Boost your IQ! 7 effective tips to increase your intelligence quotient

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In the age of artificial intelligence, one cannot discount the importance of human intelligence! Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is the measure of a person’s intelligence, intellectual potential and mental agility. Factors like genetics, health, upbringing, education, social or economic status, and lifestyle can affect your IQ. Even if you are someone with a low IQ, you can always train your brain to be faster and more agile by practising simple activities or by challenging your brain. If you are wondering how to increase your IQ, let us share some expert-recommended tips to amp up your intelligence quotient.

What is IQ level?

Your intelligence quotient level gives a fair idea about your reasoning ability, along with other things like spatial visualization, memory, and quantitative analysis. While these factors play a huge role in determining your intelligence, they are still not the only ones. Moreover, cognitive intelligence is not the only factor that can predict a person’s intelligence or success in life.

For instance, IQ tests do help gauge a person’s intelligence but in no way they can help measure that person’s creativity level. Alongside, IQ tests also do not measure emotional intelligence or critical thinking. In reality, a combination of all these factors is what determines a person’s success in life.

That being said, doctors still use IQ tests as a first step in diagnosing certain mental health conditions or learning disabilities.

How to boost your IQ?

Your IQ test results do help in giving a fair idea about your intelligence, but your actions and efforts throughout your life matter equally. As per the Journal of Intelligence, you can boost your IQ by indulging in consistent exercise in various areas measured by IQ tests which can help boost your scores. Apart from that, there are some activities that can help improve your reasoning, problem-solving and planning abilities.

1. Activities related to memory

Memory activities not only enhance your memory but can also improve your reasoning and language skills. As per the Journal of Visualized Experiments, memory games have been employed in research studies to explore the relationship between memory and language or object knowledge.

Reasoning and language are both used as measures of intelligence, thereby saying that memory activities can develop intelligence. Some of the memory activities include:

• Jigsaw puzzles

• Sudoku

• Crossword puzzles

• Card matching

2. Visuospatial reasoning activities

Visuospatial reasoning includes implementing mental processes related to physical representations. For instance, reading and interpreting a map involves employing visual-spatial processing and reasoning. This activity can help boost your IQ scores. As per the Frontiers Journal, visuospatial reasoning abilities were linked with young Chinese students’ academic achievement in math and other reading subjects.

Some activities include:

• Unfolded prisms

• 3-D models

• Point-of-view activities

• Mazes

3. Relational skills

Relational Frame Theory (RFT) is related to human cognition and the development of language through relational associations. This theory argues that the building block of human language and higher cognition is relating, which means the ability of humans to create bidirectional links between things.

For instance, understanding that the words ‘dinner’ and ‘supper’ are two distinct ways to explain the same thing. A 2016 research hints that the usage of RFT as an intervention can drastically improve IQ scores in children.

Activities that involve relational training include:

• language learning books (difference between this and that)

• comparison of objects (full cup versus empty cup)

• comparison of amounts (petty versus dime)

4. Frequently indulging in reading

Books are a repository of knowledge and wisdom. You can develop your cognitive abilities by indulging in reading. In fact, the benefits of reading books are even more amplified when book reading becomes a part of parental bonding activities.

As per the Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics Selective Deposit, it was found that when parents read aloud to their children, the child is more likely to develop better language and cognitive development skills.

5. Continual learning through education

There is no end or age limit to learning through education. Any form of education is vital to the development of human intelligence. According to the Psychological Science Journal, a study on IQ and education performed by over 600,000 participants was observed to determine the effect of education on IQ levels.

It was found participants experienced a spike of one to five IQ points for every additional year of formal education.

6. Learning new languages

It should not come as a surprise that learning multiple languages can benefit the human brain in many ways. The earlier you start learning, the better. However, the age at which you learn is a major determinant factor to show whether learning a new language will improve your brain or not. As per the Journal of Psychology and Aging, adults who took 11 weeks of language training did not show significant improvement in their intelligence or IQ scores.

Learning a new language can surely help enhance IQ scores, but the critical window that influences IQ scores is during toddlerhood.

7. Learning musical instruments

Learning music does not mean that you have to become the next big musician. 75 minutes of music lessons every week for 12 weeks drastically improved IQ scores in preschool-aged children, as per the Journal of Cognitive Processing. Adults can also reap the benefits of getting music training.

The Frontiers in Psychology Journal found a positive relationship between the time duration of musical practice in adults and executive functioning.

Alongside, just listening to music is also beneficial. Musically enriched environments can enhance children’s verbal IQ scores, as per the PloS One Journal.