Top 10 Ways to Increase Your IQ

A long day at work, responsibilities at home, a girlfriend or wife to appease, the horrendous traffic nightmare, endless meetings—give your brain a break!
Leave it to the experts to figure out if your IQ can actually be improved or not. The fact is, you could score much better in an IQ test on some days than on others, simply because you are much more alert.

Breathe Deep

When you breathe deep and maintain the right posture, your blood starts pushing in more oxygen into your brain and tense muscles easing up. To check if it works, try slouching at a meeting and then try sitting up straight and breathing deeply
through your nose. You’ll find that almost at once, your mind starts ticking faster, making you much more alert, confident and conscious of your surroundings. Every time you find your energy levels dipping and your mind straying off the work at hand, take off a few minutes to follow this simple remedy. Make it a self-conscious regime that you follow at short breaks during the day.

Physical Activity

A brisk twenty-minute walk in the morning can keep you mentally and physically fit. As will one of those dancing classes, where you can meet interesting people and stay fit in the bargain. Short exercise breaks during office hours are also a great idea if you want to remain alert through the day. Physical activity increases the blood flowing to your brain, keeping you more pepped up and active. In office, of course, you don’t really have to sweat it out. You may just want to “wake up” your brain and get rid of lethargy. So, before you have to sit in on another of those never-ending meetings, try a stroll around the office.

Avoid too Much Sugar

Forget the popular myth that sugar can give you a high. Actually, sugar or for that matter, any simple carbohydrates taken in large quantities can pull your brain into sweet lethargy. Eating sugar before an all-important event causes insulin to get dumped into your veins, bringing mental
activity to an almost grinding halt.

Think Deep

Meditation at its most basic level is watching and being aware of your breathing. Take deep breaths and concentrate on the inhalation and exhalation process. Not only will this pump in more oxygen into your brain, but it’ll also help you collect your wandering thoughts and keep your mind focused.

The Caffeine Kick

Now this is a double-edged remedy and it
certainly would not have found its way here, except that everybody knows desperate situations call for desperate measures. Everything from test scores to chess games can improve with a long,
good sip of coffee, tea or any other caffeine-rich drink.

Indulge Your Creative Ego

Paint, draw, scribble or buy one of those do-it- yourself craft kits. Or simply log on to the www and blog! Blogging is a great outlet to get rid of negative emotions, connect with like-minded people and discover the sound of your ‘voice’.
Don’t be silenced by the popular media image that creative writing is for women. Some of the most famous Indian bloggers are men.

Solve a Puzzle

Puzzle-solving can not only make you more mentally active, but actually improve your IQ in the long term. Experts recommend the Rubik cube as a great way to push your brain to work out of the box! Mentally stimulating, this brain bender can actually improve your brain’s capacity to
solve problems creatively. Yet another puzzle you may want to tackle is the Sudoku. Log on to any number of sites or subscribe to a newspaper with Sudoku puzzles. Or, if you’re like my friend in the
next cubicle, you may want to stock up on jigsaw puzzles.

Speed Reading

Fast readers not only increase their knowledge by getting to read more material in less time, they actually get to retain more. It’s all about the training. When you spend a few minutes everyday,
probably while you’re reading your newspapers in the morning, you’re actually coaching your mind to think and comprehend fast. This quickness thankfully transmutes to real life situations, helping you make logical decisions.

Get Your Life in Order

Just getting your stuff in order can remove all the clutter in your brain and make space for more effective thinking. The 5s technique, touted by many management gurus these days is an interesting and effectual Japanese concept. The 5s’s— sort, set in order, shine, standardize and
sustain— when boiled down to the bare facts, simply means that you need to keep your surroundings spruced up. Make sure that everything is in its own place, get rid of the stuff you don’t need, keep the stuff cluttering your vision to the minimal, maintain some sort of self-discipline.

Gingko Biloba

If you are a believer in herbal remedies, this one could emerge the hands-down winner. Research shows that gingko leaves increase blood flow to the brain, improving memory and concentration. What’s more, this natural medication doesn’t have any harmful side-effects and the magic doesn’t wear off with regular use. Gingko capsules are available in any local pharmacy, and the supermarket across the street could well be stocking some delicious herbal teas with Gingko.