Taking Up These 10 Hobbies Will Make You Smarter

Hobbies are integral parts of our lives, and once

developed, we find ourselves immersed in them on a

regular basis. Hobbies are fun and invigorating- and

they can also have a great influence on our

intelligence.

Below are 10 hobbies that will help to make you

smarter- all backed up by scientific studies and

experiments:

1. Play a musical instrument.

Confucius said a long time ago, “Music produces a kind

of pleasure which human nature cannot do without”.

Music stimulates your brain, and this has been proven

by research as well.

Music has the power to invoke complex emotions and

psychological states. Various researchers have shown

that both listening to music and playing a musical

instrument increases memory capacity.

Playing a musical instrument also teaches you patience

and perseverance for it takes time and effort to learn

to play a musical instrument. It also sharpens your

concentration.

2. Read voraciously.

Reading goes a long way towards increasing your

intelligence level- this is further the case if you

read voraciously across many different topics, from

fiction and biographies, to anthologies.

Reading reduces stress, helps you to experience

multiple emotions, and teaches you a lot about many

subjects. All these factors help you to feel better

about yourself; being at peace with yourself is one of

the most important foundations for positive wellbeing.

Reading is very important for enhancing your knowledge

on a subject, preparing for all sorts of situations and

being more productive in how you go about achieving

your goals.

3. Meditate regularly.

The foremost benefit of meditation is to help you focus

on yourself and to get you to know your true self.

Being engrossed in meditation helps individuals

transcend to a higher state of being.

Meditation helps to reduce stress levels and gets rid

of all sorts of worries. With a calm and composed state

of mind obtained through meditation, you can learn,

think and plan things in a much more effective way.

Regular meditation helps you to have full control over

yourself. Being aware of distractions and effective

methods of self-control are of the utmost significance

when working to improve your intelligence.

4. Work out your brain.

Just as you need to work out regularly to keep your

body fit, you also need to work out your brain to keep

it in good shape. Regularly challenging the brain to do

new things enhances its abilities and helps to keep you

sharp.

You can work out your brain in plenty of ways such as

through: sudoku, puzzles, board games, and riddles. All

these activities help the brain to continue forming new

connections.

Through such activities you also learn to

respond to situations in creative ways, develop the

ability to see things from a lot of different

perspectives and become significantly more productive.

5. Exercise often.

A healthy body helps to ensure that you have a healthy

brain. After all, your brain is like another muscle in

your body. Exercising regularly keeps your brain and

body functioning as they are supposed to. It reduces

tension and helps you to sleep better.

Doctors agree that better blood circulation to the

brain means increased brain function. Various studies

on mice and humans have shown that cardiovascular

exercise can create new brain cells, and thus improve

overall brain performance.

6. Learn a new language.

Learning a new language may not always be an easy task

but it definitely has numerous advantages-making you

smarter, being one of them.

The process of learning a new language involves tasks

such as analyzing grammatical structures and learning

new words, which enhances your intelligence and brain

health.

It has also been proven through various experiments

that people with high levels of verbal-linguistic

intelligence are great at planning, decision-making and

problem-solving.

7. Write your feelings down.

There are tons of benefits that you can receive from

writing, including increasing your overall level of

intelligence.

Writing improves your linguistic abilities, of course.

But it also helps you to develop such skills as focus,

creativity, imagination, and comprehension.

Writers are often considered as having very high levels

of intelligence. You can write in different ways. You

can write things with your hand or you can create your

own blog. Whatever you do, you are giving words to the

images in your mind; learning to express yourself

clearly is a great way to boost your intelligence.

8. Travel to new places.

Travelling is not just a way to kill your boredom-

there’s lot more to it than that. Travelling can really

boost your intelligence.

The physical and mental workouts involved with

travelling, rid your mind of stress. As you become

stress-free, you are more able to focus on tasks,

observations, and deepening your understanding of

subjects.

Every new place you travel to offers new things to

learn. You encounter diverse people, food, culture,

lifestyle and society while travelling, which puts you

in touch with ideas you might never have thought of

previously.

9. Cook different kinds of meals.

Many of us feel that cooking is a mere waste of time

and it’s something we very much want to avoid.

But instead of whining, you should feel happy when you

have the opportunity to cook. Regular cooks,

particularly the ones who try out a variety of meals,

have high levels of creativity. They are committed to

quality, aren’t afraid to try things out and they pay

great attention to details.

Whenever you cook something, you are learning to

multitask, measure with precision and make quick

decisions. With all of these skills you’re acquiring,

you’re becoming smarter too.

10. Participate in sports actively.

Participating regularly in sports activities doesn’t

only exercise the muscles but also does the same for

the brain. Playing sports regularly makes the brain

more flexible and improves overall brain health.

Sports have added benefits too. Watching sports has

been linked with increased brain function, and through

exercising you work out your muscles. Involvement in

sport also enhances responsiveness, coordination,

capabilities, and confidence.

Top athletes are known for their special form of

intelligence. It doesn’t matter whether you play

football, basketball or cricket. Consider being

regularly involved in some form of sport to boost your

brain’s performance.

Article by lifehack .org