Assume you are sprinting across a crossing. A squirrel escapes from a bush, and you leap blindly back to safety without thinking. Ever stopped to consider how quickly your body was instructed by your mind to start? The drag race your nervous system uses is reaction time test. The launch light lights green; your brain finds the pedal.
Let us consider the true nature of a response time test. Fundamentally, it is a quick and dirty check-up for your brain-to—body relay system. Imagine a digital game: click your mouse when the screen becomes red. Sounds simple, but have you tried shaving few milliseconds off your score? It suddenly feels like trying to outrun Usain Bolt with shoels bound together. Tests are flavored in a hundred ways. You might possibly press a button. You might catch a falling ruler. Some games mix in random pauses to keep you wondering and toss curveballs. Trickery, I say!
You will miss it if you blink through life. Formula One drivers, goalkeepers, even players hooked to their keyboards—they all worship at the temple of rapid reflexes. Reaction speed, however, goes beyond mere superman ability. Consider the last moment you caught your phone just before it dropped on the floor. Your nervous system is flexing at that.
Sleep and age really count a lot. Children may outperform adults, and anyone who pulls an all-night can expect their nerves to be as slow as Monday morning. Coffee helps, but you should not anticipate miracles. Too is the hand of genetics. Some people are simply born to “snap,” faster.
Gamification of reaction tests is quite popular. There are many problems on YouTube. Try the famed “stop the timer” game with pals; the loser buys snacks. You can come across internet groups trading excellent grades. Alternatively sport scientists measuring elite athletes’ hair-trigger reactions with costly equipment.
Can you, however, really teach yourself to be faster? Sort somewhat. Practice helps, much like in learning to smash a baseball or juggle. Constant exposure turns deliberate thought into muscle memory. Still, biology placed a hardwired limit. You will not change over night. And, to be honest, unless you are a frog, you most likely won’t be catching houseflies mid-air soon.
The exciting part is These exams serve as cerebral warm-ups as well. Just five minutes of “reaction drills” will shock you out of a noon slump. Regular checkups will help office workers, drivers, and gamers as well. Perhaps you will also find a latent ability.
Do you feel like challenging yourself? Hold one at shoulder height, let it drop, and then see how quickly you grab it in the old-fashioned ruler drop. Run stress balls. Alternatively, jump on one of a billion free internet test websites. Just keep from becoming overly annoyed if the figures remain unchanged. Indeed, even superheroes have off days. Improved fortune next time—especially if the squirrel pays you another visit.