Eating eggs and listening to classical music can boost IQ levels, according to scientists.

Switching off mobile telephones - whose rings can distract a brain that was in deep concentration for as long as 15 minutes - is another way to increase intellect.

Scientists were asked to come up with 11 methods to boost brain power that did not involve traditional education. Among the recommendations were high protein food, a good night's sleep and physical and mental workouts, as well as music, medicine and even puzzles such as Sudoku.

But the stimuli have to be the correct sort according to the geneticists, mathematicians and other experts consulted by the journal New Scientist, reports Scottish daily Scotsman.

Fizzy drinks should be avoided but high protein food such as baked beans for breakfast or eggs at lunchtime are good for the brain. Having breakfast of some sort rather than skipping it altogether enhances mental performance.

Listening to Mozart in particular has been proved to improve the mind's mathematical capabilities but even having music lessons can boost a child's IQ by two to three points, the scientists said.

Another simple trick is to get a good night's sleep after trying to learn something for a couple of hours, because that is when the brain stores memories for the long term. Alternatively some drugs can be beneficial.

"It doesn't matter how brainy you are or how much education you've had - there are still ways to boost your mental faculties. This is New Scientist's guide to getting smarter," a spokesman said.

The 11 steps to getting smarter included bionic brains - using electrodes to send small currents to boost the brain and neurofeedback - a type of thought control.

Card games such as rain man memory - where a whole pack of 52 playing cards are individually associated with a character and a story is devised including all the characters in order - and even walking sedately for half an hour three times a week can improve learning, concentration and reasoning by up to 15 percent, particularly for older people.