It’s easy to think of IQ as something rigid. You take the test, and it tells you how smart you are. But that’s now actually how it works.
Just as you can keep your mind youthful, you can also develop your intellect and cognitive abilities, raising your IQ.
The same is true the other way around. If you don’t work on your cognitive abilities, they will decline and lower your IQ score.
If you’re reading it, it means you have taken a fast IQ test and want to enhance your IQ score and intelligence level.
This article examines the intelligence quotient and answers the all-important question, “how to increase IQ level?”
It offers practical, bona fide methods and tips for increasing cognitive abilities, IQ scores, and intelligence.
But before we discuss the methods to increase our intelligence, let’s start with the basics first..
What is Intelligence Quotient?
The intelligence quotient (IQ) measures a person’s reasoning abilities. In short, it evaluates how well a person can utilize knowledge and reasoning to answer problems or make predictions. To test, start by measuring a person’s long and short-term memory, the capacity to solve puzzles and recall information they’ve heard, and how quickly they can do these things.
People often confuse IQ with smartness, but it’s crucial to know that smartness is just one part of intelligence.
IQ scores measure cognitive skills such as logical reasoning and problem-solving abilities but do not cover the entire spectrum of human intelligence. Emotional intelligence, creativity, critical thinking, practical know-how, and social skills are just as crucial to a person’s overall intellectual ability but aren’t reflected in IQ scores.
So, even if you score low on IQ tests, remember that there are other things you might do.
Can you Improve your IQ Score?
IQ scores often combine numerous attributes (e.g., problem-solving, verbal thinking, logic). While IQ test results may vary, the underlying qualities often emerge early in childhood and remain consistent over time. This does not imply that intelligence cannot improve, but it takes a lot of effort to enhance the underlying features concurrently. Most popular techniques, such as phone apps or online courses, will not generally improve IQ or intelligence.
However, research has found that certain treatments, like fish oil or educational courses, can improve these skills in the short term and raise IQ scores.
Now, let’s discuss how to increase IQ level.
1. Play chess
Chess has been played for centuries by royalty for good reason. It’s a complex and intricate game known to improve concentration, develop problem-solving skills, stimulate both sides of the brain, and strengthen your corpus callosum.
The corpus callosum is the part of the brain that connects the two hemispheres. Experts believe Einstein’s exceptional brilliance may have been due in part to his well-developed corpus callosum, which allowed him to access his entire brain at once rather than just one hemisphere at a time.
A study in Venezuela showed that children who took chess classes for 14 weeks significantly increased their IQ. Similarly, a 2003 study from Flinders University in Australia showed that chess participants demonstrated improved IQ levels.
2. Do sprints
It has been proven that aerobic exercise is extremely good for your brain. Working out can increase your IQ more than playing an online brain game.
A Swedish study found that improving your cardiovascular fitness can increase your verbal intelligence by as much as 50%. Maria Aberg, who led the study, stated, “Improving cardiovascular fitness was linked to higher cognitive scores. In contrast, there was only a weak association between muscular strength and intelligence.”
So, if you want to be smarter, don’t just lift; do sprints.
3. Take creatine
Research from the University of Sydney revealed that taking 5g of creatine daily for six weeks can increase your IQ by 15 points. Study leader Carolina Rae said, “Creatine gave a significant boost to brain power.” partly because of its ability to increase energy levels available for computation in your brain.
4. Start meditating
Countless studies have shown that meditation for 20 minutes daily can enhance mood, reduce stress levels, and improve deep cognitive processing. This is the core of fluid intelligence and part of what helps you become innovative.
If you switch 20 minutes of mindless scrolling with 20 minutes of meditation, you’d get smarter and healthier and lose no value in your life.
5. Get enough sleep
According to Loughborough University’s Sleep Research Centre research, every hour of sleep over the recommended eight hours can reduce your IQ by a point.
Their research found that consistently missing two hours of sleep every night can cause someone with an average IQ to become “borderline intellectually disabled.”
6. Learn a new language
According to studies, learning a foreign language can cause physical changes in your brain. This is because when you’re trying to understand a new set of rules, like the grammar of a language different from your native tongue, it leads to the thickening of the cortex and increases the volume of the hippocampus.
In simpler terms, this means that you’re expanding the language centers in your brain, which can eventually help you with other language-related tasks, such as negotiating, reading, and problem-solving.
7. Take up the guitar
Learning to play a musical instrument can increase the IQ of both adults and children, according to a study from the University of Zurich. The average IQ score in the United States is 99, and playing music can potentially raise IQ by 7 points or more. This means you could go from 98 to 106 just by learning to play a song like “Free Fallin'”.
Plus (and just in time for summer), you’ll be a campfire hero.
How to know your IQ score
Now that you know how to increase your IQ level, let’s get to work and raise our intelligence.
Today’s market is flooded with online IQ tests, but choosing a reliable and trusted platform is crucial to knowing your accurate score. One such platform is IQ Tester, which offers access to various intelligence tests designed by the best psychologists. These multilingual tests are user-friendly and very convenient to take. They offer immediate results and a certificate within 30 minutes of taking the test, making it a viable choice for people who wish to know what areas of their cognition are strong and weak.
