What sleep loss does to reaction time
What sleep loss does to reaction time
250 ms–600 ms
Reaction — a decision, via the brain
Sleep loss degrades reaction time in a distinctive way: the mean shifts only modestly while the slow tail explodes. What appears are lapses — trials of 500 milliseconds or more where attention simply drops out — and their frequency rises steeply with hours awake. This matters more than the average, because a driver whose mean reaction has worsened by 40 milliseconds but who now has a one-in-twenty chance of a half-second lapse is in a materially different situation.
The numbers
- Typical
- 300 ms
- Range
- 250 ms to 600 ms
- What it is
- Reaction — a decision, via the brain
- What is measured
- Simple visual reaction after extended wakefulness or restricted sleep.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| How reaction time changes with age | 250 ms | 190 ms–400 ms | Reaction |
| What alcohol does to reaction time | 320 ms | 260 ms–500 ms | Reaction |
Common questions
- How long is what sleep loss does to reaction time?
- Typically 300 ms, with a real range of 250 ms to 600 ms. Simple visual reaction after extended wakefulness or restricted sleep.
- 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
- How reaction time changes with age 250 ms
- What alcohol does to reaction time 320 ms
- A reflex is not a reaction Why one is 20 ms and the other 250
- Stopping distance at every speed Reaction distance plus braking distance, computed
- Measure your own reaction time Five attempts, median reported
Sources
- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place