I’ve seen conflicting information about whether it’s possible to increase your IQ. Some people claim you can boost it significantly through training or lifestyle changes, while others say it’s mostly fixed by genetics.
Is it actually possible to increase your IQ? If so, by how much and through what methods? Or is IQ basically set in stone after a certain age?
You can raise it a bit but not dramatically. Fixing health issues like sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, or untreated ADHD can give you maybe 5-10 points by letting your brain function at its actual capacity. Beyond that, your genetics set a ceiling. Kids’ IQs can change more than adults because their brains are still developing. Those “brain training” apps don’t work, you just get better at the specific games. The working memory training studies show people improve on the training tasks but it doesn’t transfer to actual IQ. So yeah, optimize your health and environment, but don’t expect to go from 100 to 130.
Small gains are possible through health optimization like better sleep, exercise, good nutrition, and reducing stress. Maybe 5-10 points if you were underperforming due to fixable issues. But you can’t train your way to genius level. The brain training industry is mostly BS, studies show the gains don’t transfer to real intelligence. Your genes set a range and environment determines where you land in that range. Kids have more plasticity so early intervention matters more for them. As an adult, you’re pretty much working with what you’ve got. Focus on developing skills and knowledge rather than chasing IQ points.
Early interventions can have substantial effects, but by adulthood we’re mostly working to maintain what’s there rather than dramatically enhance it. Though the line between “preventing decline" and “increasing ability” gets philosophically fuzzy.
You can definitely improve your score on IQ tests with practice, but whether that means you’ve increased intelligence or just gotten better at taking tests is the real question.