--- title: "How reaction time changes with age: 250 ms" description: "How reaction time changes with age: typically 250 ms, really 190 ms to 400 ms. What is measured, and why it counts as a reaction." url: https://atoneplace.net/reaction-time/reaction-time-by-age/ site: "At One Place" --- # How reaction time changes with age **How reaction time changes with age: 190 ms–400 ms** Reaction — a decision, via the brain Reaction time improves through childhood, reaches its fastest somewhere in the early to mid twenties, holds roughly flat through the thirties and then slows gradually, with the decline steepening after about sixty. Choice reaction slows considerably more with age than simple reaction does, which points at decision speed rather than nerve conduction as the thing that changes. The between-person spread at any age is far larger than the average change across four decades. ## The numbers - **Typical:** 250 ms - **Range:** 190 ms to 400 ms - **What it is:** Reaction — a decision, via the brain - **What is measured:** Simple visual reaction across the lifespan, from childhood to old age. ## Why this is a reaction A reaction is a decision: signal in, processing, movement out. The floor for a human is around 150 milliseconds, and anything measured below about 100 ms is anticipation rather than response. ## Where it sits against everything else *Reflexes at the top, reactions in the middle, design values off the end of the scale.* - Vestibulo-ocular reflex — Reflex: 10 ms - Knee-jerk (patellar) reflex — Reflex: 22 ms - Latency added by your screen and mouse — Physical limit: 35 ms - Blink reflex — Reflex: 40 ms - Withdrawal reflex — Reflex: 90 ms - Time a jab takes to land — Physical limit: 110 ms - Sprint start reaction — Reaction: 140 ms - Simple tactile reaction time — Reaction: 155 ms - Simple auditory reaction time — Reaction: 170 ms - Professional gamer reaction time — Reaction: 190 ms - Formula One start reaction — Reaction: 200 ms - Simple visual reaction time — Reaction: 250 ms - How reaction time changes with age — Reaction: 250 ms - What sleep loss does to reaction time — Reaction: 300 ms - What alcohol does to reaction time — Reaction: 320 ms - Recognition reaction time — Reaction: 340 ms - Choice reaction time — Reaction: 380 ms - Time to hit a 95 mph fastball — Physical limit: 400 ms - Time a goalkeeper has on a penalty — Physical limit: 450 ms - Time to play a 90 mph delivery — Physical limit: 500 ms - Driver reaction to an expected event — Reaction: 850 ms ## How it varies between people | What | Typical | Range | Kind | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What sleep loss does to reaction time | 300 ms | 250 ms–600 ms | Reaction | | What alcohol does to reaction time | 320 ms | 260 ms–500 ms | Reaction | ## Common questions ### How long is how reaction time changes with age? Typically 250 ms, with a real range of 190 ms to 400 ms. Simple visual reaction across the lifespan, from childhood to old age. ### Is that a reflex or a reaction? Reaction — a decision, via the brain. A reaction is a decision: signal in, processing, movement out. The floor for a human is around 150 milliseconds, and anything measured below about 100 ms is anticipation rather than response. ## Related pages - [What sleep loss does to reaction time](https://atoneplace.net/reaction-time/reaction-time-fatigue/) - [What alcohol does to reaction time](https://atoneplace.net/reaction-time/reaction-time-alcohol/) - [A reflex is not a reaction](https://atoneplace.net/reaction-time/reflex-vs-reaction/) - [Stopping distance at every speed](https://atoneplace.net/reaction-time/stopping-distance/) - [Measure your own reaction time](https://atoneplace.net/tools/reaction-time-test/) ## Sources - Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)