How to improve your reaction time

Your reaction time is partly fixed and partly in your control. The controllable part is bigger than most people think.

What helps

1. Sleep. Short sleep slows reactions more than almost anything else you can change.
2. Task practice. Repeating the same task (a game, a sport start) makes you faster at it. The gain is specific.
3. Focus on the signal. Watch or listen for the cue, not your hand.
4. Warm-up. Your first tries are slower. Five warm-up rounds before you count.
5. Relaxed readiness. Tense muscles move later. Loose grip, ready position.

What doesn’t help much

• Guessing the start. You’ll get faster numbers and more false starts.
• Endless sessions. Past fifteen minutes, fatigue shows.

A ten-minute routine

• 2 minutes: easy warm-up rounds.
• 5 minutes: focused rounds, note your average.
• 3 minutes: a harder variant, such as a duel against a friend.

With Cowboy Duel

DRILLS mode is for practice: repeat draws and watch your time. FREE FIRE adds pressure. False-start detection stops you from cheating your own progress. Track your average over a week, not a single best.

More: how to improve your reflexes