We've updated our Privacy and Cookies Policy
We've made some important changes to our Privacy and Cookies Policy and we want you to know what this means for you and your data.
Human brains read txt msgs 'in the blink of an eye'
Image source, Getty Images
When your friends or family message you on your phone - how long does it take you to read and understand it?
It is faster than it normally takes you to read from a book?
Well, a new study says human brains have super speedy reactions when it comes to reading short sentences like notifications on a smartphone.
They conducted an experiment where each participant wore a device that measures brain activity.
The results showing that the brain can read three-word messages in 150 milliseconds - faster than it takes to blink our eyes.
Image source, Getty Images
The research team from New York University in the US wanted to see if our brains could read words as fast as we could recognise pictures.
Professor Liina Pylkkanen who led the research which was published in Science Advances journal, said: “The human brain’s processing capacity for language may be much faster than what we might think."
She explained that not only do our brains read these notifications super quickly, we can also make rapid decisions based on them, such as whether to reply, keep or delete a message or social media post.
The scientists are hoping their findings can be useful for designers of road signs, digital media, as well as advertisers.