9 Habits That Cause Lower Intelligence, Trivial But Important To Watch Out For

Illustration of habits that cause intelligence to decrease (Freepic)

YOGYAKARTA - Have you ever felt that your brain feels 'smot' on certain days? It could be that the cause is not because it is not smart enough, but because of daily habits that hinder your cognitive function. Launching Our Mental Health, Wednesday, August 6, there are several surprising things that can temporarily reduce intelligence. The good news is that these things can be avoided with small awareness and changes. Come on, see what trivial habits need to be watched out for because the effect can reduce intelligence.

Lack of sleep, both time and quality, makes the brain lose the opportunity to clean up information that is not needed. This lack of rest can reduce memory, attention, and speed of thinking. In fact, one night of lack of sleep can make it easier for you to forget and find it difficult to concentrate. So, prioritize quality sleep for 79 hours per night.

Even though it looks productive, multitasking can actually make brain performance decrease. The human brain can actually only focus on one task at a time effectively. When forced to do many things at once, the ability to store and process information decreases. The final result? You become more tired mentally and your work can take longer.

Sugar is indeed a source of fast energy, but in large numbers it can interfere with brain function. Excessive sugar consumption can cause memory loss and difficulty concentrating. In addition, a jump in blood sugar also triggers fatigue afterward, which makes you slow. Try switching to natural sugar sources such as fruits.

Your brain is mostly made up of water, so a lack of fluids will immediately have an impact on its function. Dehydration can cause headaches, weakness, and decreased logical thinking skills. Even losing 1.2 percent of body fluids can slow down cognitive functions. Eat, drink water regularly and don't wait for thirst.

Unmanaged stress will produce excessive cortisol hormones. In the long term, this can damage the part of the brain that regulates memory and emotions, such as hippocampus. As a result, it is easier for you to forget and find it difficult to make decisions clearly. Take time to rest mentally, either through hobbies, sports, or meditation.

Lack of physical activity means reduced blood flow to the brain. This causes the brain to lack oxygen and essential nutrients, which have an impact on the ability to think. Sitting for hours without a break makes you easily sleepy and difficult to focus. To prevent this from happening, get used to waking up and moving every 30'60 minutes.

Breakfast provides early "fuel" for the brain to work optimally. Skipping it can make blood sugar levels drop drastically, causing weakness, difficulty concentrating, and easy to get emotional. Choose nutritious foods such as eggs, oatmeals, or fruit so that energy is stable. Breakfast is not only important for the body, but also for clarity of thought.

Continuous noise, especially without control, can interfere with focus and trigger mild stress. The brain will continue to be distracted by the voices around it, making it difficult to absorb information. In the long term, this can be mentally tiring. Create a quiet workspace or use a sound damper if possible.

Relying on technology to remember schedules, numbers, or small information makes the brain lazy to work. Over time, memory and attention skills can decrease because the brain is not trained. Even though technology helps, keep trying to train your memory manually. For example by writing hand records or memorizing important numbers.

Maintaining intelligence is not only a matter of reading or doing things about logic. Small daily habits have a big impact on brain performance. By improving sleep patterns, reducing stress, actively moving, and eating wisely, you help the brain stay sharp and responsive.