I’ve been reading mixed things about whether you can actually improve your IQ or if it’s basically fixed. Some sources say you can raise it through brain training, learning new skills, or lifestyle changes. Others say IQ is mostly genetic and stable after childhood, so efforts to improve it are pointless.
What does the research actually say? Can you genuinely raise your IQ score through specific activities or training, or are you basically stuck with what you have? And if improvement is possible, what actually works versus what’s just marketing hype?
IQ is mostly set after childhood, but you can improve by 5-10 points through: eating well, getting good education as a kid, exercising regularly, sleeping enough, and treating problems like ADHD. “Brain training” apps don’t work, you just get better at the games, not actually smarter. The biggest improvements happen when you’re young and your brain is still growing. As an adult, you’re mostly stuck with what you have, but staying healthy and learning new things helps you perform at your best.
Not much, honestly. IQ is mostly genetic and stays pretty stable after your teens. What actually helps: fixing problems like bad nutrition or health issues can get you back to your normal level, but you can’t go beyond your natural ability. Learning new skills makes you better at those specific things but doesn’t raise your overall intelligence. Brain training apps are basically scams. Your best move is to maximize what you already have: sleep well, exercise, keep learning, and manage stress. You can’t dramatically change your IQ, but you can perform at your peak.
Most IQ improvements people see on those apps are just practice effects. You get better at taking the test, not actually smarter. Twin studies show that IQ is 50-80% heritable and pretty much locked in by your late teens, meaning genetics set a ceiling that’s hard to break through no matter what brain training apps promise you.
The link between education and higher IQ doesn’t mean education makes you smarter, it’s more likely that people with higher IQs just tend to pursue more education in the first place. Even early intervention programs like Head Start show some initial IQ bumps in kids, but those gains typically fade away completely by the time they hit adolescence, suggesting any boost is temporary at best.
@Gabby I agree with 90% of this, but the jury is still technically out on some forms of training. While most apps are trash, there is some evidence that Dual N-Back training can improve Working Memory, which is a core component of IQ. It’s controversial and the gains might be temporary, but saying you can’t change it at all might be slightly too pessimistic. It’s just incredibly difficult and boring compared to playing a fun mobile game.
@prettymarion960 Totally agree. Universities aren’t factories that produce smart people; they are filters that select for them. If you take a kid with an 85 IQ and put them through a PhD program, they won’t come out with a 120 IQ; they’ll just drop out in the first semester. The correlation is strong because the system is designed to weed out anyone who doesn’t already have the cognitive horsepower to keep up.