Intelligence Quotient

Brain Exercises Recommended

Brain exercise is the aggregate name given to almost any activities that strengthen the brain's capacities and performance to raise its IQ score in one way or another. They are used either to improve their mind or to maintain their current performance by people of various ages. In any case, training your brain requires focused effort in most cases but is worth it to do that.

I. Benefit for your Brain's health and your IQ

Brain training is all the rage these days, often touted as a way to sharpen your mind and even boost intelligence. While many cognitive scientists suggest that the claims surrounding brain training are both exaggerated and misleading, there is an abundance of research suggesting that certain types of activities can be beneficial for your brain's health.

While you might know that you need to exercise your body, did you know that it might also be important to exercise your mind? You've probably heard the old adage "use it or lose it." Many researchers do believe that this maxim applies to your brain health.

II. 8 Brain Exercises Recommended and their benefits

1. Get Physical Exercise

Physical exercise promotes the flow of oxygen, glucose, and nutrients to your brain.

It’s also one of the best ways to stimulate neuroplasticity (brain plasticity), the brain’s ability to alter its structure and function. Brain plasticity is associated with increased intelligence and larger brain volume. Your brain needs just as much attention as your physical body to keep your mind in shape and to improve it. Physical exercise might just be the single most important thing you can do to keep your brain in good shape.

Even as little as one 30-minute exercise session will enhance brain plasticity.

Physical practice brings advantages to the brain through a number of mechanisms:

- It increases brain circulation to give more oxygen and more nutrients and more effective metabolic waste disposal.

- It increases serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain's sensation chemicals and lowers cortisol stress hormone.

- Exercise activates the gene that sends a signal to produce the more brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) of the brain, a protein that encourages the production of new brain cells.

- Even only a 30-minute physical exercise session can boost brain plasticity, the capacity of your brain to continue to develop and change over your life.

- Exercise boosts the mental energy of all cells, including brain cellulars, through the creation of new mitokondria, little powerhouses.

– Research has proven over time and again that those with healthy behaviors such as exercise and an adequate diet are less likely to experience the cognitive loss of aging process.

2. Learn a foreign language

New language learning can be likened with unlocking new brain sections. In addition to learning the language itself, it stretches your brain's linguistic area and improves voice abilities even in your own language.

Furthermore, according to a Spanish research published in October 2014, a wide vocabulary has been related to a lower risk of cognitive deterioration.

This exercise involves a little effort, but it may also offer you the greatest bang for your dollars. One approach to keep your brain on its head and continuously present new difficulties is to learn something new.

The researchers discovered that the memory tests were improved solely by those individuals who learnt new skills. They also found that these memory gains remained there a year later when they were tested again. You will not only broaden your intellect but also constantly learn something new as you continue to expand and develop your talents.

3. Try Using Your Non-Dominant Hand

An interesting brain exercise that a neurobiologist suggested could "maintain your brain alive." Neurobiologist Lawrence Katz recommends using your nondominant hand to strengthen your mind in his book "Keep Your Brain Alive: 83 Neurobic Exercises to Help Prevent Memory Loss and Increase Mental Fitness." Since it may be so hard to use your opposite hand, it might help you improve brain function.

Try switching your hands as you eat meals or try to write down anything. But that is just the point. It will be challenging. The most efficient brain exercise is not always simple.

Try to be ambidextrous, i.e. to do activities with both hands to increase your brain's capacity for muscular handling. If your right hand is good, attempt to do the same with your left hand, for example, play tennis, shoot darts, use your mobile phone, etc. Figure out issues without pencil, paper or computer assistance. By walking simultaneously, you may make it more challenging and sporty.

4. Socialize

Studies from 2019 indicate a reduced risk for the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease among those socially engaged. Socializing involves a variety of areas of the brain and many social activities incorporate physical components, such as sports, which are also helpful for your intellect.

Even if you are a habitual introvert, looking for social contacts in the short and long term might be of benefit for your brain. Some suggestions to stay socially committed include volunteering, joining a club, registering for a local walking group and keeping in touch with your friends and your family.

In order to discuss your passion, you might also consider joining a group like a club. Discussions on issues like politics, science, religion and philosophy, interesting and demanding, can make your brain more flexible. When you talk with likeminded people about your hobbies, it increases your speaking ability. You will certainly also improve your knowledge. Be aware that the focus is not on arguments, but on discussions.

5. Turn Off Technology

One apparent method of doing things is to cease using technology. Use your brain for fundamental mental abilities such as spelling and mathematics instead of your smartphone. Stick their telephone digits to impress your pals.

Turn off the GPS and learn to read the map and utilize your natural direction instead. London drivers from the taxi provide their minds an enormous training program by creating a map of London. To acquire a cabbies license, they have to know 25,000 streets and 20,000 landmarks. Studies indicate that the ordinary London cabbie has a much bigger hippopotamus than the average, the memory center region of the brain.

There's a reason why watching TV is so soothing — it puts thoughts in your mind that your brain doesn't build and generate. It basically discourages critical thinking and analysis that stagnate the brain.

Therefore, television should be switched off for an active and healthy mind. If you are going to watch something, go to education programs or television series, which contain complicated lines of plot and rich storylines, encouraging you to think about the next item. Instead than merely watching undead, try to analyze the relationship between various characters and possible results to give your head a challenge.

6. Meditate

Next is a brain exercise which has been in use for thousands of years but which has lately become widely acknowledged as useful and interesting.

You may not have imagined a brain workout might truly be highly helpful – meditation. Meditation for mindfulness is, in particular, all the rage that positive psychologists, corporate leaders and alternative practitioners are currently spreading. Before you argue that this ancient Buddhist tradition is too New age for you, take into consideration the many advantages of meditation in some study.

Studies from 2007 show that meditation on alertness can assist to develop new brain connections, resulting in enhanced self-observation and mental flexibility. Meditation enhances the capacity to learn, remember and solve problems.

Meditation helps the processing of information more efficiently, thus IQ can also enhance. It should not be surprising. One research revealed a significant improvement in IQ of 23 percent for those who concentrated on brainwave training.

Meditation can also assist in increasing attention, focus, empathy and even immunity in 2007 study has revealed. Studies also show that meditation might enhance the work memory's ability.

To practice this brain exercise, you may read a brief guide on practicing mindfulness meditation.You can also find some useful ideas to take care of your regular life.

7. Play Musical Instrument

Playing a musical instrument takes a lot of harmony between your hands, eyes and brain. Memorizing the notes and melodic combinations swiftly utilizes your fine and crude engine ability and recognition of diverse musical elements.

Go for tools like violins or guitars that demand a lot of work to master and perform. Learn to play or join the choir as a musical instrument. Studies indicate that the extended learning of anything new and complicated is excellent for the elderly.

Learning to play a new musical instrument is akin to learning a new language, although it is easier for most people to understand it. You will acquire a few abilities on your favorite instrument sometimes every day and you will quickly see an improvement in your cognitive capacity. To learn a new musical instrument is to spend your mental resources long-term and everyday.

Studies have indicated that children who start playing a musical instrument at the age of 9-11 have more grit than their fellow students, according to Parenting Science. Another research directly connected Music to the IQ, which revealed that children who took up music at age 6 exhibited a greater IQ than those who did not.Relational skills are developed more in people who are exposed to music at an early age.

8. Engaged in life-long education

Stay interested about the world and never stop learning in order to keep your mind fresh. Stay in school when you're teen or young. Students staying longer in school are subject to higher IQ scores. By exposing you to fresh knowledge and to solve new issues, education increases the level of education by several points a year.

Researchers observed that an IQ increase of roughly 3.5 points is achieved for each year of schooling completed. Continuing your training does not necessarily imply continuing your training.

To be open to new experiences and to look for new things to learn and do is a personality characteristic of higher intellect. Perhaps you would like to start music training again as a youngster. Music lessons taken in infancy may be of brain-enhancing value through maturity and last a lifetime. Equally striking are the effects of visual arts programs. Art classes increase brain plasticity, fluid intelligence in adults and children, IQ and attention.

By continuing your education at any point of your life, you can get your brain out of stagnation. This does not imply beginning the correct degree – it will be enough to take short courses to improve your abilities in order to put the trucks in motion.

Many top universities over the world such as Harvard, MIT, ect... offer several free on-line video lectures, in the form of entire modular lessons and teaches on a variety of subjects for free. The Khan Academy also provides high quality courses and teachers.

Reference test:

- Alpha High IQ Society: https://www.iq-test.net/free-iq-test.html

- Vietnam High IQ Society: https://testiq.vn/kiem-tra-iq.html

Overall

Your brain is wide - ranging. Practice with new, demanding and complicated tasks in your brain. Recall first of all that the greatest method to increase mental performance is to master real life skills.

You will learn that with a modest concentration, you can transform the entire lifestyle into a brain-enforcement program without totally modifying the disease once you understand that your brain needs to be trained and challenged in order to be healthy.

You may perform your ordinary chores and simultaneously exercise your brain! In all, take between 20 minutes and 30 minutes to practice some brain exercises, meditate, see your buddy or engage in your favorite pastime.