Scots looking to boost their IQ may turn their attention to brainteasers and puzzles. These can improve your creativity, increase your mind’s flexibility, and slow down cognitive decline as you get older.
Award-winning psychologist Dr Lalitaa Suglani insists it is important to engage in activities that stimulate the brain, including optical illusions, learning a new language, and puzzle-solving.
The expert says the benefits of regularly giving your brain a workout are aplenty. Speaking to Twist Museum, an illusion museum in London, Dr Lalitaa outlined the best methods to engage your brain and get more switched on.
“Engaging with activities like illusions train the brain to adapt, shift perspectives and tolerate ambiguity,” Dr Lalitaa said. “It encourages mental flexibility – skills that enhance problem solving and critical thinking.
“Perception-based challenges also push us to think outside of the box. Creative thinking encourages alternative interpretations and unconventional solutions to help boost creativity.
“Concentrating on brain stimulating activities… requires attention to detail, promoting mindfulness and reducing stress through immersive engagement.”
At first glance, the image below appears to show curved lines – but is that really the case?
What to do
While the lines appear curved, if you hold up a ruler, the edge of a piece of paper, or anything similar, you will see that the lines are all actually straight.
What’s going on?
The lines don’t look horizontal and parallel to each other, but they are. The conditions under which the illusion appears have been extensively studied. For example, the illusion is only seen when the brightness of the horizontal lines is between that of the dark and light tiles. But the exact mechanism that produces it is not well understood.
This effect – also known as the Münsterberg Illusion – was first reported by German-American psychologist Hugo Münsterberg in 1897 and later as the Kindergarten Illusion by A. H. Pierce in 1898.
It was rediscovered in the wall tiles of a café in Bristol by Steve Simpson, a member of British psychologist Richard Gregory’s lab. Gregory went on to write about it in 1973 and examined it further with Priscilla Heard in a 1979 article.
Optical illusions like this challenge the way our brain processes visual information, making them a powerful tool for sharpening cognitive skills.
Dr Lalitaa shares the best methods to engage your brain:
Optical illusions
Optical illusions are a great way to exercise the brain and can contribute to skills associated with intelligence such as pattern recognition and cognitive flexibility.
Pattern recognition. is a key aspect of problem-solving and reasoning, which is linked to IQ, while cognitive flexibility – being able to shift perspectives and adapt – enhances abstract thinking
Puzzle Solving
Ensuring puzzle solving activities like crosswords, sudoku or logic puzzles can help to strengthen reasoning and problem solving.
Learn a new skill
Activities like learning a new language or learning how to play a new instrument can help to stimulate multiple areas of the brain and neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to change and adapt).
Mindfulness
Not only is engaging in mindfulness practices good for your stress levels, but it can help to improve brain function. Meditation and mindfulness helps to reduce mental clutter and improve a person’s focus and memory
Physical exercise
Taking part in a physical activity and regular exercise can help to improve blood flow which can enhance cognitive function.