Ingo Froböse, a professor and gaming pioneer at the German Sport University Cologne, is actively exploring how gaming might help develop mental skills.

“Gaming can teach soft skills: solving tasks together in a stressful environment, ironing out other people’s mistakes.”

There is little denying that response time is one of the mental qualities competitive gamers, like those competing in the Red Bull Campus Clutch World Final require to achieve. Their techniques for improving play range from nutrition and exercise to upgraded equipment such as hand warmers.

In this article, we will describe the elements that influence your reaction time, provide some strategies to help you improve your reaction time for gaming, and then identify frequent problems you may not be aware of that are decreasing your response time.

What is Reaction Time?

In a video game, reaction time is the amount of time that elapses between an event and the gamer’s response. It’s a critical component of gaming, especially in fast-paced action games like first-person shooter (FPS) games, racing games, and fighting games.

For example, the faster you react in an FPS game, the better you’ll perform in competition when dodging attacks or shooting an enemy.

Reaction time refers to the amount of time between perceiving something and responding to it. It is a measure of how quickly our brain responds to any stimulus. Increasing the reaction involves enhancing the ability to recognize, process, and respond to a situation.

All our senses are engaged in a number of ways. Sometimes only one sense responds, like closing your eyes in response to bright light.

At other instances, numerous senses are implicated, triggering additional sensory reactions. This stimulation transmits a signal to both the central and peripheral nervous systems. This conveys the information to the remainder of the body that needs to respond.

Factors that can affect reaction time in gaming include:

• Age: Reaction times tend to slow down as we age. Without taking steps to maintain or advance your reaction time, science shows it can begin to drop off around age 24.
• Genetics: Some individuals simply have a naturally faster reaction time than others. (Fortunately, it’s a trainable skill that anyone can improve, as we discuss below.)
• Gaming experience: As players spend more time playing a particular game or genre, they become more familiar with gameplay mechanics, which leads to reduced strain on the mind and frees up mental resources to react faster.

RT is controlled by your central nervous system (CNS).

The CNS comprises about 100 billion nerve cells (or neurons) that receive sensory input through signals from your senses of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. They transport these signals to your brain, where they’re interpreted and turned into physical and mental responses.

And all that happens in a tiny fraction of a second — usually between 150 and 300 milliseconds.

But keep in mind that there’s a difference between physical and mental RT:

• Mental RT is how quickly you perceive and process a stimulus.
• Physical RT is how quickly you respond physically to a stimulus.

And there’s one final distinction to be made between reactions and reflexes before we get into the fun stuff:

• Reactions: voluntary movements that can be trained to not only become faster but also react to specific stimuli
• Reflexes: instant, involuntary movements that have evolved to protect you, such as your leg kicking when you tap below your kneecap

Having a good reaction time allows you to be agile and efficient when responding to a stimulus. It can be simple reactions like when driving or having a conversation, to complex reactions involving major decisions in life.

It is crucial to comprehend the information received in the appropriate manner because that primarily affects your reaction time – a good response time benefits you in a variety of ways.

How to Improve Reaction Time for Gaming

Preparing your body and mind can go a long way toward increasing your response time; add a few particular gaming strategies to the mix, and you may notice a significant boost in your performance.

Below is a list of ten ways on how to improve your reaction time.

1. Right Nutrition Intake

It is an unsaid fact that balanced brain functioning is essential for faster reaction times. Having a proper diet that nourishes your brain and body helps in improving your motor skill and reflexes.

Read Also: The Top 5 Gaming Skills Every Player Should Master

Foods like berries and pomegranates are good sources of vitamins and help in the proper functioning of your brain. Moreover, caffeine and reaction time also share a positive relationship. So go ahead and have a cup of coffee before starting your day.

2. Play Video Games

Video games are a fun and effective way to improve your reaction time. Video games are not only about staring at the screens throughout but also involve brain activities.

It is because they require gamers to be agile, active, and speedy. Numerous studies have shown that video games have helped people make decisions faster, be able to multitask and have a great reaction time. Moreover, they also develop a sensitivity to their surroundings and react strongly in all the situations

3. Minimize Distractions

You may sometimes wonder why my reaction time is slow, or how I can improve my reaction time…it can be due to distractions. If your work requires concentration or speed, the best way to focus is by eliminating the distractions around you.

For example, when you are driving on a poor road and need to react quickly, talk less with the passengers or turn off the radio, so that you can concentrate on driving. This can help you in improving your reaction time.

Eliminating distraction also works for overcoming procrastination.

4. Get Enough Sleep

You may respond slowly when you are tired or lack sleep, no matter what you do. Make sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep every day. A good night’s sleep can benefit you in multiple ways- from recharging you as part of a healthy morning routine to improving your reaction time.

5. Hydrate Yourself

Dehydration can affect your body and mind and have a huge effect on your reflexes and reaction time. When you are not hydrated enough, your brain actually shrinks and your thinking capacity can take a toll.

It is essential to hydrate yourself throughout the day- drink enough water, at least six to eight glasses, so that you don’t feel lazy. Plus, it is also important to begin your day with 2 glasses of water for a healthy morning routine.

6. Meditation

Meditation can calm your mind and relax your muscles. When you practice meditation and deep breathing, your brain supports you to react quickly to every action.

Try to include 10 minutes of meditation in your daily life, so that you remain focused throughout the day and also improve your reaction time. It will also improve your mental alertness.

7. Physical Exercises

Wondering if physical activity can help improve your reaction time? Well, you are right! There are plenty of reaction time exercises, which allow the brain to process its reaction quickly.

Exercises like ladder drills, plyometrics, agility drills, and other athletic exercises, etc., are directly related to speed and quick reaction and force your body to respond to your brain signals faster. Hence, these are a great way of improving your reaction speed.

8. Play a Sport

Sports are a super-effective way to improve your reaction time. It involves constant movement, coordination with team members, etc., so much so that you need to be agile throughout the game. While it may begin with a game initially, this quick reaction would soon become a part of you.

Your reaction time would improve drastically and become an involuntary response to any stimuli. However, picking up a sport may sound easy but practicing it regularly is challenging.

If you are new to sports, pick up an easy one, to begin with, and eventually challenge yourself with high-action sports.

9. Cognitive Exercises

Increasing reaction time enquires you to strengthen your brain. A good way to begin this is by keeping your brain engaged and active with various puzzles. Moreover, cognitive exercises are a great way to improve reaction time.

It can be a simple brain teaser or exploring new ways of doing the same thing- anything that keeps your brain engaged. This activity in your brain boosts growth, eventually improving your reaction time.

10. Make Quick Decisions

Take conscious efforts to speed up your decision-making in everyday life. If you feel that you are delaying decisions or overthinking anything, motivate yourself to decide on them quickly.

Repeating this process will create a habit of taking quick decisions, thereby improving your reaction time. This will also make you more productive.

Why is my Reaction Time so Slow?

There are several elements that influence reaction time. Some people can respond fast to their circumstances, while others cannot. Fortunately, reaction time can be trained and improved over time and practice. If you’re worried about why your reaction time is slow, you can improve it by making certain lifestyle adjustments. Having a quick reaction time means that your brain sends information to your bodily components to do more motions. If you follow the tips listed above, you will be able to easily enhance your reaction speed.

Let us also consider the aspects that influence reaction time.

• Complexity of the stimulus: Sometimes, a stimulus can be complex to perceive, and you might take time to understand it, thereby leading to slower reaction time. Therefore, the more complex a stimulus, the more information needs to be processed and requires a longer speed time. Think of your reaction time when asked “what is 2+2?” Since it’s simple, your reaction time is much quicker than if I asked you “what is 17 x 35?” The more complex the stimulus, the longer the reaction time.
• Familiarity and preparation: Responding to a known stimulus takes less time compared to a new one. When you have already responded to a stimulus, you need to process less information, so you will be able to react quickly.
• State of the person: The organism’s condition is very important in deciding the reaction time. If a person is filled with fatigue or low attention, he will take a long time to react. Whereas, someone who is energetic and active throughout, will react quickly to his surroundings.
• Mode of information: Reaction time is shorter when the information triggered is through audio than visual. Hence, each mode of information requires a different reaction time.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Increasing (or even sustaining) your reaction time in gaming could also be a matter of removing poor gaming habits or simply avoiding common blunders. Here are some things to consider when you create your training method to speed up your reflexes.

• Lack of consistency: Reaction time improvement requires consistent practice and repetition. Failing to practice regularly can slow down progress and hinder improvement.
• Lack of focus: Avoid multitasking during training sessions at all costs. Otherwise, you’ll waste valuable mental energy that could be used to develop your skills.
• Not challenging yourself: If you don’t challenge yourself during training, your reaction time improvement is likely to plateau. When you practice, consider applying the concept of “deliberate practice,” a term coined by the renowned sport psychologist K. Anders Ericsson. Basically, you want to identify your weaknesses and attack them deliberately in training instead of just generally practicing all required skills with no focus.
• Neglecting general health and well-being: Poor physical health, lack of sleep, and unhealthy habits such as poor diet and lack of exercise will negatively affect reaction time improvement.

Conclusion

Reaction time in gaming can provide a significant edge at the highest levels of competitiveness. Even while some people are more naturally endowed than others, it is a mental skill that anyone can learn. In fact, if you’re older than 24, science suggests you should prioritize it to offset any age-related degeneration that may occur.

Implementing some brain hacks for gaming in your routine would most likely be beneficial. Making a point of remaining active while gaming while you seek to better your talents is also a good idea.