Are You Losing Your Intelligence: Signs That Tell It All

Our busy lifestyle is such that in order to keep up with the routine we do certain things that affect and in fact lower our cognitive abilities. Some activities are a routine that decrease our brainpower. Even though as hard as you may try, it lowers the cognitive abilities. Let us find out whether you are losing your intelligence and the signs that say it all.

Dim lighting

As per a research carried out by a group of researchers in the University of Michigan there is a link between dim lighting and diminished sense of learning ability. The natural rhythm that we follow is being active during the day time and sleeping at the night. Dim light in office and homes lowers the cognitive ability by 30 % and the hippocampus is affected due to this. Hippocampus is the same region in humans too that is responsible to learning and memory. When human brain is exposed to dim light for prolonged period their productivity is lowered due to poor functioning of the brain.

Smartphones

Smartphones are the way of our life and we are constantly using it throughout the day. 800 smartphone users were kept under observation by the Texas University. While one group was asked to leave their phone in another room others were allowed to mute and keep their phones with them.

The research concluded that due to the habit of constantly checking their phones the subconscious works against any other task they are trying to focus upon. When the phone is removed completely, the subconscious breaks the cycle of fighting the urge to constantly check the phone.

Processed food

Gorging on processed food early on life is known to have negative impact on the cognitive performance. It is the conclusion of researchers who conducted studies on the level of intelligence of young children who are indulged in eating processed foods on a regular basis. Kids who were regularly on fast food or processed diet were found to have lower IQs than those who were on healthy and balanced diet. A diet full of vitamins and nutrients boosts the brain power and develops the brain that is exactly opposite to what the fast food does to the brain.

Multitasking

As par studies conducted by scientists multitasking is not a good thing. Human brain is not meant to multitask, it is designed to focus on one thing at a given time. When any individual is multitasking, the brain is under pressure to focus back and forth for multitasking. This results in less successful completion of any given task that the person is trying to handle at the given time. As for people who take pride in their ability to indulge in multitasking were actually found to be worse at managing numerous tasks at a given time period as per the results of Stanford University. In comparison to those who focused on one task at a given time were able to perform better and focus better. Multitasking decreases the IQ by 10 point.

Consuming sugar

A diet high in fructose may result in decreased intelligence after only six weeks. Researchers studied the diet of people consuming high-fructose diet. They concluded that people consuming sugar performed bad on various brain tests as compared to those who were given omega-3 fatty acids they performed better. The results clearly state that even if you are on high sugary diet, you can balance it out by consuming food rich in omega-3 fatty acid that helps preserve the brain and its functionality.

Long commuting hours

Although each one of us commute for hours to our workplace, it is causing decrease in our IQ levels at the same time. After studying the lifestyle of 50 thousand people in a span of five years, it was found that majority who drove more than two hours to workplace showed decrease in their cognitive ability. Their mind was less active while on road that resulted in lack of brain stimulation that eventually contributed to decline in IQ.