Exercise And Reaction Time
Five minutes of cardio is the cheapest pre-game routine in existence.
TL;DR — Five to ten minutes of light cardio improves reaction time by 10–25 ms for 30–60 minutes afterwards. Chronic aerobic fitness lowers baseline RT by 15–30 ms versus sedentary controls.
The single highest-ROI pre-session habit is light cardio. Cheaper than caffeine, no crash, no tolerance.
Acute effects — what 5 minutes does
Lambourne & Tomporowski (2010) meta-analysed 40 studies. Post-exercise (cardio at 40–60% VO2max for 5–20 minutes) improved cognitive performance for 30–60 minutes, with the largest effects on simple and choice RT (~15 ms mean improvement, Cohen's d = 0.20).
Why it works
- Cerebral blood flow increases by 8–15% during and after moderate cardio.
- Norepinephrine release elevates arousal in attention networks.
- Body temperature rises ~0.5 °C, which speeds neural conduction.
- BDNF release supports short-term synaptic efficiency.
Chronic-fitness baseline
| Group | Mean visual RT |
|---|---|
| Sedentary adult | 255 ms |
| Recreationally active | 241 ms |
| Trained athlete | 226 ms |
| Elite endurance | 231 ms (similar — too much cardio plateaus) |
What does NOT help
- Heavy resistance training pre-session — degrades RT for 30–90 minutes.
- Exhausting cardio (>80% VO2max) — degrades RT for 2–4 hours.
- Static stretching — neutral or mildly negative.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ideal pre-game routine?
5–10 minutes light cardio at conversational pace, finished 15 minutes before play.
Does weightlifting help long-term?
Indirectly — through general fitness, but not as much as aerobic work.
Can over-exercising slow me down?
Yes. Same-day exhaustion adds 20–60 ms to mean RT.
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