How Fast Are You? Simple At-Home Tests to Measure Reaction Time

By Nikki Reese | April 15, 2025
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Resilience & Mindset Mastery
Honoring Jackie Robinson Is Easy. Matching His Integrity Isn’t

In the nearly 30 years since Major League Baseball established April 15 as a de facto holiday, there have been seasons when celebrating Jackie Robinson has felt uncomfortably contradictory.

2025 might be one of them.

Honoring Robinson—an icon of both baseball and American civil rights—is unquestionably the right thing to do. His bravery in breaking the sport’s color barrier remains a lesson worth teaching. But like Martin Luther King Jr., Robinson’s legacy is often vulnerable to being co-opted or diluted by those who twist his message for their own ends.

Within the sport, the dynamic is complicated. Meaningful gestures—like retiring his No. 42 across the league and having every player wear it each April 15—stand in stark contrast to troubling realities: declining Black representation among MLB players and uneven efforts to promote diversity in leadership and front office roles.

Health
How Fast Are You? Simple At-Home Tests to Measure Reaction Time

Your reaction time can offer surprising insights into your overall health—revealing everything from the state of your brain to your risk of early mortality.

As we age, it’s natural for reaction speed to gradually decline, which is partly why athletic performance typically begins to taper off in our 30s and beyond. However, researchers are discovering that maintaining an average reaction time can be a strong sign that the brain is still functioning well—even in later life.

But that's not all your reflexes can reveal. Reaction time is increasingly being seen as a broader health indicator, linked not only to brain function but also to heart health and overall risk of premature death.

“Some people are simply faster than others, even before age-related changes set in,” says Simon Cox, professor of brain and cognitive ageing at the University of Edinburgh. “But a decline in reaction time likely reflects an accumulation of age-related wear and tear. It’s a marker that reflects the combined performance of many biological systems.”

So, how can you check your reaction time at home?

One simple and classic method is the "ruler drop test," which requires just a ruler and a partner:

• Sit comfortably in a chair and rest your arm on a table, letting your hand hang off the edge with thumb and forefinger positioned to catch.

• Have your partner hold a ruler vertically above your hand, aligning the zero mark with the top of your thumb.

• Without warning, they should release the ruler—and your job is to catch it as fast as possible.

• The distance it falls before being caught is a measure of your reaction time.

Here’s how to interpret the results:

• Excellent: under 7.5 cm

• Above average: 7.5–15.9 cm

• Average: 15.9–20.4 cm

• Below average: over 20.4 cm

• Poor: over 28 cm

Large-scale population studies have shown a link between slower reaction times and increased risk of various age-related illnesses. One study found a significant association between reaction speed and all-cause mortality, while other research has connected slower reflexes with higher risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, and respiratory disease.

Entertainment
New Look, Who This? Cara Delevingne Stuns at Coachella with Total Makeover

Model and actress Cara Delevingne, 32, has been open about her past struggles with addiction. In 2022, she entered a 12-step treatment program following growing concern from both loved ones and the public about her well-being. Fast-forward to 2025, and the transformation she's undergone is nothing short of remarkable.

This past weekend, Delevingne appeared at a Coachella party alongside a slew of other celebrities, and photos from the event left many stunned. The star looked almost unrecognizable from the version of herself seen during her more difficult years—radiant, refreshed, and visibly thriving.