Reaction Time Test
A short reaction-speed test: 10 trials with a random wait before the signal — the same principle as the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) used in sleep research, just shorter. Shows your median, lapses, and false starts; compare your result with yourself over time.
Tap the box or press Space to start
Your results
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How to do it
- 10 trials. Each one waits a random 2–10 seconds, then the box changes color — tap it or press Space as fast as you can.
- Respond before the color changes and it's a false start: the trial restarts with a new random wait.
- This is a short screening version. The full Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) used in sleep research runs the same random-wait design for 10 minutes.
- Screens and input devices add their own delay before a tap registers — compare your results with yourself, on the same device, not with other people or devices.
Frequently asked questions
What's a good reaction time?
For simple reaction time, 200–300 ms is a typical range. In the full 10-minute PVT used in sleep research, mean reaction time is roughly 200–350 ms with adequate sleep (Basner & Dinges, 2011).
Why is my result slower on my phone than on my laptop?
Every screen and input device adds its own delay before your tap registers, so results aren't comparable across devices. Compare yourself with yourself, on the same device.
How is this different from the 10-minute PVT?
The PVT (Psychomotor Vigilance Task) is the standard test of vigilance used in sleep research — 10 minutes with the same random 2–10 second waits. This is a short 10-trial version for a quick check, so its results shouldn't be read against the thresholds used for the full test, like lapse counts.
Why does my reaction time vary from day to day?
Sleep strongly affects vigilance and reaction speed — a night of too little sleep raises both mean reaction time and lapses in the PVT (Basner & Dinges, 2011). Track your result over time and compare it with your own baseline: a rise of 50 ms or more is a notable slowing.
How your sleep affects it → Track your PVT reaction time in the app →