Average Reaction Time by Age (and How to Improve Yours)

Reaction time is the interval between a signal and your response to it: the light turns green, and some fraction of a second later your thumb hits the screen. It is one of the oldest measurements in psychology, one of the simplest to take at home, and one of the most misunderstood, because "reaction time" is really three different things and the number you get depends on which one you measured, on what device, and on how awake you were.

Three kinds of reaction time

• Simple reaction time. One signal, one response: tap when the circle turns green. This is what most online tests and MyRin's Reaction Speed game measure. It is the fastest of the three.
• Recognition reaction time. Respond to some signals and ignore others: tap for green, do nothing for red. The extra decision adds time.
• Choice reaction time. Several signals, several responses: left arrow for one colour, right arrow for another. The more options, the longer it takes; the relationship is regular enough that psychologists have a law for it (Hick's law: time grows with the logarithm of the number of choices).

When someone quotes a number without saying which task produced it, the comparison is meaningless. This article uses simple visual reaction time unless stated otherwise.

Typical numbers

These are typical ranges for a simple visual task on a reasonably responsive device, not thresholds from a specific study, and healthy individuals vary widely around them.

• Late teens to twenties: roughly 190 to 230 ms. This is the fastest decade for most people.
• Thirties and forties: roughly 210 to 250 ms. The change from the twenties is small and often invisible in daily life.
• Fifties and sixties: roughly 230 to 280 ms. Variability between people widens: active, well-rested adults often stay in the younger range.
• Seventies and beyond: often 280 ms and above, with a wider spread still.

Two things stand out. First, the slowing is gradual, a few milliseconds per year, not a cliff. Second, the difference between a rested and a tired version of the same person on the same day is often larger than the difference between two decades of age.

What slows you down (today, not over a lifetime)

• Sleep. A short night lengthens reaction time and, more importantly, produces occasional very slow responses (lapses). The average looks slightly worse; the worst trials look much worse.
• Attention. Simple reaction time is mostly a test of readiness. Looking away, thinking about something else, or waiting too long for a signal all add tens of milliseconds.
• Warm-up. The first few trials of any session are slower. Personal bests almost always arrive after a warm-up.
• Caffeine and alcohol. Moderate caffeine tends to shorten reaction time slightly and reduce lapses; alcohol lengthens it, and the effect scales with the dose.
• The device. A touchscreen sampling input at 60 Hz, a display refreshing at 60 Hz and a browser event loop can add 30 to 80 ms before your tap is even registered. A 210 ms result on a laptop and a 250 ms result on a phone may be the same person on the same day.

Measure your trend on one device, at the same time of day, after a warm-up. That is the only reaction time worth tracking.

How to test yourself properly

1. Use the same device and browser every time.
2. Do five warm-up trials and discard them.
3. Record ten trials and use the median, not the mean; one lapse should not define your day.
4. Note the time of day and how you slept.
5. Repeat at the same time for a week before judging any change.

MyRin's Reaction Speed game keeps a personal best on your device, randomises the delay before the signal so you cannot anticipate it, and flags early taps as false starts, which is the standard way to keep an average honest.

How much can training improve it?

Here is the honest answer. Practising a simple reaction task improves your time on that task quickly and reliably. Most of the early gain (often 20 to 40 ms over a couple of weeks) comes from removing hesitation, learning the rhythm of the task and settling into a readier posture, rather than from any change in nerve conduction. The gain transfers to similar tasks (other simple visual signals) and much less to unrelated ones. Training your thumb on a tap test will not make you a better goalkeeper, though it will make you slightly better at any tap test.

What helps beyond task practice is broader and slower: regular aerobic exercise is associated with faster processing speed at every age, consistent sleep removes the lapses, and games that demand sustained attention (choice tasks, visual search, the Stroop-style colour-word conflicts) train the readiness that simple reaction time depends on. In MyRin those are Kana Scout, Iroyomi and Hanafuda speed-sort. The recommended pattern, from the research on skill practice generally, is short daily sessions rather than long occasional ones; see five brain training habits that actually work.

What reaction time does not tell you

Reaction time is a narrow measure. It says little about reasoning, memory, creativity or judgement, the things most people mean by "sharp". A slow reaction time in a healthy adult is not a warning sign on its own; a sudden change is worth mentioning to a doctor, especially with other symptoms. Treat the number as one gauge on a dashboard, not the dashboard.

Where to go next

Run the five-step protocol above for a week, then read how processing speed is trained and the Reaction Speed level guide for what changes as the levels get harder. If you want the broader picture of what brain training can and cannot do, start with Does brain training work?

FAQ

What is a good reaction time?

For a simple visual signal (tap when the screen changes), most healthy adults land between roughly 200 and 250 milliseconds. Under 200 ms is fast; under 180 ms is rare outside trained gamers and athletes. Anything measured on a phone or laptop includes device delay, so compare results only on the same setup.

Does reaction time get slower with age?

Yes, gradually. Simple reaction time is typically fastest in the late teens and twenties and lengthens slowly through adulthood, with a steeper rise after the sixties. The decline is smaller for people who stay physically and mentally active, and it varies a lot between individuals.

Can you improve reaction time by training?

Partly. Practice on a specific task reliably shortens reaction time on that task, often by tens of milliseconds, mainly by removing hesitation and tightening attention. Gains transfer to similar tasks but not to everything. Sleep, alertness and warm-up matter as much as practice on any given day.

Why is my reaction time different on different devices?

Screens refresh 60 to 120 times per second, touch sensors add their own delay, and browsers process input at different rates. A phone can add 30 to 80 ms compared with a lab button. That is why you should track your trend on one device rather than compare absolute numbers across setups.