How to Improve Your IQ (Part 1)

Your IQ, which stands for Intelligence Quotient, is a scientific assessment of your intelligence derived from standardized tests that measure problem solving abilities, spatial imagery, memory, general knowledge, and other factors. While there are limits based on native intelligence levels, recent studies have shown that it's possible to increase your intelligence. We'll show you some ways to make this happen.

1.Take risks with your brain. Have you become a Scrabble master, able toss out 40-point words even when your rack looks like EEIOAUC? Fine, congratulations. Now go become a Sudoku master. When you reach that goal, move on. Become a Go master, or chess expert. Once you become good at a particular skill, your brain stops working as hard. It doesn't expend the resources, or trigger that dopamine rush that helps make you smarter. Feel free to continue to wallop the competition in Scrabble, but keep finding new "brain games" to explore.

2.Play logic/strategy games. In 2008, scientists Susanne Jaeggi and Martin Buschkuehl devised a method that would increase "fluid intelligence"—the ability to draw connections between things, solve problems, and adapt to new situations. By having test subjects pay attention to two different streams of information, they found they exhibited a significant gain in reasoning abilities. A game based on this study using dual n-back tasks can be found at http://www.soakyourhead.com/dual-n-back.aspx.

3.Play video games. Games can be a great way to stimulate the brain. Try to play a game that is out of your usual range of choices. It will help you think differently. Especially look for games that provide you with problems to solve or force you to think quickly. Scientific studies have shown that playing the popular game Tetris leads to more efficient brain activity; as players become more proficient at the game, their brains show a reduced consumption of glucose (the body's main fuel).[2] The conclusions of this study point out that glucose consumption is reduced when learning has taken place. This would be expected as when a person becomes more proficient in any activity, the effort required decreases. When playing first person shooter games, try to get into the atmosphere, look at details, think every move as if it were real. This way you don't mindlessly finish the game, and you stimulate the brain to think more than just using reflexive actions.

4.Work on challenging your brain in new ways. Try cryptology, for example. This is when a message is written in codes and you try to figure it out. It's challenging for some, but after a while may even become enjoyable. All logic puzzles are great. o Do logic and lateral thinking puzzles. These help you explore new areas, and solve problems in different ways. o Practice crosswords and sudoku. These activities stimulate your mind and thought processes. People may not normally consider word searches thought-provoking, but if practiced in addition to other mind games, they could prove to be easy and stimulating.

Culled from wikihow.com