Daniel Lemire's blog

, 11 min read

How to become smarter

13 thoughts on “How to become smarter”

  1. Tom says:

    Omega-3 is the HOTTEST nutritional supplement in the world – because it works and the verdict on Omega-3 is now clearer than ever, it is the fatty acid that it is essential for keeping cells healthy.

    Omega 3 has been found to have anti-inflammatory properties and aid in preventing eczema, psoriasis. One experiment designed to test the efficacy of fish oil on psoriasis showed that people with inflammatory conditions whom were treated with omega-3 resulted in decrease of overall severity and scaling.

    It is essential and beneficial in both human and animal diets. Essential to the Human Body, necessary for both mental and physical health and is the primary component of healthy brain cells The brain is made of fat, especially the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, so obtaining sufficient omega-3 is crucial for cognitive functioning and mood.

    In fact, omega-3 is used to treat people with elevated TG and who suffer from pancreatic disease that does not respond to drugs.

    The fish oil is believed to reduce the stiffness and pain in the joints of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers. Also important for the health of your heart. Omega-3 fatty acids are used in the body to make, repair, and maintain cell membranes. Omitting omega-3 is considered malpractice.

    This essential fatty acid can only be acquired through nutritional intake, as our bodies do not produce it. Doctor’s minimal daily recommendation for Omega-3 is 1000 mg per day. The most effective omega-3 is from fatty fish from cold water.

  2. Mattg says:

    I normally walk one hour every day. Walk is really something which helps.

  3. Ivan says:

    Good ideas. Maybe I should try some of them.

    Ahd p-l-e-a-s-e look up the dif. between ‘loose’ and ‘lose’.

  4. Andy Loore says:

    You get smarter by using your brain and your body! Eat healthy and learn something new whenever you can. The schools today don’t encourage using your brain as everyone wants an easy quick fix, and as a result tests are too easy. I put my son on a memory program, “real memory improvement” and he went from a c student to straight A’s. The tests today are a joke, with all that multiple choice, they should become harder.

  5. Alvin says:

    I have to agree with having enough sleep. Experiences of working through late nights have taught me that my brain can’t think as well as normal, and I tends to be in a daze, thinking about…well, absolutely nothing.

  6. Lynne says:

    Don’t underestimate the power of physical exercise on the brain, as well as the body. A short brisk walk is a great start.

  7. Brian says:

    Very good post. Walking is exceptional and a good weight training regimen is also a great idea. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. You don’t even need to go to a gym. Just grab a set of dummbbell and an exercise bike and you’re good to go.

    Lifting weights has been proven to increase bone density, improve circulation and it exercise releases endorphins, the pleasure chemicals of the brain, so your mood improves. Can’t beat that.

  8. Jeremy says:

    Well, here’s a great article that gives insight on how exercising can improve your brain’s abilities and make you smarter!

    http://www.smarter-mind.com/exercising-makes-you-smarter

    It seems that physical activity is more beneficial than it seems

  9. Scott says:

    I found this website on becoming smarter:

    http://www.BecomingSmarter.com

    They have a couple of techniques in there too

  10. Thanks for the tips. There is evidence that sleep deprivation hurts your brain functioning. Here’s an article discussing it.
    http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/full/64/7/E25

  11. Matt Carter says:

    Hi Daniel,

    Yep, it seems a lot of the comments are veering in this direction about physical exercise and mental health. To add my two-penneth…if you’re doing weight training, then there’s a body of thought suggesting one of the supplements used for that may also increase intelligence as well. It’s called Creatine, which our bodies produce naturally anyway, but recent research points in support of it having significant effect on memory and intelligence also. Got the info from this weight training program
    over at http://www.honestmusclegain.com

    Cheers,
    Matt

  12. I also agree with having enough sleep. Sometimes, I urge to finish some part of the code because I think it would be better before going to sleep. I plan to see the results on the other day after leaving the tests for running for all night. But unfortunately, all I see is a messy code full of small mistakes and I write most of the part from scratch when I feel that my brain works properly again 🙂

    An additional item I would like to add is music. Playing a musical instrument helps to regain motivation and energy. At least for me…

  13. Ahmed says:

    Thanks for an interesting post on a “million-dollar” topic. I also like that you linked to references at the bottom of your post.

    Your first point “work on projects that motivate you” is the strongest, imho.

    I also liked your point about not expecting to become a pro in a day, and therefore focusing always on the next step.

    Would have loved to expand on the doing/tinkering versus learning thought.

    Come back to important projects regularly – is valuable advice. How do you decide what is “important”?

    Most of the rest of your ideas I find speculative and unproven. E.g., Discard ideas regularly?!

    Omega 3 is probably only important when you’re dead loaded and are super-stressed. Under normal circumstances, it will probably be dumped, or stored as fat, by your body.

    Coffee! People have so many issues with it. Time and again studies have shown that two-three cups of coffee a day will not harm you, they will more likely benefit you. By all means stop coffee if you dislike addiction, dislike coffee’s taste, get too hyper, dislike the discolouring of your teeth, etc.