How to Increase Your IQ: 12 Science-Backed Ways to Get Smarter

Updated 11 October 2026. About 15 minutes to read.

Can you actually increase your IQ?

Many people believe IQ is set at birth and never changes. The research says otherwise, although the truth is more nuanced than most "boost your IQ" articles suggest.

Twin and adoption studies show that genes explain roughly half of the differences in IQ between adults. That leaves plenty of room for environment. A large Swedish study by Kenneth Kendler and colleagues, published in 2015, compared brothers where one was adopted into a family with more educated parents. The adopted brothers scored about 4.4 points higher on average. Across whole populations, average IQ scores rose by about 3 points per decade through much of the 20th century, a change known as the Flynn effect, which was far too fast to be genetic.

It also helps to separate two kinds of intelligence:

• Fluid intelligence is your ability to solve new problems and spot patterns. It is the harder of the two to change in adulthood.
• Crystallised intelligence is the knowledge and vocabulary you build up over time. It keeps growing through most of adult life, and you can increase it by learning.

Finally, there is a difference between raising your underlying ability and raising your score on a test. Sleep, focus and practice can all change your score by several points without changing your ability at all. Both matter, and this guide covers both. For a refresher on the scale itself, see how IQ is calculated.

12 ways to increase your IQ, ranked by evidence

Each method below is rated by the strength of the scientific evidence. Strong means consistent findings from large studies or meta-analyses. Moderate or Mixed means some good evidence but with limits or conflicting results.

1. Keep learning and stay in education Strong

This is the best-supported way to raise IQ. A 2018 meta-analysis by Stuart Ritchie and Elliot Tucker-Drob combined data from more than 600,000 people and found that each additional year of education raised IQ by about 1 to 5 points. The effect lasted into later life.

You don't have to go back to university to benefit. Online courses, evening classes and structured self-study all involve the same ingredients: learning new material, reasoning about it and being tested on it.

Try it on IQScore: start with our guide to what an IQ test measures to see which skills are worth developing.

2. Get enough good-quality sleep Strong

Sleep loss is one of the fastest ways to lower your thinking performance. A 2010 meta-analysis by Julian Lim and David Dinges found that even short-term sleep deprivation reliably harms attention, working memory and reasoning. Sleep also helps your brain consolidate what you learnt during the day.

Most adults need 7 to 9 hours. If you plan to take an IQ test, a good night's sleep beforehand is probably worth more than any last-minute practice.

3. Exercise regularly Strong

Aerobic exercise such as brisk walking, running, cycling or swimming improves blood flow to the brain and supports executive functions like planning and self-control. In a 2011 study by Kirk Erickson and colleagues, a year of regular walking increased the size of the hippocampus, a brain area essential for memory, by about 2% in older adults.

Exercise is unlikely to add many IQ points on its own, but it protects and sharpens the abilities IQ tests measure, especially as you age.

4. Read widely and build your vocabulary Moderate

Vocabulary and general knowledge are core parts of crystallised intelligence, and verbal subtests make up a large share of full IQ tests. Reading fiction and non-fiction exposes you to new words, ideas and ways of reasoning. People who read more tend to score higher on verbal ability, and the link appears to run both ways.

Aim to read something challenging most days, and look up words you don't know rather than skipping them.

5. Practise reasoning puzzles Strong (for test scores)

Practice makes you better at IQ-style questions. A 2018 meta-analysis by Jana Scharfen and colleagues found that retaking cognitive ability tests raised scores by about a third of a standard deviation, roughly 5 IQ points. Familiarity with question types such as number series and matrices is a big part of that gain.

Be honest about what this means. Practice raises your score more than your underlying intelligence. It is still worth doing, because it helps a test reflect your true ability rather than your nerves or unfamiliarity.

Try it on IQScore: practise with the Pattern Recognition Test (20 puzzles with answers) or the 5-minute Quick IQ Test.

6. Train your working memory Mixed

Working memory, your ability to hold and use information for a few seconds, is closely linked to IQ. In 2008 a famous study by Susanne Jaeggi suggested that training with a "dual n-back" memory task raised fluid intelligence. Later, larger studies struggled to repeat the result. A 2016 review by Monica Melby-Lervåg, Thomas Redick and Charles Hulme concluded that working memory training improves the trained tasks but does not reliably raise intelligence.

Memory games are still a fun, low-cost way to challenge yourself, and you will see your scores improve. Just don't expect them to transform your IQ.

Try it on IQScore: the Number Memory Test, Sequence Memory Test, Visual Memory Test and Chimp Test each train a different side of memory.

7. Learn a challenging new skill Mixed

Learning a musical instrument, a new language or a complex game such as chess keeps your brain working hard. Some studies have found small IQ gains in children who took music lessons, such as a 2004 study by Glenn Schellenberg. However, reviews by Giovanni Sala and Fernand Gobet found that when studies are well controlled, the effects of chess, music and similar training on general intelligence shrink to almost nothing.

The real benefit is the skill itself, plus the habit of learning. Choose something you enjoy enough to keep doing.

8. Eat well and fix any deficiencies Strong (if deficient)

Nutrition matters most when something is missing. Iodine deficiency is a major preventable cause of lower intelligence: a 2005 meta-analysis by Ming Qian and colleagues found that children in iodine-deficient areas scored about 12 points lower on average. Iron deficiency and very poor diets can also hold back thinking skills.

If you already eat a balanced diet, extra supplements are unlikely to raise your IQ. If you suspect a deficiency, speak to a doctor rather than self-medicating.

9. Reduce stress and test anxiety Moderate

Stress and anxiety use up the same working memory you need for reasoning. Research on test anxiety consistently finds that highly anxious people score lower than their ability would suggest. Breathing exercises, practice tests and a calm environment can help you perform at your real level.

10. Train your focus and attention Mixed

Attention underpins every part of an IQ test. Mindfulness meditation has shown benefits for attention and stress in some studies, although results vary. Reducing multitasking and phone interruptions is a simpler, well-supported way to think more clearly.

Try it on IQScore: measure your focus with the Attention Span Test and your mental control with the Stroop Test.

11. Limit alcohol and avoid smoking Moderate

Heavy drinking and smoking are linked to poorer thinking skills and faster cognitive decline. The 2020 Lancet Commission on dementia listed both among 12 modifiable risk factors that together account for around 40% of dementia cases worldwide. Cutting back protects the brain you have.

12. Stay mentally and socially active as you age Moderate

The same Lancet Commission found that education, physical activity, social contact and treating hearing loss all help protect thinking skills in later life. Staying curious, meeting people and taking on new challenges keeps your mind sharp for longer.

Try it on IQScore: track your processing speed over time with the Reaction Time Test and the Aim Reaction Test.

IQ myths: what does not work

How much can you increase your IQ?

Here is a realistic guide to the size of the gains research has found. Effects are averages; individual results vary.

In practice, most healthy adults can realistically gain a few points through learning, practice and healthier habits. That is enough to move noticeably within a band. For example, going from 108 to 113 takes you from about the 70th to the 81st percentile. Use our IQ percentile calculator to see what any change means.

Do brain games increase IQ?

Not by much, and we would rather be honest about that. Brain games are good at three things: showing you where your strengths are, keeping your mind active, and measuring how a skill such as reaction time or memory changes over time. What they rarely do is transfer to completely different kinds of thinking.

That is why we built IQScore's brain games as quick, honest tests rather than "IQ boosters". Play them because they are fun and useful for tracking, then combine them with the habits above, which have stronger evidence.

How to increase IQ in children

Children's brains are more adaptable, and the environment has a bigger influence early in life. Research supports:

• Good early education. Quality preschool and staying in school longer both raise later test scores.
• Reading together. Talking and reading with children builds vocabulary, a core part of IQ.
• Play and curiosity. Puzzles, building toys and open-ended play develop reasoning and spatial skills.
• Healthy sleep and nutrition. Especially iodine and iron, which matter most for developing brains.

Products promising to make babies smarter, such as "baby genius" videos, have not been shown to work. If you think your child may be gifted, our guide to gifted IQ levels explains what the scores mean.

How to track your progress

If you want to measure change, take a baseline now and retest after a few months, not a few days. Remember that your second attempt will usually score higher simply because you have seen the format before, so compare results from different but similar tests where possible.

• Take the free IQScore cognitive assessment as your baseline.
• Use the brain games weekly to track memory, focus and speed. Your personal bests are saved on your device.
• Read what an IQ of 100 means and what counts as a high IQ to put your results in context.

Frequently asked questions

IQScore guides are for education and information. They are not medical advice. Speak to a doctor before changing medication, taking supplements or starting a new exercise programme.