a certain color. Once you click your mouse, the screen will change color at some point. When you see the color change, click your mouse and the site measures your reaction time and displays it on the screen.

One caveat is if you have a slow computer, it can falsely delay your reaction time. Repeat the test at least 10 times and average the values. Then see how your reaction time compares to other people who have done the challenge. What is deemed a fast or slow reaction time varies with age. Reaction time goes down with age.

Can You Increase Your Reaction Time?

You can improve your reaction time to some extent. For example, plyometric exercises, like squat jumps and box jumps, teach your nervous system to react faster and more efficiently. Adding new challenges to your workouts can do it too. For example, if you walk or run on an even surface, try it on an uneven terrain, such as a path with rocks, branches, twigs, and indentations. You’ll have to detect objects in your path and variations in the terrain and react quickly. So, hiking or trail running can improve your reaction time. Exercise, itself, may give your reaction time a boost. A 2015 study of medical students found that students who exercised regularly had faster reaction times than those who didn’t.

If You Have a Slow Reaction Time

If your reaction time is slower than you expected, don’t worry too much about it. Factors like declining vision or decreased hearing could explain why you’re reacting slower than average. Consider getting your vision and hearing checked. Know that you can improve your reaction too with plyometric drills and challenges like running or walking on uneven terrain.

Remember, it’s the totality of your lifestyle that determines how healthy you are and how long you live. Keep working out to maintain lean body mass and prevent bone loss associated with aging. Challenge your brain mentally too by taking up a new hobby you know nothing about. You can also challenge your brain by learning a new language or learning to play a new instrument. These activities help your nervous system form new nerve connections and make the existing ones more efficient. Keep the blood vessels that carry blood, nutrients, and oxygen to your brain healthy too. What’s good for your heart is also healthy for the vessels in your brain. Therefore, control your blood pressure, blood sugar, and get daily exercise and include exercise that elevates your heart rate. Skip the junk and eat more nutrient-dense foods too.

The Bottom Line

Reaction time is a quick test anyone can take, and it may offer some insight into your risk of dying over the next few decades. Don’t take a measure of your reaction time too seriously, as longevity is influenced by so many factors.  Instead, work on things you can control, like your lifestyle habits and you’ll give yourself the best chance of living a long and productive life.

References:

• PLOS One. “Reaction Time and Mortality from the Major Causes of Death: The NHANES-III Study” (Jan, 2014) doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082959.
• com. “Reaction Time”
• Int J Appl Basic Med Res. 2015 May-Aug; 5(2): 124–127.doi: 10.4103/2229-516X.157168.
• Hum. Neurosci., 26 March 2015 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00131.