What are some ways to increase my IQ and my intelligence level?

Reading is an excellent way but there are problem solving games that can also stimulate brain function. Sodoku, Crossword puzzles, and a variety of online brain games such as Lumosity will even tell you what part of the brain will be stimulated to what games they offer. Diet is also an important factor in increasing or lowering your IQ stimulation.

Note that Intelligence and IQ are two different things.

IQ is basically your test score. IQ is based on long discredited ideas about human potential. It doesn’t predict very well success in academics or in life. There are lots of geniuses who are homeless or live in the margins of society and there are low scoring individuals who are vastly successful. All it takes is getting better at taking IQ tests to raise your IQ.

Intelligence can mean a lot of things; what kind of intelligence? You can get better at abstract thought, learn logic and criticism, get better at understanding emotions of other people, develop better problem solving skills, or study Shakespeare, Bible, classical through modern philosophers, major literary works, and popular TV shows to develop cultural knowledge. All of these things will make you more intelligent in different ways.

What most people think of as “intelligence” is potential. This is what IQ tests attempt to measure. Even if it was possible to measure human potential many people who are intellectually lazy never exploit much of their potential while many others far exceed expectations.