Greetings, friends!
If you are now asking yourself a question: how to become smarter, then I can congratulate you! This means that you are not indifferent to your mental abilities, you want to develop and improve them. This is very very good. In this article, we have collected 12 most effective ways to become smarter, and tried to diversify them as much as possible. And in order for the training to be as effective as possible, let’s first briefly analyze what it generally means to “become smarter”, and then move on directly to the method of developing intelligence. Let’s go!
What does it mean to “get smarter”?
First, let’s define what is meant by the mind. Usually we call smart a person whose intellectual abilities are obvious. Such people know how to wisely manage their time, know the value of productive work and good rest, and are able to quickly find the information they need. They get along well with others and never try to solve problems with the help of conflicts. professional. For all of the above, they do not need to have supernatural abilities or read minds. They have a good analytical mind, multiplied by life experience.
Smart people are characterized by such features as:
- the ability to competently manage any resources (money, time, connections);
- activity, a tendency to act without wasting time;
- independence, the desire, if possible, to solve problems without outside help;
- responsibility and prudence;
- balance, a tendency to ponder their actions.
One should not think that the listed qualities are given to “chosen” people by nature. Everyone can become smarter by purposefully working on themselves. The really smart is not the one who has received a good education, but the one who does not stop learning and developing in adulthood.
Intelligence is like a muscle. If you exercise it continuously, it will develop. If you stop your own development, then your mental abilities will change for the worse. We offer you 12 tips that will not only keep your brain in good shape, but also become much smarter.
How to become smarter: 12 ways
While this is obvious advice, not everyone realizes its importance. Reading books can expand your vocabulary, improve your general literacy and improve your speech quality. By choosing popular science or educational literature, you can significantly expand your own knowledge in certain areas.
Fiction is also very useful for personal development, as it allows you to gain valuable experience in absentia by empathizing with the characters in the book. By reading books and thinking about whether the main characters behave in certain situations, you can influence your own character and relationships with others. Thus, reading not only gives new knowledge, but also contributes to personal growth.
2. Develop memory
Many people constantly complain about memory without complaining about their own mind. But it is memory that is the main factor determining intellectual abilities. Learning ability and the ability to make decisions quickly, taking into account a large number of factors, depend on the quality of memory. If you want to become smarter, first of all, you should train the ability to remember information.
The easiest and most obvious way to improve memory is to learn poetry. It is enough to set aside 10 minutes a day for this. You can practice on other things as well. For example, when you go to the store, you should try to buy all the products from memory, only looking at the list compiled in advance if necessary.
3. Eat Brain-Healthy Foods
Among all organs, it is the brain that is most demanding on the quality and balance of the diet. The most useful product for increasing intelligence is sea fish. It contains omega-3 fatty acids, as well as a full complement of minerals that our body needs. You should eat fish at least 2 times a week, and ideally eat a small piece (50-100 grams) daily.
Be sure to include in your daily diet 3-4 whole walnuts nuts. It is not recommended to buy peeled kernels, since they quickly deteriorate in the air (they can be stored for no more than 2-3 days). It is better to buy a nutcracker, and there will be no problems with removing the shell from unpeeled nuts.
The brain also needs antioxidants to function efficiently , which are abundant in berries (especially black ones) and fruits. They keep well even when preserved, so stock up on jams and jams from currants and other summer and autumn berries for the winter.
4. Change routes and habits, travel
This is popular advice on how to get smarter, and it’s really effective. Navigation and orientation in space is one of the most complex functions of our intellect. By activating it, you can give your brain a good “shake”. There are a lot of options here. You can abandon your usual route and walk along an unfamiliar street (for example, commuting to work or walking your dog). You can go to lunch in different cafes that you have not visited before. -for long-term non-use. The greater the discomfort, the more often you need to do this exercise.
But travel will have a much greater effect. Are you accustomed to having a rest at one resort, where everything is familiar and everyone knows Russian? Try to give up this habit and go to a new country. You will have to navigate the terrain, get used to the local rhythm of life, practice a foreign language, or even communicate with gestures. These are all excellent exercises for the intellect.
5. Give up TV
Watching TV is prohibitively time-consuming. But the main danger of the TV is that a person begins to live with other people’s problems. The brain gradually loses its ability to solve everyday problems, since they appear on the screen and are quickly solved. And it is addictive. Do I need to explain how harmful it is for intellectual abilities?
6. Constantly learn new things
This is another popular recommendation on how to become smarter, which is often overlooked even by very motivated people. You need to learn throughout your life. The best way to invest your own time, money and energy in yourself is to learn something new.
Buy books, sign up for courses and trainings, p attend seminars on topics of interest to you. New knowledge stimulates the brain to actively create neural connections (therefore, studying unfamiliar topics works especially well.)
7. Expand your social circle
Adaptation in society is a natural function of human intelligence. And it can be used as an intellectual warm-up for the brain. Make new acquaintances, learn to communicate with new people. Along the way, you will gain valuable experience, learn the opinion of other people about the phenomena and events that interest you. Each person perceives the world in his own way, and such an exchange of life experiences is a very interesting and useful exercise.
8. Learn to draw
Drawing is a great exercise for developing intelligence, especially if you have little experience with it … If you are looking for a way to quickly get smarter – start drawing! Depict not only material objects, but also abstract thoughts, coming up with suitable graphic symbols for them. This is an excellent exercise that allows to develop creative thinking , improve hand coordination and increase observation.
All artists feel the surrounding reality more accurately and notice many things that are inaccessible For others. If you practice drawing regularly, your perception will noticeably improve. You will be able to notice the smallest details and subtly focus on important things.
9. Master a musical instrument
Music lessons involve the coordinated action of different body systems. Both hands are usually involved in the extraction of sounds, while it is necessary to hit not only the notes, but also the rhythm, as well as control the result by ear.
The musician’s brain works as a complex command center, providing many synchronous processes , and this is a great exercise for those wishing to get smarter. At the same time, different parts of the brain are loaded, which contributes to the improvement of their interaction and the formation of new neural connections.
10. Keep yourself in shape
The brain is the most “voracious” organ that constantly needs oxygen and nutrients. Therefore, the quality of its work directly depends on the health of the lungs and cardiovascular system. Regular exercise keeps the lungs, heart and blood vessels in good shape, so that the brain copes well even with prolonged intellectual stress.
There are certain stereotypes about athletes and their intelligence, in reality, the opposite is true. Numerous studies show that the average IQ of people who regularly go in for sports is several points higher. A detailed study of their brains shows that exercise not only improves blood circulation, but also stimulates the formation of neural connections.
11. Sleep for at least 7 hours
A big mistake of people seeking to improve their efficiency is the constant lack of sleep. But sleep is necessary for the body to recuperate, and it is especially important for the brain. The optimal duration of sleep for each person is individual, but on average it is 7 hours. If a person sleeps less than 6 or more than 8 hours for a long time, the functionality of his brain is impaired, and the IQ is noticeably reduced.
12. Leave your comfort zone
Human evolution took place in conditions of severe scarcity of resources, so our brains tend to look for ways to save energy. That is why the so-called “comfort zone” is being formed. A person simply performs the same actions that allow him to live the next day, and avoids changes.
This model of behavior is common to everyone, but successful people know how to deal with this weakness and “get out of the comfort zone”. They tend to act. And if you remember the positive changes in your own life, it turns out that they were almost always the result of leaving your comfort zone.
Try to repeat this more often. Acquire new habits, look for ways to shake your own mind, get new experiences. Meet people, go to theaters and cinemas, visit museums, go to a water park or a restaurant with outlandish cuisine, sign up for an excursion. There are many ways to improve your own life by changing its rhythm. The main thing is to start acting right now!
Conclusion
Our brain, like any organ, is capable of developing under the influence of stress. At any age, you can become smarter if you follow the simple tips from this article. The main thing is not to deviate from the intended path, but to turn these recommendations into permanent habits. This will not only increase intelligence, but also improve the quality of life in general, along the way getting a lot of vivid impressions and valuable experience.
