# Three hobbies linked to sharper minds

> Reading, music and strategy games keep showing up in studies of how people get smarter.
- Title: Three hobbies linked to sharper minds · Psychologies
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: psychology, hobbies, intelligence, reading, cognition, Three, linked, sharper, minds, Psychologies
- Source: Psychologies — https://psychologies.com/moi/se-connaitre/Les-psys-sont-formels-les-personnes-attirees-par-ces-3-loisirs-sont-souvent-plus-intelligentes-que-la-moyenne-615468
- Author: Louise Leboyer
- Published: 2026-09-13T10:28:30+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: psychology, hobbies, intelligence, reading, cognition
## 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
## Key takeaway

Intelligence is partly a habit loop: the hobbies you pick feed back into how well you think.