It is really important for men to have a hobby that they can use to unwind and relax after a long week at work, but relaxation is not the only reason to take up a hobby. There are many leisure activities, you can do that will also help to make you smarter, and that means they are not only great for relaxing but they could also help you to advance in your professional life and improve your abilities in creative and intellectual areas too.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best hobbies to make you smarter:

Exercise

Yes, exercise is one of the main hobbies that can improve your intellect. It has long been known that being active can increase the blood flow to your brain, which will help to clear your head and allow you to function at optimal levels of intellect. Of course, you will need to actually challenge your brains with puzzles or a work problem, for instance, immediately after revising for the biggest benefits, but adding exercise into your day will mean your brain is working better at any time of the day no matter what you might be doing, so hit the gym, join a soccer team or take up running and see how much smarter you feel.

Strategy games

From chess to Magic The Gathering, any games that require you to think strategically about your next move, will help to strengthen the area of your brain that deals with logic. Just bear in mind that they could get addictive and you might end up collecting a heap of Magic cards or more chess boards than you know what to do with!

Reading

It’s an obvious point, but the more you read, no matter whether you are reading biographies of your heroes, non-fiction books about science, or novels about the human condition, the smarter you will ultimately be. Reading up opens up the world and lays bare thoughts facts and feelings about the human condition. If you are serious about improving your intellect, aim to read for at least 30 minutes each day, and not only will you be smarter, but you will find that your new hobby is extremely relaxing too.

Meditate

Meditation might not seem like the most exciting hobby, after all, it involves sitting quietly and watching your breath for a while, but it can be quite addictive when you see how much calmer, cooler, and collected you feel afterwards. Not only that, but meditation has been proven to be able to help you change your brain, enlarging the areas of the brain that you focus on the most., So, it is totally possible to improve your intelligence by meditating and focusing on, say, creativity or compassion to boost your intelligence in those areas.

Adding any of these hobbies into your life is likely to see you become smarter, think more creatively, and be more effective in your daily life, so what are you waiting for?