Over the years, our reaction speed to external stimuli decreases. How to know if we are getting old in a healthy way and predicting possible health problems?
For all life, our speed of reaction to the stimuli slowly enters decline. This is one of the reasons that bring our sporting performance to decrease from the age of 30.
Scientists are discovering that being able to maintain an average reaction time can be an important indicator of the correct functioning of our brain, even in our last decades of life.
But our reaction speed can reveal much more. From our heart health to the risk of early death, reaction times can provide a window for the internal functioning of our body.
“There are people who simply tend to be faster than others, even before increasing the effects of aging”, explains the professor of cognitive and cerebral aging Simon Cox, of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland.
“But the decline of reaction times probably indicates the accumulation of age of age. This is a marker who tells us a lot about the combined functioning of a series of biological systems.”
Home test
But how can we determine reaction times in the comfort of our home?
A simple evaluation is a well -known experiment called “Sovereign test in fall”. You will need the help of a friend or family member and, of course, a sovereign.
Instructions
- Sit on a chair and leave the arm to rest on a table, so that the wrist hangs on the edge, with the thumb and the indicator facing up.
- Ask your partner to hold a sovereign vertically above your hand, with the “zero” number, where the measurement begins, aligned with the thumb.
- Your partner should abandon the sovereign without notice, so try taking it as quickly as possible.
- The distance at which the sovereign falls before being catches is the evaluation of its reaction time.
Results
In general, taking the sovereign at a distance of less than 7.5 cm is equivalent to excellent performance.
Between 7.5 and 15.9 cm is a higher distance to the average. The average is 15.9 to 20.4 cm; Below is any number of more than 20.4 cm – and over 28 cm is bad.
Studies on the population have observed the correlation between the speed of the decline of reaction times and the risk of various age -related diseases.
A study found a significant relationship between the reaction time of people and the probability of death for all the main causes. And, in addition to the general risk, there is also a strong relationship between this assessment and the risk of death from specific conditions.
These conditions include coronary diseases, strokes and respiratory diseases.
The reaction time of a person is also associated with their susceptibility to falls, the loss of the ability to live independently and the development of dementia.
But Cox states that a single measurement of the reaction time does not reveal all these conditions. The reaction speed varies considerably from one person to another, due to factors such as gender and genetics, fitness, habits and lifestyle and even the type of personality.
Cox explains that it is probably more important to observe the variations of the reaction speed, comparing the results of the same test over time – for example, every year, over a decade – and verify that the performance starts to undergo a sensitive decline.
The possible reasons
COX indicates that our reaction ability Depends From a network of interconnected sensory systems, such as our ability to see, listen or even smell certain stimuli.
These factors include the speed with which our brain processes the information received from the eyes or ears and emits a signal in response, as well as the speed with which our nerve fibers, muscles and tendons can finally put the instructions received from the brain into practice.
“All these pieces of puzzles can be influenced by aging, not necessarily in the same measure in all people,” explains the teacher.
There are two components in the reaction to the test of the sovereign who falls: the brain’s ability to quickly determine that the ruler has fallen and the speed with which the body can act, based on the brain instructions to capture it.
The researchers concluded that the first component of this network that usually fails, from middle age, is our physical ability to act based on brain signs.
That is, our brain can observe that the sovereign has fallen into a matter of milliseconds, but it still takes some time for the body to follow the information.
The Biomedicina Alaa Ahmed teacher of the University of Colorado in Boulder in the United States discovered that when we age, our reaction time can depend more on the general health of the body than on the brain.
He explains that this can occur due to the wear and tear of our body components such as muscle fibers of rapid contraction, responsible for our physical ability to react quickly. Or because the mitochondria – the components of our energy cells – no longer work so well, therefore our efficiency to decrease the rapid movements.
“Making fast movements is more difficult for the elderly,” explains Ahmed. “So they mainly need to react faster.”
Maintain health
At the same time, if we remain relatively health, our brain and our central nervous system can continue to work well for advanced age.
The Professor of Biomechanics Matthew Pain of the University of Loughborough, United Kingdom, says that scientists evaluate this problem by measuring the “alarm reflection” in the ankles of healthy elderly people, in response to a strong sound.
The results have shown that the brain ability to react to the sound and sending a “moving” signal to the ankle often remains relatively unchanged.
“The gross hardware of the nervous system in [pessoas] The healthy elderly are not [muito] lower, “explains the pain.
“Purely based on the reflection of the alarm, they can still react enough quickly to be disqualified in the Olympic games by burning the beginning. But they will not be able to get rid of the blocks very quickly.”
In addition to the ruler test, it is possible to evaluate the reaction time with simple computer games, such as the human standard reaction time test. In it, it is necessary to wait for a red box to become green to click as soon as possible.
Strong decreases over time can reflect the deterioration of a series of sensory systems, as well as reducing the speed of brain decision.
In 2024, a study concluded that the loss of visual sensitivity to observe and react to the models can be one of the first signs of dementia, verified more than a decade before the start of the symptoms.
“With the age, the nerve fibers of the white mass of the brain can begin to communicate with less efficiency, with consequent reduction in the information processing speed,” explains Cox.
“When we make the decision to react, even the nerves that connect the brain to the muscles must be in good condition to transmit that message quickly – and they too age.”
How to improve evaluation
There are measures that we can all take to avoid or reduce this decline.
Pain recommends training with a double task so called. It implies simultaneous cognitive training activities and movement to tune the brain and body.
The examples include walking by turning their head from one side to the other, balancing one leg by reciting the alphabet or launching a ball by verbally associating the words at the same time.
Even actions such as participation in fitness classes broadcast on TV or on a tablet can help improve reaction times. “They help the ability to perceive [estímulos] And react with significant coordinated movements, “second pain.
For Cox, many of the activities often related to healthy aging, such as continuing to practice sports in the elderly, learning to play a retired musical instrument or simply maintain intellectual activities, such as board games, can bring immense benefits to our reaction time to stimuli.
“Sports training to promote performance, which require quick responses, can significantly improve our reaction times, improving the brain and body”, explains Cox.
“And there is evidence that the maintenance of social and intellectual activity in general is related to the slower cognitive aging in various aspects of complex thought.”
Read a Original version of this relationship (in English) on the site BBC innovation.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
