From Psychologies · Louise Leboyer · · 1m 20s
Three hobbies linked to sharper minds
Reading, music and strategy games keep showing up in studies of how people get smarter.
In brief
Reading, music and strategy games keep showing up in studies of how people get smarter. Intelligence is partly a habit loop: the hobbies you pick feed back into how well you think. Originally reported by Psychologies.
Hobbies feed back into the brain
Not every pastime does the same work. Research keeps finding that what you do for fun has real consequences for how you think, a loop most people never notice.
“Ce cercle vertueux de l'intelligence nous échappe parfois.”
Deep reading builds more than vocabulary
Reading widens vocabulary and general knowledge, and it quietly trains curiosity by pushing you toward things you did not know you wanted to learn.
Fiction teaches you to read people
A 2013 study found literary fiction improves the ability to understand other people's mental states. Characters are sketched, not spelled out, so you fill in the gaps.
“Nous sommes contraints de combler les lacunes pour comprendre leurs intentions et leurs motivations”
Music trains memory and attention
A 2016 review of studies on musical training found musicians scored higher on memory, attention and pattern recognition, skills that reach well beyond the instrument.
From executive control to creativity
Researchers concluded musical practice works as cognitive training, with benefits spread across functions from executive control to creativity. Early findings, but consistent ones.
“La pratique musicale peut constituer un entraînement cognitif utile”
Strategy games are underrated
Games get the least credit of the three. A 2024 study found strategy video games can reshape attention, reaction and memory. Chess and puzzles do the same work.
“Les jeux stratégiques ont le potentiel de modifier, voire de développer, certaines fonctions cognitives”
What to remember
Intelligence is partly a habit loop: the hobbies you pick feed back into how well you think.
