Reaction Time
Filed under: Anti-Aging For Men
Reaction Time
Your reflexes get slower as you age. But you knew that.
Studies among older people show that reaction latencies, or how fast we react, are slower than those for younger people. Also, the more complex the movements that are made, the greater the disparity in response latency with age.
Aging in general affects a wide variety of nonverbal information processing. A good example is trying to focus eyesight at distances after looking for a long time close-up. Fortunately, in older individuals, practice time still manages to shorten reaction time. Some geriatric facilities have even had success using Nintendo to sharpen mental acuity and hand-eye coordination of seniors.
A variable to consider when comparing the psychomotor performance of the young with the elderlya 20 year old with a 70 year old, for exampleis not just age. You also have to consider the dramatically different levels of health, physical fitness, and nutrition that individuals may have experienced during their lives. One study has shown how a four-month exercise program improved aerobic endurance and psychomotor performance in older athletes. The psychomotor latencies of older, physically fit men or women are shorter than those of sedentary individuals.
If you stay fit, you’ll still inevitably end up losing quickness and reaction time, but you’ll lose less of it.