The pleasures of jigsaw puzzles

Some people like the challenge. For others, it’s a way to unwind after a hectic day. Whatever the reason, jigsaw puzzles have a lot of fans. Puzzle lovers are found across the country and around the world, and metro Atlanta has its share.

Daiga Dunis of Decatur said the puzzles allow her to disconnect and focus on relaxing. “It’s a visual thing and I’m a visual person. I like the shapes and the colors in the picture. It’s kind of like meditating.”

And it’s exciting when things start to fit. “We get a bit of an endorphin surge when the pieces link together,” she added.

Good for the brain

Medical experts confirm those positive results.

“Putting a jigsaw puzzle together has many health benefits and can help reduce stress and improve memory,” Jill Riley, senior clinical operations associate in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, wrote in a 2020 blog entry.

“Puzzles are also good for the brain. Studies have shown that doing jigsaw puzzles can improve cognition and visual-spatial reasoning. The act of putting the pieces of a puzzle together requires concentration and improves short-term memory and problem solving. Using the puzzle as an exercise of the mind can spark imagination and increase both your creativity and productivity.”

Dunis, 72, said that she has particularly enjoyed working on puzzles during the pandemic, and she’s not alone.

Many flavors

Dunis says every puzzle company has a different vibe for its products. “New York Puzzle Company is a bit squirrelly,” she said. “Normally, when you work an edge, it’s pretty standard and a good safe bet. Not with theirs… something could change with it.”

Dunis prefers puzzles with clear patterns and colors. “I did one that was a picture of a peacock with an open tail. So many of the colors were exactly the same, it was very challenging,” she said. “I almost didn’t finish it, but I soldiered on and got it done.”

Puzzle manufacturers’ websites demonstrate each brand’s unique spin. Most of the sites allow you to shop by number of pieces, difficulty and specific themes, such as “flowers” or “sports,” which allows puzzlers to choose designs they’re willing to stare at for hours as they assemble the images on card tables or dining room tables or any other available surface.

Dunis builds her puzzles on a special table made of Masonite. The board has a smooth, flat, hard surface with skinny trays that slide out like drawers on the side. It allows her to move the puzzle around while she’s still working on it.

“I sort the edge pieces first, then use the trays to sort the other pieces by shape or color,” she said. If she wants to use the dining room table for something else, she “shove the drawers back in, pick it up and carry it elsewhere.”

Once she finishes a puzzle, “I stare at it for a while, snap a photo with my cellphone, then crunch it up,” Dunis said. “I take the puzzles I’ve done whenever I’m going to see people who might enjoy doing them. Just like books, I pass them on.”

Piecing it all together

Courtesy of Mosaic Puzzles

Daiga Dunis

Making it your own

Jigsaw puzzles can also be personal treasures and unique gifts. Eloise Ragsdale of Decatur has done a lot of photography over the years and found a great way to share it with others.

“We’ve been going for about