Effects of a Rhythmic Drumming and Movement Intervention on Reaction Time in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Nonrandomized Pilot Study

Driving is often the preferred mode of mobility for older adults in the United States, yet age-related functional declines increasingly compromise driver safety. Driver reaction time is one of the most critical factors related to accident avoidance and is particularly vulnerable to age-related decline. Maintaining a physically active, cognitively engaging lifestyle can help attenuate age-related declines in reaction time, and rhythm-based exercise programs represent one such avenue. This pilot study examined preliminary evidence on whether a 10-week Drums Alive program, a drumming-based aerobic workout program, shows sufficient promise to maintain or improve reaction time for community-dwelling older adults. Participants enrolled in the Drums Alive program were nonrandomly assigned to the intervention condition (mean age = 69.67 years, SD = 5.86). Twelve age- and sex-matched participants from a previously published study served as the stretching comparison condition (mean age = 69.35 years, SD = 5.07). Simple reaction time (releasing accelerator), movement time (moving foot to brake), and total reaction time were recorded during a simulated brake-onset task pre- and postintervention. There was a statistically significant intervention by time interaction for movement time, with Drums Alive participants showing a greater improvement (M = -0.054, SD = 0.061) compared to the stretching group (M = 0.006, SD = 0.044) and total reaction time, with Drums Alive participants showing a greater improvement (M = -0.080, SD = 0.089) compared to the stretching group (M = 0.059, SD = 0.165). No significant group differences were observed for simple reaction time. It is important to design music-based interventions for a specific purpose to support client needs, enhance engagement, and align with evidence-based practices. Our findings suggest that carefully designed music interventions that engage older adults in exercise may help maintain independence by improving driving-related reaction time.