5 Scientifically Proven Habits To Become Smarter

“Half of being smart is knowing what you are dumb about.”

-Solomon Short

By being a smart person, you can create more time in your schedule for the things that matter. This post gives you a whole new perspective on habits that you can incorporate to become a smarter and wiser person.  

There are a lot of skilled people out there, but they never get a chance to use their talents. This is because of the old negative thinking patterns that people carry which come in their way almost every time they try something new. If this sounds like you, read this article word for word.   

A lot of people think being smart means having more knowledge or being more resourceful. These things are important. But you also need to consider other things in your life that are weighing you down. Simply stated, being smart also means removing unnecessary habits and people from your life and replacing them with better ones.

Following are 5 scientifically proven habits to become smarter.

1. Meditate everyday

Meditation is one of those self-development habits that everyone raves about. It has helped a lot of people become more relaxed and have a positive approach to life. But it also makes you smarter. Regular practice of meditation can change your brain chemistry and make you more rational and logical.

Meditation makes you smarter by increasing the production of grey matter in your brain. And this happens just after 8 weeks of doing it regularly. It basically increases the grey matter density in the areas responsible for making you smarter. Moreover, it also increases blood flow in anterior cingulate cortex and insula. These regions induce a positive mood and feelings of happiness.

So, there is plenty of research proving meditation to be instrumental in personal growth and development. It is one of the most important habits to become smarter.

There are many different types of meditation that can help you achieve your goal of becoming smarter and wiser. You can choose any one that suits you the best. All types have their own unique benefits. For instance, some people might find mindfulness meditation difficult to perform. It requires you to sit in one place without fidgeting or looking elsewhere. So, for them, other types like pranic breathing or transcendental meditation can be more fruitful.

2. Socialize

Socializing can help you become a smart person. You don’t have to go to a high-end nightclub to meet people or approach random strangers on the street. Just having a few good friends who care for you is enough. Research suggests that social people are more likely to succeed in life. In this study, children who went to a mainstream school succeeded in life as opposed to who attended a school with fewer students.

You probably know that socializing helps with mental disorders like depression and anxiety. It makes you feel warm and less needy. But it also strengthens your memory. You become better at things like math, computer science, logic, etc.  This is why the popular kids at schools are also better at studies and other recreational activities like sports and arts.

If you are wondering how to make friends, if you don’t have any or if you are an introvert, don’t worry. There are plenty of introverts out there who are in the same situation as you are and are facing the same troubles. You can connect with people by sharing what bothers you and how you deal with your problems as an introvert. Or you could ask people about how they socialize and make friends. This can be a good conversation starter.

3. Read biographies

Successful people love to read biographies of other successful people. They like to connect with and understand other people. It gives them insight into others’ life so they can learn vital lessons that they have to teach. Also, it inspires them to be more successful like them.

Reading a successful person’s biography allows you to get inside their head and look at the world the way they do. It is the only way you can deeply learn about someone’s life. You might never get a chance to meet them or spend quality time with them, so, why not read about what they have to say about their life.

Moreover, becoming smarter is not just being clever or making better decisions. It also means being more aware of yourself and others around you. You can only empathize with others when you will actually know how they are feeling or what they are going through. Reading biographies allow you to do that. And this is why it is one of the best habits to become smarter.

4. Physical exercise

We all know that physical exercise burns body fat and makes you stronger and leaner. But can it make you smarter? Recent research by Cajal Institute, Madrid, Spain suggests that exercise can make you smarter, happier and increase the production of neurons in your brain. It is scientifically proven to make your mind strong and is definitely one of the best habits to become smarter.

Hippocampus is a major component of the brains in humans and other vertebrates that is responsible for reproducing neurons in the brain. The amount of physical exercise you do decides how much neurons are going to be produced. So, it directly influences the hippocampus. This is a very important point to keep in mind. It can inspire you to work harder in the gym.

Another study says that exercise increases the length of telomeres. Telomeres are the caps at the end of each strand of DNA. The length of a telomere is directly proportional to how long a person will live. Long telomeres also suggest how active the person is. People with short telomeres are found to be passive in nature.

5. Keep a journal

“People who keep journals have life twice.”

-Jessamyn West

The basic idea behind keeping a journal is to jot down your thoughts without filtering them. A personal journal is not to be shared with anyone and is only meant to keep track of the activities in your life. Journaling makes you smarter if you do it consistently for a few months. Some people like to write only when they feel the need to do so, but a daily journaling habit arms you with vital insights into your life.  

Also, it’s difficult to retain everything that happens in your life. Both good and bad. By journaling every day, you can jot down everything systematically so that when needed you can just open the relevant page and find the required information.

Moreover, you also learn to express yourself freely. In a journal, you can write about things that you otherwise won’t talk about with anyone. This gets your thoughts streamlined, as you don’t give a second thought before writing anything. This habit gets translated into real life. As a result, you become bold and confident.

Like everything else, going from average to smart will take time as well. It’s a journey, not a destination. Also, it is very easy to complicate things after reading so many benefits and ways to become smarter. Keep in mind that successful people like Elon Musk or Warren Buffet believe in keeping things simple and easy. So, take your time and think about how you can incorporate these habits into your current life-structure.