Yes, Humanity really is getting DUMBER

📉 The Rise & Fall of IQ

For most of the 20th century, humans were getting smarter.

This was called the Flynn Effect, named after researcher James Flynn, who discovered that average IQ scores were climbing about 3 points per decade. That meant every new generation was sharper than the one before.

That’s because we have:

🔸 Better nutrition (no more wartime rations, more protein & micronutrients)
🔸 Improved education (universal schooling, literacy exploding worldwide)
🔸 Healthcare & environment (fewer infections, cleaner air, vaccines, less lead exposure)

Between 1900 and 1975, intelligence rose steadily across almost every country studied.

If you were born in 1970, your “average” IQ score would’ve crushed your grandparents’.

But then… something broke.

A massive study of 750,000 Norwegians showed the Flynn Effect peaked around 1975, and since then, IQs have been falling by about 7 points per generation.

That’s not small… it’s the equivalent of losing decades of progress in just a few decades.

and it’s not just Norway:

🔹 Britain: IQ decline confirmed in national testing data
🔹 France & Netherlands: same downward trend
🔹 United States: a 2023 Northwestern University study found reasoning and math skills have been declining since 2006

For the first time in modern history, intelligence isn’t rising, it’s in recession.

🤔 Why We’re Getting Dumber

If it’s not genetics, what’s causing the slide?

Researchers point to a mix of environmental and lifestyle factors:

🔸 Education changes: less emphasis on deep reading, more on standardized testing and screens in classrooms.

🔸 Nutrition decline: rise of ultra-processed foods, fewer essential nutrients like omega-3s and magnesium.

🔸 Technology overload: constant notifications, attention spans collapsing. Just having your phone in the same room reduces working memory.

🔸 Reading collapse: long-form book reading is being replaced by TikToks and tweets. Shallow input = shallow thinking.

🔸 Sleep loss: 35% of adults don’t get the recommended 7 hours, and poor sleep wrecks memory, focus, and problem-solving.

German neuroscientist Manfred Spitzer even coined the term “digital dementia”, describing how device addiction leads to memory loss and attention problems that look like early dementia.

Brain scans show that heavy tech users have less brain matter in key thinking areas, and in kids, their brain’s outer layer (the cortex) is thinner.

Bottom line: the way we live today is rewiring our brains for distraction and decline…

🧠 How to Protect Your Brain

Here’s the good news: if the problem is lifestyle, the solution is too.

🔸 Keep your phone out of sight - research shows cognitive capacity improves only when the phone is in another room. Turning it off or shoving it in your pocket isn’t enough.

🔸 Read real books - print reading boosts comprehension, memory, and focus in ways screens can’t. Even 20 minutes a day adds up.

🔸 Upgrade your diet - brains run on nutrients. Omega-3s, antioxidants, and magnesium are non-negotiable. I also take Mind Lab Pro daily.

🔸 Move your body - studies show kids who exercise 5+ hours/week score higher on IQ tests. For adults, regular exercise boosts memory and learning speed.

🔸 Sleep in full darkness - 7-9 hours, no exceptions. Even dim light at night increases depression risk and weakens memory consolidation.

🔸 Do deep work sprints - 30-90 min blocks, no multitasking. Focused effort builds the “attention muscle” just like lifting weights builds strength.

The world is slowly slipping into an intelligence decline.

Most people won’t do anything about it.

But if you take care of your brain now, you’ll stay ahead, and the benefits will keep adding up for life. 📈

Tools & Resources

▪️ Omega-3 - Essential fats that build brain cells and protect against cognitive decline.

▪️ Magnesium - Supports memory, focus, and stress resilience, often missing in modern diets.

▪️ Mind Lab Pro - My go-to nootropic. Covers memory, focus, and long-term brain health in one formula.

▪️ The Shallows (book) - A deep dive into how the internet is literally rewiring our brains for distraction.

▪️ Sleep Cycle App - Tracks sleep quality and wakes you at the right time, helping restore memory and focus.

Thank you for reading 🙏

Thanks for reading, I hope this issue was interesting and useful.

I’m not just sharing this stuff, I’m living it too. Personally, I’ve switched to physical books over digital, I use the Sleep Cycle app to make sure I hit a solid 8 hours, and I cut out tech at least an hour before bed. I also take magnesium, omega-3, and Mind Lab Pro daily, and I make it to the gym at least 3 times a week.

Start small, stay consistent, I hope you’ll give it a shot.

See you in the next issue 👋

—Ernest