Reaction Time of Gamers
Gamers have an average reaction time of 215 milliseconds (180–260 ms). Action and FPS gamers consistently post the fastest reaction times of any non-professional group on the internet.
What the data shows
Action and FPS gamers consistently post the fastest reaction times of any non-professional group on the internet.
An informal scrape of 50,000 self-reported scores from the humanbenchmark community puts the median gamer at 215 ms, about 35 ms faster than the general adult median of 250 ms.
Why gamers sit at 215 ms
First-person shooters demand sub-200 ms target acquisition, and the brain adapts to that tempo over hundreds of hours. The adaptation is real — MRI studies show enlarged right hippocampus and stronger visuospatial wiring in habitual gamers.
What this means for you
If your own reaction time is close to 215 ms, you are sitting in the same neighbourhood as the typical gamers on this site. That is interesting context, not a verdict. Group averages reflect population-level tendencies — individual variation within any group is much larger than the differences between groups.
The honest way to use this number is as a benchmark. If you want to move toward the gamers average, the activities that group practises (action gaming for gamers, instrument practice for musicians, karting for drivers) are the most direct route. The gains are real but modest — typically 15–40 ms over weeks of training. For the full evidence-based guide, see our page on how to improve your reaction time.
Test yourself
See how you compare to the gamers average of 215 ms.