How can reaction time be improved

Another quick and easy way to speed up your thinking is to chew gum, which stimulates muscles and sends more blood to your brain. For more tips on improving mental speed, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy.

Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Get a game console and some action video games and play for 30 minutes a day. The gaming environment may also force you to get used to making quick decisions based on limited information.

Method 2. There are a number of sites online that offer brain training. Then, see how long you can remember the numbers and write them back down correctly. Method 3. In your everyday life, try to consciously speed up your decision making.

Repeating this process will also help you to get used to the stress associated with quick decisions and learn how to keep your cool under pressure, a good skill no matter how fast your reflexes get to be. The timer in these games will force you to think faster in order to maintain a high score. Method 4. This one almost feels like a game: time yourself as you read single pages to see how long it takes to make it through.

Then, see if you can cut down the seconds while still comprehending the material. Do this with a variety of types of reading to keep your mind flexible. You can also take a speed reading course online or at a local college. Do the same with other letters until you feel your speed increasing.

Method 5. Get a pack of gum and chew it when you know you need to be quick. Or, grab a handful of sunflower seeds. It has been suggested that chewing stimulates the muscles in your mouth and jaw, which then send additional blood and activity up to your brain. Enjoy the burst of flavor, too! The benefits of this step are often not viewable to the naked eye and are measured in milliseconds of difference.

However, for athletes in particular, shaving down even small amounts of time can have a positive effect. Method 6.

As coaches always say: get your head in the game! Sit and think about how you need to be fast and accurate in your upcoming task. It helps to visualize the task at hand before you begin and mentally go through all of the preparations that you have done.

Approaching a task in a calm, precise manner can help you to harness your stress nerves and put them to good use. Method 7. If you are working on something that requires concentration and speed, try to eliminate all other things that might grab your attention.

For example, if you are playing a video game, minimize the distractions in your room so that you can focus. Method 8. To get them up to speed, choose two similar objects and place one nearby and another at a distance. Rotate between the two, trying to read each of them. You can also ask your eye doctor for other exercises. Method 9. Ask a friend to hold it vertically by the top.

Line up your fingers with the bottom edge of the card and ask your friend to drop the card without warning. When the card is dropped, grab the card with your fingers as quickly as you can. If you grab the card near the bottom, you likely have good reaction speed. If you grab the card near the top or miss it completely, you may have poor reaction speed. Method If you are practicing for a sport, this is a great way to work your athletic skills and reflexes at the same time.

Exercises such as ladder drills, agility drills, and specialized plyometrics can aid in decreasing reaction time. Elite athletes are also turning to digital reaction drills to help the brain process more information in less time. Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors used strobe glasses to help the brain process visual stimuli more quickly and efficiently.

Similar to ball drills, these goggles have strobe lights inside, which forces the brain to work through more complicated stimuli than usual.

Alan Reichow , who helped develop the glasses. To improve your reaction time for increased athletic performance , a tennis ball is an invaluable tool. A six-sided ball called a reaction ball or bouncy ball can also work. Simply throw the ball against a surface so that it can bounce back at you. This makes your mind think more quickly because you have to catch the ball before it goes elsewhere. This is because action video games , like Counter-Strike, Fortnite, and For Honor, all require a very fast reaction time in order to play.

They also require skills associated with reaction time, such as spatial attention, multitasking, and adapting to predetermined rules. Another study on action games and the Simon Effect showed similar results. The Simon Effect, a conflict in the attention system, is when reaction time slows down as sensory stimulants are moved farther away.

The Simon Effect is present in sports where a ball kicked from father away may be harder for a goalie to stop. This study showed that action video games can lessen the negative impact of the stimulus being far away. In other words, playing action games can improve reaction time, regardless of where the stimulus is. A fast reaction time is essential for safe mobility, healthy aging, and peak athletic and gaming performance.

Although reaction time naturally slows over time, there are many ways to train the brain to react more quickly. By decreasing the amount of time it takes to react, you can prevent injury and harm, and become more resilient against potential dangers.

Mindfulness exercises like yoga, breathwork, and meditation all play a role in making the mind stronger. Sports like tennis and soccer can also improve reaction time, especially when played repetitively.

Skip to content. Michelle Polizzi August 14, fitness , health. Protecting the Body From Harm Reaction time is important because it helps protect the body from potential injury and harm. Aging and Reaction Time Unfortunately, reaction time naturally decreases with age.

Cognitive Exercises First and foremost, increasing reaction time requires that you strengthen the brain. Reflexes are processed by the spinal cord only because the reaction time of the reflexes must be more quick than standard reaction times.

Reaction times to stimulus is processed through the brain, then the spinal cord. Reaction times are what ignite fine motor movements of the muscles. You must be able to see, to hear, or to feel the stimulus that you are presented with in order to have optimal reaction time.

Additionally, you must be able to understand — cognitively — the information that you are presented with in order to respond appropriately. Finally, you must have good motor-based agility to have a good reaction time. Your ability to respond quickly to a stimulus depends on your ability to perceive, to process that which you receive, and the response of your brain, nerves, and muscles. In short, there are three different types of stimuli that you may find yourself presented with.

Below, you will find an outline of these, as well as a short description of each:. Optimal reaction time allows each of us to possess a high level of agility and efficiency.

It does not matter if it is a reaction time in a conversation, in driving, or to exercising. All people of all ages can experience numerous benefits by having an optimal reaction time.

This is why it is important to engage in reaction time training. It helps you to respond to people, situations, and events in a quick and accurate manner. You just need the proper tools and resources to improve it. Do you want to train your brain and body to react quickly? This advanced workout product is designed to present you with programs that aid in training both the brain and the body.

When using this, the program that you work with will be designed specifically for your needs and will advance as you are able to advance. The movements that you will perform with this machine will help to properly ignite your cognitive skills, motor skills, and all of the associated functional-based movements. By combining the elements of neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, you can drastically improve your reaction time.

Here at Back to Motion, we believe in the power and strength behind fast reaction times. We can help you improve the rate in which you process information and the speed in which you are able to properly respond to that information.