Average Reaction Time by Age: What the Research Shows
How simple and choice reaction time change from the twenties to old age, with figures from published studies and what affects your own result.
Reaction time slows with age, but the slowing is gradual, and it depends on what kind of reaction you measure. This page summarises published findings and explains why your online result will differ from lab figures. For ways to measure fairly and what you can change, read how to improve your reaction time.
Simple versus choice reaction time
Simple reaction time (SRT) is the time to make one fixed response to one expected signal, as in our reaction time test. Choice reaction time (CRT) requires choosing between responses depending on the stimulus. Choice tasks take longer and, as research shows, age affects them more.
What large studies found
Woods and colleagues (2015) tested 1,466 adults aged 18–65 on a choice reaction time task, with a replication in 178 adults aged 18–82. Their findings:
| Measure | Finding |
|---|---|
| Mean choice reaction time (experiment 1) | about 550 ms (SD about 72 ms) |
| Youngest group (18–24) | about 475 ms |
| Oldest group (59–65) | about 590–595 ms |
| Rate of slowing, choice task | about 2.8 ms per year (roughly 28 ms per decade) in experiment 1; about 1.9 ms per year in the replication |
| Simple reaction time, age 20 to 65 | an increase of roughly 20–40 ms as reported in the literature the authors cite (about 4–9 ms per decade) |
The authors also found that most of the age-related slowing of choice reaction time came from slower central processing (about 80% of the effect), with the remainder from motor initiation.
Taken together: simple reaction time slows slowly, choice reaction time slows faster, and the main reason is slower decision and response selection, not slower muscles.
Typical lab ranges
Under good laboratory conditions with dedicated hardware, healthy young adults typically show simple visual reaction times of about 200–250 ms. Responses to sound or touch are usually somewhat faster than to light. Responses below about 100–120 ms are generally treated as anticipations, not reactions.
Why your online result looks slower
- A 60 Hz screen only refreshes every 16.7 ms, and many displays add their own delay.
- Browsers, operating systems and wireless mice or touchscreens add delay.
- Online tests are often taken while multitasking, tired or distracted.
Our test compares your median with a reference centred at about 261 ms (standard deviation about 51 ms), in line with medians reported by large click-based online tests. This is a model, not a norm table collected from this test, and it does not adjust for age, so it will treat a 60-year-old and a 20-year-old the same. Treat any percentile as approximate.
What else affects reaction time besides age
- Sleep and fatigue (see sleep and cognitive performance).
- Alertness and arousal, including caffeine and time of day.
- Practice on the specific task.
- Health. Some medications, alcohol and neurological conditions slow responses.
- Device and set-up. This is often the biggest source of variation.
Using this information
- Compare yourself mainly with yourself, using the same device and conditions.
- If you notice a sudden, unexplained slowing in everyday reactions, or problems with balance, speech or coordination, speak to a doctor. An online test cannot assess these.
- Do not use a browser test for safety-critical decisions such as whether you are fit to drive.
Sources
- Woods, D. L., Wyma, J. M., Yund, E. W., Herron, T. J., & Reed, B. (2015). Age-related slowing of response selection and production in a visual choice reaction time task. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 193. (full text)
- Woods, D. L., Wyma, J. M., Yund, E. W., Herron, T. J., & Reed, B. (2015). Factors influencing the latency of simple reaction time. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 131.
- Deary, I. J., Der, G., & Ford, G. (2001). Reaction times and intelligence differences: A population-based cohort study. Intelligence, 29(5), 389–399.