Want to be smarter? IQ is not a fixed number that can’t be influenced. You can actually boost your IQ with these 5 practical steps:

1) Take on a new task. new and novel stimulate the brain in a good way.

2) Work in a setting that involves complex relationships, dealing with people, difficult problems or establishing systems. An 1999 study in Psychology of Aging showed that simple jobs that demand little thought result in declining test scores. The more you can challenge the brain in complex ways, the better.

3) Stay in school. School makes you think in creative ways. Math classes, abstract reasoning and other complex skills are used in school and push the brain towards working smarter.

4) Practice switching mental tasks quickly.  Your IQ scores could elevate.

5) Take music lessons and continue to play. Amazingly, music lessons are associated with higher IQ through life. So don’t be upset if your mom forced you to take piano lessons! And if you keep up the music practice at least a decade or more, your IQ tends to go higher!