Want to Be Smarter? Get Some Sleep

By Judith Kleinfeld / Source: Anchorage Daily News

A friend of mine is worrying himself sleepless about getting enough sleep. He is convinced that he just isn't smart after a short night's sleep.

He's right, finds Robert Stickgold, a Harvard medical professor, and Jeffrey Ellenbogen, chief of the sleep division at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Sleep increases your judgment, creativity and memory.

The advice to "sleep on it" before we decide to go to accept a new job or make other life choices, is backed up by the latest research.

Sleep makes you smarter, but you have to get enough sleep and the right kind of sleep. You need more than six hours, and most of us, especially teenagers, don't get nearly enough sleep to be sharp the next day.

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How to Be Less Stupid

By James Altucher

I'm really stupid. I can tell you in advance. I think at heart, if I work at it, I can be smart. But at the moment I'm largely an idiot. I feel I have the right knowledge but I let a lot of stuff get in the way. You know: "stuff". Worries, guilt, paranoia, grudges, resentment. Like, for instance: I resent the people who resent me. I think they resent me for no reason. So now I resent them. What a circle-jerk!

I used to think when I added stuff to my brain I'd get smarter. But this is not true. For instance, if I look up when Charlemagne was born I'd just add a fact to my head which I will forget tomorrow. This won't make me smarter. Subtraction, and not Addition, is what makes the window to the brain more clear, wipes away the smudges, opens the drapes.

One example: the day I lost the deal to do Tupac's website, I had a chess lesson afterwards. I couldn't play at all. It was like I didn't even know the rules. My instructor said, "what's wrong with you today?" But I was ashamed. And angry at myself. So my intelligence went way down. Like 80% down.

So here's my great list.

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The Simplest Way to Get Smarter

By Jeff Haden/ Source: INC.

Sure, exercise is good for your health. We all know that. But exercise is also a scientifically proven way to make yourself smarter.

According to Gretchen Reynolds, author of the soon to be released The First 20 Minutes, a book about the science of exercise, recent research shows that exercise can help your brain resist physical shrinkage and improve cognitive flexibility.

"Exercise," she writes in the New York Times, "...does more to bolster thinking than thinking does."

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