Reaction time in sitting and standing postures among typical young adults

Abstract

CONTEXT: Reaction time (RT) is one of the important components of physical fitness. Evaluation of RT is vital to understand and plan a training program. There is a need to comprehend the normative values of RT in young adults in different functional postures, which will enable the clinician to plan the fitness program effectively. AIMS: The aim of this study was to observe the RT in sitting and standing postures among typical young adults. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was an observational study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty-five young Indian men and women students from a college at Mysore were included in the study. The participants' dominant hand was used to assess the RT in standing and sitting postures with their dominant hand. With the given distance, the RT was then calculated using standard conversion formulae. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The RT between standing and sitting was analyzed using mean, standard deviation (SD), and paired t-test. RESULTS: The RT analyzed for 22 men in sitting showed excellent RT with a mean 0.1188 (SD 0.0455) and 0.0929 (SD 0.0385) in sitting and standing postures, respectively. Women (n = 43) in sitting had a good RT with a mean of 0.1401 (SD 0.0314) and in standing an excellent RT with a mean of 0.1092 (SD 0.0323). Men had better performance when compared with women, both in standing and sitting postures. Paired test for standing and sitting showed significant difference with t value of 5.364 and P CONCLUSIONS: The study concludes that the RT is comparatively reduced in standing than in sitting among the young adults.