Reflexes are nerve signals – those that produce muscle reactions to external stimuli. For example, if you see a baseball flying towards your head, your brain will send a signal to your hands to hold the ball before it hits you. Having good reflexes will support sports performance, body movements, and daily physical activities such as crossing the road or driving. Some people are born with fast reflexes, and some people have to practice to have a faster reaction time to external stimuli. Here are some techniques you can use to improve your reflex time.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Improving Reflexes with Physical Exercise
Step 1. Run in the forest
Since it doesn't require any special equipment or training companions, running in the woods can be the easiest way to improve your reflexes. Just find the closest nature trail – preferably a narrow road with varied terrain, than a wide one – and start running. The uneven footing and the unexpected roots and rocks you need to avoid will create a variety of stimuli that will make your body react quickly. The more often you hit obstacles, the faster your reflexes will be.
- Start running slowly. When you feel your reflexes start to improve, push yourself to run faster. The faster you run, the faster your reflexes will keep you from tripping.
- Change your path to another path whenever possible. If you get too used to a particular path, your brain will memorize the obstacles, and you won't be able to improve your reflexes.
- Run on the same trail as backtrack if you don't live with a lot of nature trails.
- When you find this exercise too predictable, try running with hand or ankle weights. The extra weight will take away your sense of time, providing a way to test your reflexes.
Step 2. Practice catching a rubber bounce ball or a “reaction ball
A reaction ball is a six-sided rubber ball that bounces at an unpredictable angle. These can be found at most sporting goods stores. Buy one of these, or you can use a regular cheap bouncing ball, and bounce it against a wall outside. Focus on catching the ball after it bounces back toward you. As your reflex time improves, throw the ball harder, challenge yourself by jumping to catch it.
Step 3. Play throw ball with a friend
For this exercise, you will need a large rubber or foam ball and a friend. Stand in front of a wall, either in the gym or outdoors in front of a wall. Ask your friend to throw the ball at you from about three meters away with you practicing to dodge it. As you get better at dodging the ball, ask your friend to throw it faster from a closer distance.
- To make this exercise more difficult, recruit a second person to throw another ball as soon as you dodge the first ball.
- Ask your friends to make it unpredictable by faking a throw, throwing from another angle, etc.
- Playing throwing ball as a team sport is also a great way to improve reflexes. Practice your ball agility and kick balls that are thrown at you.
Step 4. Play bekel ball
On days when you are not in the mood, play bekel ball. This classic children's game consists of a small ball and twelve bekel seeds. Start by bouncing the ball slowly and pick up as many bekel seeds as possible. As you get better at this game, challenge yourself by bouncing the ball faster. You can also spread the bekel seeds further to increase the difficulty of the game.
Part 2 of 3: Improving Reflexes with Mental Exercise
Step 1. Improve your side vision
Having a fast reaction time depends on being aware of what will happen next. You can improve your ability to spot obstacles and flying objects by further improving your side vision in performing daily activities.
- Look out a window that has a good view and focus your vision on distant objects. Keep looking at this object as you slowly become aware of the objects that surround it on both sides. Do this exercise once per day, widening your field of vision little by little over time. Gradually, you will get into the habit of noticing more and more objects in your side vision.
- When walking or driving a vehicle, make it a habit to recognize objects that appear in your side vision. Train to name a person's hair color as well as the make and model of the visible car as quickly as possible.
- Check out the video below for martial arts techniques used to improve side vision.
Step 2. Play video games
Playing video games requires good hand and eye coordination. You must be able to go from thought to action without pause or you will lose quickly. Studies show that playing video games a few minutes per day can help improve reflexes. First person shooters (FPS) and role-playing games require the most coordination, but any video game has the same properties.
Step 3. Try hypnosis
Some people find that a hypnotic technique called neuro-linguistic programming helps their awareness of certain objects, giving them the sensation that time is running slowly and they have had enough time to react. Imagine a sports film that shows a quarterback watching a ball coming towards him in slow motion. The incoming ball doesn't actually move slowly, of course, but according to practitioners, a neurolinguistic program can make it look that way.
Part 3 of 3: Taking Care of Yourself
Step 1. Eat nutritious food
Keeping your body and brain in top shape is very important if you want fast reflexes. Foods that are high in artificial sugar and trans fat can make you sluggish. Make sure you get enough protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
- Whole foods such as nuts, fish, berries, green vegetables, and garlic can improve cognitive function.
- Also make sure to drink plenty of fluids as dehydration can also cause lethargy and reduce reflex time.
Step 2. Consider taking supplements
Certain nutritional supplements are said to trigger reflex enhancement. Ginseng, Gingko, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, and Omega 3 have all been said to be dietary supplements that are worth taking for better cognitive function and reaction time.
Step 3. Get enough sleep
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), sleep helps you have faster reflexes and run at a higher rate than you should. Your body and brain will slow down when you sleep, disrupting your reflex reactions. Your reflexes are optimal when you are well rested after seven or eight hours of sleep.
- A good night's sleep consists of four or five sleep cycles, each consisting of a period of deep sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This goes on for seven or eight hours per night.
- If you don't sleep well the night before an important game or race, a few hours of sleep before the event will help you be more alert the next time you perform.
Tips
- Remember that the more you practice a particular move, the more reflective it will be. If you want to get better at catching a baseball, the best way is to practice, over and over again, until you can catch the ball without thinking.
- Make sure you have the right shoes before choosing a path to run. You can buy special hiking shoes, but under normal weather conditions, a regular pair of running shoes will suffice.
- If your skin bruises easily, ask your throwing partner to throw the ball close to you, not directly at you. You can still avoid them and practice speeding up your reaction time.
Warning
- Consult your doctor before taking any new supplements, as some cannot be taken by people with certain health conditions.
- You might consider wearing eye protection, such as sports goggles, when doing ball throwing exercises.
