8 Things Smart People Stop Doing Once They Realize They’re Making Themselves Less Intelligent
Some of your habits could actually be damaging your brain.
Vovatol / Shutterstock Intelligence isn't just what you know. It's also what you choose to do. We pick up habits because they make us feel happy, productive, or socially accepted, but they can also sometimes work against us.
You may not realize it, but certain habits can actually slow your thinking and cloud your judgment. The smartest people recognize this and know how to unlearn pesky habits that hold them back.
Here are 8 things smart people stop doing once they realize they're making themselves less intelligent:
1. Eating a lot of sugar
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When we consume sugar, our blood glucose level rises. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because glucose is an essential fuel for our brains. It actually utilizes one-half of the energy produced from the sugar that we store in our bodies. However, the problem starts when we introduce too much glucose into the body.
Studies have linked chronically high blood sugar to cognitive impairment. Excess glucose in the blood decreases the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is a crucial chemical for the brain to process new memories and recall information. As a result, a high-sugar diet restricts the brain’s capability to learn and form memories.
2. Having too much screen time
Modern technology and the pandemic have made screen time unavoidable over the past couple of years. Though some people prefer working remotely, it can have some negative effects on our social and mental health.
Face-to-face meetings are really valuable for our mental health. People are spending way more time on screens than ever, and missing out on the valuable cognitive activity that happens when interacting in person. A study led by Austrian scientists examined how mental health was affected by the conditions of the pandemic. They found that "people who generally spent more time on face-to-face and digital text communication during the lockdown had better mental health than people who generally spent less time on face-to-face and digital text communication."
Looking at screens all day long can significantly interrupt your quality of sleep, and it has even been proven to increase depression and anxiety. To avoid damaging your brain in the long run, set a clear limit for your screen time. Health experts suggest that, outside of work, screen time for adults shouldn't exceed two hours per day.
3. Not getting enough sleep
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We all know that our central nervous system is our body’s main information highway. Sleep is vital for your body to function perfectly, but severe insomnia can cause disruptions in how your body transmits and processes information.
Pathways are established between nerve cells (neurons) in your brain during sleep that help you recall new knowledge. Sleep deprivation drains your brain, making it unable to perform its functions effectively. Mayo Clinic has some great tips on how to sleep better at night, including having a consistent sleeping schedule, getting physical activity every day, and creating an optimal environment for resting.
Sometimes, sleep deprivation can make you more susceptible to micro-sleep, which is when people fall asleep for a short period of up to 30 seconds. Out-of-control microsleep can be fatal, especially when you are in the driver's seat. Sleep expert Dr. Samuel Gurevich said, "It’s important to recognize it’s happening and the situations that cause it and to take it seriously. Sleepiness causes a significant number of car and industrial accidents. Microsleep can have big impacts on you and those around you."
4. Overeating
Overeating and eating unhealthy foods are believed to be bad habits that lead to long-term consequences for the brain. Dr. Mireille Serlie, a professor of medicine, found in her recent research that people who are obese have an impaired brain response that struggles to detect nutrients in the stomach.
She explained, "In neuroimaging studies in humans, we found differences in brain areas involved in food intake between people with a healthy weight and those with obesity. We don’t know exactly when these changes in the brain occur and when they become more permanent. But we do know that specific eating patterns and diet compositions are associated with weight gain, suggesting specific nutrients play a role."
Overeating has a physical impact on your body and puts you at risk for major health problems, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, all of which are known to also be linked to brain diseases.
5. Multitasking
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People who multitask are persistently distracted, and they aren’t nearly as focused as those who use their brains to work on one task at a time. Multitaskers have a harder time filtering out extraneous information since they are using all parts of the brain at once, and they often take longer to complete tasks than those who just work on one task at a time.
Research shows that multitaskers have reduced density in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which plays a key role in attention, decision-making, error detection, and emotion regulation. Other studies have also found that "heavy multitaskers were slower in detecting changes in visual patterns, more susceptible to false recollections of the distractors during a memory task, and were slower in task switching." If you want to work most efficiently and effectively, science says that multitasking isn't the way to go.
6. Subjecting themselves to loud noises
Your ears are delicate organs, and the noises you hear daily, like traffic and construction, not only affect your hearing but also your cognitive function. A study of over 5,000 Chicago residents revealed that, for every 10 decibel (dB) increase in residential noise level, there was a 36% increase in the risk of mild cognitive impairment and a 29% increase in the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. If you live in a big city, you may want to invest in some ear protection for the sake of your brain.
Ear infections can also create difficulties for hearing and neurological complications in the long run. Studies have shown that hearing loss, facial paralysis, meningitis, and brain abscesses can be unfortunate side effects of ear infections.
7. Not getting daily movement
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Sometimes, we struggle with finding the motivation to go to the gym or stick to our health goals. However, we might be a little more motivated knowing that exercise is crucial to maintaining brain health.
Frank Booth and Nathan Kerr, researchers at the University of Missouri, discovered in a recent study that only 10 days of being physically inactive can lead to insulin resistance and an increase in reactive oxygen species production in the hippocampus, which is a brain region involved in memory and learning.
Muscle disuse has also been associated with Alzheimer's disease. Booth said, "Research in Alzheimer’s development is starting to show that a lot of the neurological changes for Alzheimer’s disease are occurring when people are in their 40s and 50s, even if the official diagnosis of Alzheimer’s often comes at or after age 65. So, if you can develop good habits in terms of exercise and lifestyle earlier in your life, your brain will thank you later on."
8. Consuming constant information
It's called "information overload," and our brains simply can't keep up. The rising popularity of short-form content and a decrease in attention spans cause us to take in an absurd amount of information constantly. The brain only has so much capacity for processing data, and it can easily become fatigued. When your brain is overtired, you won't be able to think clearly or make decisions properly.
This often occurs when multitasking, which leads to the release of cortisol (a stress hormone) and adrenaline, which both contribute to triggering the "fight or flight" response in the body. Continuously shifting focus can affect how well you can recall or retain important information and decrease your ability to sift through unnecessary information.
Sufyan Maan is a freelance writer who writes about personal growth and how to invest in yourself. He has been featured on Vocal Media, News Break, Better Humans, and more.
