Can tests like the IQ test actually help to improve your memory?
The human brain is a muscle and just like any other muscle in the human body you can strengthen it with regular work out sessions. Most people believe that working for 8 hours or more every day is a good enough workout for their brains. But the work that you do everyday becomes monotonous at a point and fails to exercise your brain.
To protect and enhance your mental abilities you need to do diverse and novel activities. Different parts of the brain are used for different functions. The occipital lobe is used for visual processing. The temporal lobe is responsible for memory. The frontal lobe takes care of learning, speech and reasoning. The parietal lobe controls movement, orientation and recognition and the cerebellum is responsible for cognitive learning, coordination and precision.
The brain cells or neurons are like the other cells in the human body. You can enhance their functioning and even aid in the generation of neurons by exercising your brain.
IQ tests correlate to different mental skills such as cognitive skills, co-ordination, logic, reasoning, language etc. These tests give you a complete brain work out. You can also play games like chess or indulge in puzzles like sudoku. Like most brain workout magazines will tell you “if you don’t use it you will lose it”. So if you want to improve your memory or intelligence to that matter IQ tests are perfect for it. Yes you can improve your intelligence, if you wish to ace an IQ test all you have to do is practice similar tests for a few days or weeks. This will certainly give you the desired results.
Along with mental activities, physical activities also help in keeping your brain fit. Physical activities like aerobics or even dancing increase the blood supply to the brain. You can also go for supplements. A simple way is to drink a glass of water before going for a test or interview. A large part of the brain comprises of water. So drinking water before performing a task that involves mental activity acts like lubrication to an engine.