The Effects of Exercise on Reaction Time

Abstract

Past research has shown that an individual’s reaction time can be a valid indicator of the central nervous system’s ability to receive and synchronize movement expressed through the peripheral nervous system. This cognitive-motor connection is a key player in many aspects of daily living including, but not limited to: making quick decisions in dangerous situations, athletic abilities, prevention from injury, and sustained autonomy with aging. Because exercise is known to increase blood flow and oxygen to the skeletal muscles and the brain, it was inferred that exercise would also affect an individual’s reaction time, since both skeletal muscle and the brain are separately associated with reaction time. To determine this, thirty subjects gave baseline blood pressure, heart rate, and simple reaction time measurements. They then participated in an acute-intense exercise, defined as a doubled heart rate maintained for five minutes. Post-exercise blood pressure, heart rate, and simple reaction time measurements were taken and the data was analyzed using a Wilcox’s paired T-Test. The results concluded that acute-intense exercise decreased reaction time, meaning there was significant improvement in reaction time abilities. This data suggests that exercise is beneficial to people in their daily lives because it influences reaction time abilities.