Your IQ can determine how smart you are. Are you curious whether your IQ change over time? Does it increase as your age? In this article, I will reveal to you the answer. As you read this article up to the end, you can discover what happens to your IQ as you get older.
If you want to know whether your IQ change as you get older, well, the answer is no. Your IQ is fixed. However, multiple intelligence may change with growth and personal life experiences. Meanwhile, the standard IQ score is considered unchangeable and inherent.
Do you want to know more about this topic about IQ? Read more because I’m sure that the ideas below are more interesting to share with you.
How IQ changes?
Even though the IQ is considered fixed, there are also circumstances that multiple intelligence may change at different stages of life. The IQ of young children can change as they begin to mature. According to studies, working memory training may increase the IQ of elementary-school children. Some analysts stated that a strict Ph.D. program could boost the IQ among adults. On the other hand, there is a possibility that there will be a decrease in IQ among the elderly, especially those who have a disease.
IQ change among teenage years
Some studies revealed that IQ during teenage years might range from a decrease to an increase. In this study, both non-verbal and verbal IQ scores among teenagers can be associated with developmental changes in the structure of the brain. Studies on longitudinal brain structure among teens may reduce or boost IQ due to structured changes in cerebral grey.
Other studies about IQ changes
Let us discuss more studies about changes in IQ. I will reveal to you helpful information on how IQ changes in a specific age group.
Research study conducted IQ tests and MRI brain scans on 33 normal adolescents in their early and late teenage years. There were different IQ ranges, 77 to 135 in the early group and 87 to 143 in the latter group. In the given individual, the IQ score can change from -20 to +23 for verbal IQ, whole the non-verbal IQ changed about -28 to +17. According to correlation analysis, the increase in IQ can be related to the increase in volume and cortical density for brain regions that are involved in movement and verbal functions.
Factors that may affect your IQ
The implications are profound, and they can be associated with the local environment for a teenager. During the teenage years, changes may occur in mental ability and brain structure. It can be influenced by several factors that may damage the brain like social stress, drug abuse, intellectual stimulation as well as poor education. Serious diseases and negative environmental stimuli can decline general intelligence.
What can you do to maintain a good IQ score?
If you want to maintain a good IQ score as you get older, make sure to keep your mind active. It can help you keep your cognitive faculties. These degenerative brain conditions may affect your IQ score. It is also a good idea to do problems solving and other activities like bingo, sudoku, and jigsaws puzzles.
Measuring your IQ
If you want to know your IQ level, I suggest that you prefer an IQ test. IQ scores more than 140 may indicate that you’re a genius or nearly genius.
Even though your IQ may not change as you age, I discovered that there are ways to boost your IQ levels.
How to boost your IQ levels?
If you’re curious whether you can increase your IQ levels, then there’s a chance to boost them. You can increase your intelligence level with the proper type of intellectual training.
National Library of Medicine stated that intelligence types could be influenced by different environmental and genetic factors like parenting style, parental IQ, home life, genes, education, and nutrition.
- Memory activities
Memory activities can help to enhance your memory, languages as well as reasoning skills. These are excellent intelligence measures that can develop your intelligence. You can also try card matching or concentration card games.
- Visuospatial reasoning activities
I also recommend you do visuospatial reasoning activities to enhance your IQ. It can include mental processes associated with physical representations. Researches revealed that this activity could boost your IQ test scores. Activities for visuospatial reasoning involve point-of-view activities, mazes, unfolded prisms, and 3-D models.
- Executive control activities
Executive control is your ability to control complex cognitive activities. It is also an important part of executive function that involves executive regulation and management. This activity is strongly associated with fluid reasoning, which is an aspect of intelligence in humans. Executive control activities include brainteasers, scrabble, red light, green light, and Pictionary.
- Musical instruments
A study shows that musicians come with better working memory compared to non-musicians. Playing musical instruments can benefit your IQ.
- Relational skills
In 2011 research, Relational Frame Theory is used as an intervention to enhance the IQ scores of children. It is associated to the development of language and human cognition through relational associations. In addition, this intervention is also said to enhance numeric reasoning, IQ, and verbal reasoning. Relational training activities include amount comparisons, object comparisons, and language learning books.
- New languages
Did you know that over half of the population in the world is bilingual? As you learn different languages, it can benefit your brain. A study finds out that there’s a relationship between IQ and early language learning. The study also shows that language learning through interaction for about 18 to 24 months can help benefit your cognitive skills.
- Continued education
Any form of education is vital for the development of human intelligence. Studies on education and IQ, more than 600,000 individuals were studied to find out the impact of education to IQ levels. The researchers found out the formal education for the additional year can boost about 1 to 5 IQ points.
- Frequent reading
It can’t be denied that books are beneficial for cognitive development among humans. In fact, development can be a boost if books are used in parental bonding activities. Some researchers found out that parents who read aloud to their child, the child has higher cognitive and language development skills.
Now that you learned about the ways to improve your IQ levels, I will also reveal to you the things that can’t boost your IQ.
Things that will not boost your IQ
Even though there are some activities that can boost your IQ, there are also common myths about increasing your IQ. These include training for IQ tests, listening to music, and taking multivitamins. Usually, these activities can do very little for your skills development and intelligence improvement.
Can you boost the IQ of your baby during pregnancy
Some mothers are also curious whether they can boost the IQ of their baby during pregnancy. Well, birth weight can also determine one’s intelligence. Intelligence can be boosted with categorical birth weight.
In other studies in 2014, maternal BMI or body mass index can be related to the IQ of the child. It means that there’s a link between genetics and IQ levels. Meanwhile, in the study published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, environment and genetics can have an impact on the child’s IQ. It suggests that maternal IQ is related to the IQ of the child in different pregnancy types. The association can be due to parental upbringing and genetics.
If you want to improve your baby’s IQ during your pregnancy, you need to eat a nutritious diet and have regular exercise. It can also help your overall health and your baby. Nutrients like folate and DHA can be essential for brain development in the womb. You can meet these nutrients through supplementation and a healthy diet. As your child grows, it is also helpful for them to participate in interactive activities for brain and intelligence development.
Does your IQ decline in your later years?
Your IQ can possibly decline over time. For example, if you have a head injury, exposed to toxins, or have a disease, your IQ may decline. On the other hand, there are unexplained cases of a sudden boost in IQ. The cause for this is also unknown.
However, in your teenage years, there’s a tendency that your IQ may decline or improve. One example is when there’s an increase in verbal IQ if there’s associated growth in the left motor cortex’s density part. In the study published in the Journal Nature, results show that verbal IQ change was determined 39% of teenagers and has 21% performance IQ. It’s a test of spatial reasoning.
To sum it up, there is no specific reason why there’s a sudden decline or increase in your IQ levels. Meanwhile, there are still ways you can do to improve your IQ levels. I hope that this article gives you the perfect answer to whether your IQ change as you get older.
