Reaction Time vs. Reflexes | 4 Scientific Ways to Improve Reaction Time- Thomas DeLauer

Reaction Time vs. Reflexes | 4 Scientific Ways to Improve Reaction Time- Thomas DeLauer…
Neurons:
Brain cells called neurons send information and instructions throughout the brain and body - the information is sent via electro-chemical signals known as action potentials that travel down the length of the neuron. These neurons are then triggered to release chemical messengers called neurotransmitters which help trigger action potentials in nearby cells, and so help spread the signal all over. The sense of knowing where you are in space is known as proprioception, and the nerves that transmit this information are among the fastest in your body. This is because they have two special characteristics that allow them send information very quickly – a large diameter, and a myelin sheath.

Exercise:
A study in the journal Neurons found that capillaries supply oxygen to the brain - while arteries are the main supply routes into the brain, blood ultimately delivers its payload of oxygen to its final destination via a vast web of smaller capillaries, or microvessels, which permeate brain tissue. This phenomenon is unique to the capillaries because of their size - the thin walls of the microvessels mean that the oxygen levels in adjacent brain tissue are mirrored within the capillaries, which can signal to red blood cells to spring into action.

Exercise is known to increase blood flow and oxygen to the skeletal muscles and the brain - so exercise can also affect an individual’s reaction time, since both skeletal muscle and the brain are separately associated with reaction time. With exercise, the sympathetic nervous system is activated and there is an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Performing any form of cardiovascular training improves your capillary density, which in the long run improves physical fitness and increases cerebral blood flow.
Additionally, exercise causes adaptation within the heart, specifically the left ventricle - essentially, the left ventricle grows. To be specific, the heart wall of the left ventricle expands - this means that with each heartbeat, the heart can pump out more blood since the left ventricle can fill with more blood.

Lion’s Mane & Myelin:
Works in two ways: increases myelination and promotes growth of new neurons. The myelin sheath is a protective covering that surrounds fibers called axons, the long thin projections that extend from the main body of a nerve cell or neuron. The main function of myelin is to protect and insulate these axons and enhance their transmission of electrical impulses. If myelin is damaged, the transmission of these impulses is slowed down. So the main purpose of myelin is to increase the speed at which electrical impulses propagate along the myelinated fiber. Lion’s mane contains two unique types of compounds, hericenones and erinacines stimulate synthesis of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF). NGF is a protein that plays a major role in the maintenance, survival and regeneration of neurons in both your central and peripheral nervous systems.

Meditation & Grey Matter:
A study published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, led by Harvard-affiliated researchers found that meditation-produced changes over time in the brain’s gray matter (the darker tissue of the brain and spinal cord, consisting mainly of nerve cell bodies and branching dendrites.)

Tyrosine (Neurotransmitter)
In a study published in Neuropsychologia, 22 subjects with an average age of 21 were given, after overnight fasting and on an empty stomach, 400 milliliters of orange juice with either 2 grams of tyrosine or 2 grams of a cellulose placebo dissolved in the juice. One hour post-consumption they completed a 30-minute cognitive task on a computer called a “stop-signal task” that has been used in previous research and is a measure of reaction time. The subjects then underwent a “washout” period for 7 days and switched supplement groups. The researchers found a significant benefit with tyrosine supplementation to stop-signal reaction time. Specifically, reaction time was, on average, 6.2% faster than the placebo group (214 versus 228 milliseconds)

Additional Resources:

[DaDawg]

5:23 if you want skip him explaining the nerves and other stuff

[SomeRetroGuy]

Dodging rain drops is an excellent training method for honing your ninja skills. You should give it a shot.

[craigm]

Best method I've heard:


"If you can dodge a wrench... You can dodge a ball" - Dodgeball. XD

[mounika]

Me : how do i improve my reaction time.
My subconcious mind : stop daydreaming and live in the present

[akiroai]

im just here so my goddamn schoolmates can stop throwing erasers at me

[LeeFrey]

Love this topic. Reaction time is such a big thing in athletic performance. I appreciate that you broke down the science behind it. Great video sir!

[theweebjoestar]

I’m doing this to feel more like an anime character

[edwinmejia]

1. Endurance exercises
2. Consume lion's mane
3. Take tyrosine
4. Meditate

[shuichikina]

"Consume Lion's Mane"
wait, what?
"Lion's Mane is a type of mushroom."
ohh...

[cforcaterpillar]

I’m trying to improve my reaction time to dodge a bullet

[thatlittlebundle]

Trying to improve my reflexes and reaction time during quarantine to survive the next school year.

[johnnydrake_]

Thomas I gotta hand it to you. You def find a way to make things I never thought I’d care about, actually interesting 👍🏻 seriously love your posts! The best health related youtuber out there

[badrecords-]

I am now able to see 1.5 times faster. After stealing the body of my rival I have manifested a spirit. While that is happening the descendant of my nemesis travel to Egypt to track me down and end me.

[JCRuler]

Thomas could you do a video on a full day of macro timing? So a video that scientifically breaks down what macros to eat first, and what combinations are best for digestion, absorption, etc...?

[artycuz]

I'm watching this to get better at gaming 😅

[someonehelpmewithmymodules]

I'm watching this because I suddenly got the urge to play volleyball because of Haikyuu-

[YuGoXDD]

DeLauer deserves an Oscar for that performance at the beginning !

[joebotz]

Riding a skateboard is one of the best things I found personally for reaction time trust me you fall two or three times your body adjusts real fast

[sun-]

I love content that can actually benefit what im trying to do, thanks will like this video

[monsieur.Chipmunk]

I'm trying to master dodging until I can dodge a bullet just in case the quiet kid in my school snaps