In less than the time it takes you to have breakfast, you could be raising your intelligence. Sound too good to be true? You might want to read on…
The Two Types of Intelligence
There are two types of intelligence: crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence.
Crystallized intelligence is your ability to use information, skills and experiences. This increases with age and is utilized by most western cultures (think of every single exam you’ve ever had).
Fluid intelligence is your ability to identify patterns, use logic and solve problems. In essence, it involves your creativity, awareness and innovation.
It’s easy to increase your crystallized intelligence. You can read more, collect more facts, listen to podcasts etc.
But fluid intelligence is different. It’s commonly thought that this is largely fixed. Until now…
New Studies Are Showing Something Incredible
Now studies are showing that there’s something you can do to improve your fluid intelligence: meditation.
That’s right. Meditation is not only good for your mental health, it can also make you smarter.
The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback found that participants using brainwave training (a specific form of meditation) showed an average gain in IQ of 23 percent.
This was result was long-lasting too. One year later, participants who meditated showed strong gains in creativity, concentration, and self-awareness.
This study published in Consciousness and Cognition showed that just after 4 days of daily meditation, participants demonstrated improvements in memory, concentration and lowered stress levels.
Why does meditation improve your IQ?
It is believed that the main reason for meditation improving your IQ is because it slows brain wave activity, which allows the brain to increase its plasticity and reorganize itself.
Of course, information like this always leads to the question:
How exactly do you meditate?
Meditation is simply focusing on something, so you can allow your mind to just be. It’s usually recommended to do this by focusing on your breathe.
This infographic breaks down exactly how to meditate.
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