Statistics
Human Reaction Time
Human reaction time is the delay between a stimulus and a deliberate response. It depends on what you're reacting to, whether you have to make a choice, and on factors like age, sleep and attention.
The three main kinds of reaction time
- Simple reaction time: one stimulus, one response (press when the screen turns green). This is the fastest kind; laboratory averages for healthy adults are commonly around 200 to 250 ms for visual signals.
- Auditory reaction time: the same task, but the signal is a sound. Usually somewhat faster than visual reaction time.
- Choice reaction time: several possible stimuli, each with its own response. Slower, because you must identify the stimulus and select a response. Hick's law describes how decision time grows with the number of choices.
What happens during a reaction?
A reaction involves sensory detection (the eye or ear registers the signal), neural transmission, central processing and decision, and finally a motor command that moves your finger. Online tests also include the time your device needs to show the signal and register your input.
Our data: median reaction time by test type
Real, anonymous sessions on ReactionTestTime. Shorter bars are faster.
- Reaction Time Test87 sessions358 ms
- Aim Test64 sessions502 ms
What affects human reaction time?
- Attention and alertness: distraction and fatigue increase both average time and variability.
- Sleep: sleep loss slows responses and increases lapses.
- Age: reaction times gradually slow and become more variable across adulthood.
- Practice: familiarity with a task improves consistency and reduces errors.
- Hardware: displays, mice, keyboards and touchscreens all add latency to online measurements.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest possible human reaction time?
Responses faster than about 100 ms to a visual signal are generally considered anticipation rather than genuine reaction, which is why many research protocols, and our tests, treat them as false starts.
Are humans faster at reacting to sound or light?
Studies comparing simple auditory and visual reaction time generally find reactions to sound are somewhat faster.
Does reaction time change with age?
Yes. Large studies such as the UK Health and Lifestyle Survey found reaction times slow and become more variable across adulthood, with choice reaction time affected more than simple reaction time.
Sources
- Woods DL, Wyma JM, Yund EW, Herron TJ, Reed B. Factors influencing the latency of simple reaction time. Front Hum Neurosci. 2015;9:131.
- Jain A, Bansal R, Kumar A, Singh KD. A comparative study of visual and auditory reaction times on the basis of gender and physical activity levels of medical first year students. Int J Appl Basic Med Res. 2015;5(2):124–127.
- Hick WE. On the rate of gain of information. Q J Exp Psychol. 1952;4(1):11–26.
- Der G, Deary IJ. Age and sex differences in reaction time in adulthood: results from the United Kingdom Health and Lifestyle Survey. Psychol Aging. 2006;21(1):62–73.
- Basner M, Dinges DF. Maximizing sensitivity of the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) to sleep loss. Sleep. 2011;34(5):581–591.
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