system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Can executive functions be improved?

Hello. Apparently fluid intelligence can not be improved, yet. Can we do something about executive functions? Wikipedia article about executive functions says it can be improved at any age.

I am 22. Perhaps, I can specifically do certain things since the prefrontal cortex gets myelinated between ages 20-30? Can adults above 30 do something to improve their executive function?
gpt
Studies show that meditation builds executive function.  The most useful part of executive function is that it controls impulsivity, and that is something that meditation helps with.  The less executive function you have, the more you are on autopilot when it comes to your emotional control and decision making. Meditation helps you recognize the physical signs of emotion, which allows you to head them off, or put a gap between feeling and action in order to make a conscious choice.  "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Kahneman covers a lot of this, definitely worth a read.  Essentially, your brain is lazy and wants expediency and efficiency, so it tries to spend as much time on autopilot as possible.  That time on autopilot does nothing to build executive function, so being conscious of, and questioning your automatic reactions to things and automatic thoughts and beliefs are also ways to build executive function (in addition to meditation).

Gallant, S. N. (2016). Mindfulness meditation practice and executive functioning: Breaking down the benefit. Consciousness and cognition, 40, 116-130.

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Macmillan. 

Luu, K., & Hall, P. A. (2017). Examining the acute effects of hatha yoga and mindfulness meditation on executive function and mood. Mindfulness, 8(4), 873-880.

Short, M. M., Mazmanian, D., Ozen, L. J., & Bédard, M. (2015). Four days of mindfulness meditation training for graduate students: A pilot study examining effects on mindfulness, self-regulation, and executive function. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 2(1).

Tang, Y. Y., Yang, L., Leve, L. D., & Harold, G. T. (2012). Improving executive function and its neurobiological mechanisms through a mindfulness‐based intervention: Advances within the field of developmental neuroscience. Child development perspectives, 6(4), 361-366.

Taren, A. A., Gianaros, P. J., Greco, C. M., Lindsay, E. K., Fairgrieve, A., Brown, K. W., ... & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Mindfulness meditation training and executive control network resting state functional connectivity: a randomized controlled trial. Psychosomatic medicine, 79(6), 674.