Untethered Mind

Untethered Mind

Ten simple habits that quickly raise your intelligence

Alex Mathers's avatar
Alex Mathers
Jun 07, 2026
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Have you ever done one of those online IQ tests or intelligence tests?

If you’ve ever re-taken the same test, you may have noticed it’s pretty easy to score higher once you’ve played the ‘game’ a few times.

Intelligence isn’t a number we’re handed at birth in an envelope.

There are various kinds of intelligence and some malleability to it.

Improving our intelligence requires understanding the game and forming good intelligence-boosting habits.

Here are some habits that raise your general intelligence:

Sleeping more than 7 hours per night.

Enough studies have been done to drill the point home that if you don’t get your Zs in each night, you become stupider.

Do what you can to get those 7–9 hours daily.

Head to pillow is time well spent when your mood, creativity and mental acuity multiply in your waking hours.

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