In addition to being enjoyable, solving puzzles requires a serious mental effort.
Both families and individuals can enjoy solving puzzles. It doesn’t matter if your preferred problem is a 1,000-piece jigsaw, the Sunday crossword puzzle from the New York Times, a wooden brain teaser, or a 3D mechanical puzzle; all puzzles have one thing in common: they stimulate your brain. In the digital age, puzzles are still highly popular, although this trend has a very long history.
Since the time of the ancient world, puzzles have appeared in a variety of forms. The Bible refers to riddles, and puzzle jugs from Cyprus dating to 1700 BCE, and magic squares first appeared in China around 700 BCE. In the modern era, John Spilsbury produced the jigsaw puzzle in 1767; in 1913, newspapers began publishing crossword puzzles; and in 1974, the Rubik’s Cube was developed.
Puzzles come in a virtually infinite number of types and varieties. Did you know that adult brains can benefit from puzzles as well? We all know how useful puzzles are for children because of the physical and cognitive brain skills they nurture. Puzzles are beneficial to your brain in seven particular ways. So clear the coffee table, sharpen your pencils, and prepare for a mental boost.
Puzzles Train Your Brain on Both Sides
Different brain functions are controlled by each of your two hemispheres. Your brain’s right side governs creativity, while the left side governs analytical and logical thought. When you solve a puzzle, your brain is working hard because you are using all sides of it.
They Strengthen Memory
Puzzles are a terrific technique to increase short-term memory since they strengthen the connections between our brain cells and create new ones. When we recall forms, sizes, and pieces from a jigsaw puzzle and picture how they go together, we are using memory to complete the puzzle. According to studies, Alzheimer’s patient’s brain damage can be lessened through the formation of new brain connections.
They Strengthen Memory
Puzzles are a terrific technique to increase short-term memory since they strengthen the connections between our brain cells and create new ones. When we recall forms, sizes, and pieces from a jigsaw puzzle and picture how they go together, we are using memory to complete the puzzle. According to studies, Alzheimer’s patient’s brain damage can be lessened through the formation of new brain connections.
They Improve Mental Acuity, Vision, and Spatial Skills
When looking at individual jigsaw puzzle pieces or crossword puzzle pieces, you must be able to picture the arrangement of the pieces or the words in their appropriate spaces. According to USA Today, regularly doing this could improve your capacity for visual and spatial reasoning, making you a better driver and perhaps a Tetris-like packer (especially when loading your car to take a college-age child to school).
They Make You Feel Better
One of the ways that puzzles improve the brain is by increasing dopamine levels, a neurotransmitter that controls mood, memory, and concentration. Every time we complete the puzzle, dopamine is produced. Why are puzzles so enjoyable?
Your Stress Levels Are Reduced
Our brains benefit from puzzles, but they are also quite calming. Our minds are only focused on one activity while we are trying to figure out how to solve the problem, which stimulates our brains.
They can raise your IQ level.
Puzzles increase our IQs because they strengthen our memory, focus, language, and thinking abilities. Doing puzzles for at least 25 minutes a day can increase your IQ by 4 points, according to a University of Michigan study.
Source: Plato Data Intelligence: PlatoData.io