Doing 'brain exercises' such as watching Countdown, playing Sudoku or taking a shower with your eyes closed can make us all up to 40 per cent cleverer within seven days, according to research by a BBC programme this week
It is not an intelligence-boosting formula likely to impress an Oxbridge don: watching Countdown, playing Sudoku, remembering telephone numbers and taking a shower with your eyes closed.
Yet doing 'brain exercises' such as these can make us all up to 40 per cent cleverer within seven days, according to research by a BBC programme this week.
The tests conducted for Get Smarter in a Week appear to bear out the growing belief among scientists that making simple changes to our lifestyle can lead to significant improvements in how well our brains function.
The programme found that a combination of techniques based on healthy eating, physical activity, sound sleep and stimulating your mind through solving puzzles and remembering lists makes people sharper, more confident and better at making decisions.
'But an increasing body of scientific opinion holds that you can take steps in your life to actually improve your brainpower by, for example, enhancing your memory, working on your spatial awareness, doing things differently to normal and eating healthily. Scientists say you will see noticeable improvements within a week. Our show is seeing if the science works.'
When the production team did trial runs among 15 volunteers, who each followed a 'get smarter' regime for a week, they expected their guinea pigs would be about 10 per cent cleverer at the end of it. What they found was that some performed up to 40 per cent better than in the initial assessment. However, one man who had gone out on a stag night the evening before the second test found his score 20 per cent down - proving that alcohol damages mental function.
'A lot of people feel they are under-performing in their life, that they are letting themselves down, in terms of their ability to handle events or thinking that people at work are cleverer than them. This programme shows everyone can get smarter, and feel better, if they do these things.'
THE GET SMARTER GUIDE
Saturday
Brush your teeth with your 'wrong' hand and take a shower with your eyes closed.
Sunday
Do the crossword or Sudoku puzzle in your Sunday paper and take a brisk walk.
Monday
Have oily fish for dinner, and either cycle, walk or take the bus into work.
Tuesday
Select unfamiliar words from the dictionary and work them into conversations.
Wednesday
Go to yoga, Pilates or a meditation class, and talk to someone you don't know.
Thursday
Take a different route to work; watch Countdown or Brainteaser.
Friday
Avoid caffeine or alcohol; memorise your shopping list.
It is not an intelligence-boosting formula likely to impress an Oxbridge don: watching Countdown, playing Sudoku, remembering telephone numbers and taking a shower with your eyes closed.
Yet doing 'brain exercises' such as these can make us all up to 40 per cent cleverer within seven days, according to research by a BBC programme this week.
The tests conducted for Get Smarter in a Week appear to bear out the growing belief among scientists that making simple changes to our lifestyle can lead to significant improvements in how well our brains function.
The programme found that a combination of techniques based on healthy eating, physical activity, sound sleep and stimulating your mind through solving puzzles and remembering lists makes people sharper, more confident and better at making decisions.
'But an increasing body of scientific opinion holds that you can take steps in your life to actually improve your brainpower by, for example, enhancing your memory, working on your spatial awareness, doing things differently to normal and eating healthily. Scientists say you will see noticeable improvements within a week. Our show is seeing if the science works.'
When the production team did trial runs among 15 volunteers, who each followed a 'get smarter' regime for a week, they expected their guinea pigs would be about 10 per cent cleverer at the end of it. What they found was that some performed up to 40 per cent better than in the initial assessment. However, one man who had gone out on a stag night the evening before the second test found his score 20 per cent down - proving that alcohol damages mental function.
'A lot of people feel they are under-performing in their life, that they are letting themselves down, in terms of their ability to handle events or thinking that people at work are cleverer than them. This programme shows everyone can get smarter, and feel better, if they do these things.'
THE GET SMARTER GUIDE
Saturday
Brush your teeth with your 'wrong' hand and take a shower with your eyes closed.
Sunday
Do the crossword or Sudoku puzzle in your Sunday paper and take a brisk walk.
Monday
Have oily fish for dinner, and either cycle, walk or take the bus into work.
Tuesday
Select unfamiliar words from the dictionary and work them into conversations.
Wednesday
Go to yoga, Pilates or a meditation class, and talk to someone you don't know.
Thursday
Take a different route to work; watch Countdown or Brainteaser.
Friday
Avoid caffeine or alcohol; memorise your shopping list.
who wudnt want to be 40% cleverer..
hyeah:
none have much effect 
but i better stick to my routine... keep arguing logically not to win but to think and reason out almost everything in life.... it really helps...