Seven ways to improve your IQ
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Your brain it out of season. That’s the findings of a new study from the University of Liege in Belgium which found that although your grey cells find it easier to sustain attention the summer months, your brain activity actually slows in the colder months. So should you batten down the hatch until the sun comes out? Of course not. You just need the MH guide.
Your Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is a measure of your mental agility or comprehension speed. The average IQ for a 32-year old British man is 100, and while experts believe this is increasing by 3% a decade, you can fast-track yours right now and go from Fury to Feynman by motivating your melon. We’ve consulted leading psychologists to provide seven simple steps to improve your IQ by a not-to-be-sniffed-at 17 points over just one week, and help you solve any problem life can throw at you. Except, perhaps, a punch from Klitschko
Monday: play games
Fluid intelligence is a major part of every IQ test, and relates to your working memory. Dr Susanne Jäggi at the University of Michigan used Dual N-Back games, where the player is asked to remember a sequence of geometric shapes and sounds, to boost this factor. Her research discovered 25 minutes every day will raise your IQ by an impressive 4 points.
It takes 25 minutes
You gain +4 IQ points
Tuesday: take supplements
Ingesting 5g of creatine a day can get your IQ stacked by no less than 15 points over a six-week period. Researchers gave volunteers this dose, testing their ability to spot missing items in grid patterns. “Creatine gave a significant boost to brain power,” says study leader Caroline Rae. It raises the energy levels available for computation in your brain.
It takes 1 minute
You gain +2 IQ points
Wednesday: be a social gamer
When it comes to improving your brain power, Scrabble is your friend. “Activities which involve a diverse range of skills plus social interaction, are excellent options if you’re aiming to enhance your IQ,” says MENSA’s consultant psychologist Maria Leitner. You can get all the interaction by playing the Scrabble app and playing head to head with a friend every day over WiFi.
It takes 50 minutes
You gain +1 IQ point
Thursday: blast some bad guys
A recent study at the University of Rochester, US, confirmed a link between first-person video games and enhanced visual awareness in the ‘real’ world – a crucial building block for IQ. When having your IQ tested, the ability to take in visual cues accurately at speed is invaluable, explains clinical psychologist Dr Anita Abrams. Yes, playing Call of Duty 4 is good for you.
It takes 60 minutes
You gain +2 IQ points
Friday: pull on your trainers
Drop those weights and hit the treadmill if you want to be smarter. A Swedish study proved cardiovascular fitness can raise your verbal intelligence by 50%. “Increased cardiovascular fitness was associated with better cognitive scores,” says Maria Aberg, who led the study. “In contrast, muscular strength was only weakly associated with intelligence.”
It takes 20 minutes
You gain +5 IQ points
Saturday: do practice tests
Retaking IQ tests can actually raise your score by as many as two points. The ‘practice effect’ is a proven technique that arms you with the skills to comprehend the next test. “If the interval is very short – for example, a few hours – then examinees are likely to recall the strategies that proved most successful,” says educational psychologist Professor Alan S. Kaufman.
It takes 30 minutes
You gain +2 IQ points
Sunday: go veggie
Meat eaters look away now. “A number of studies have linked higher IQ with a vegetarian diet,” says Leitner. “Both the lifestyle and nutritional choices of vegetarians are associated with strong intellectual functioning and a slower cognitive decline.” Fixing your diet now could bring back 10 years of your IQ age. And that means more Scrabble wins too.
It takes 10 minutes
You gain +1 IQ point
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