Hamburg - Intense social networking with family and friends helps improve your intelligence and memory more than any other method, according to German researcher Siegfried Lehrl of the University of Erlangen.

Quoted in the latest edition of the magazine Vital, Lehrl said that while mind games and puzzles such as Sudoku improve memory, social interaction activates the brain on several levels with the positive effects becoming especially visible during the course of a lifetime.

Several studies found that people who meet regularly with other people had much better cognitive abilities or brain-based skills needed for the simplest to the most complex task compared to a group with less social interaction, the report said.

It is never too late to learn, said the researchers, and recommended a combination of physical workouts and mind training. A successful learning ability was linked to determination.

"You have to repeat what you are learning often until the information settles in the brain and you get better and better," according to Dr Karin Hille of Department of Neurosciences at the University of Ulm in Germany.

To be successful, Hille recommends learning a subject which you find really interesting and creating a positive learning environment. (dpa)