Benefits Of Doing Jigsaw Puzzles

First of all – this must be mentioned: Disclaimer here - I am not a Doctor. The following is based on information gathering only and is no way to be intended for any type of medical or mental well being advice in a professional manner.

We hear about the benefits of doing jigsaw puzzles but let' s talk about them. First, we know a good portion of puzzlers tend to be the retired sector and usually that comes along with physical health conditions such as sore, arthritic hands, development of poor vision, perhaps ergonomic related situations. All of which take a toll on day to day activities.

Now, the people that know say

‘ sitting is the new smoking ’ yet the majority of puzzlers are sitting to do them. We would like to suggest that it would be in your best interest, if possible, for you to stand to do your puzzles. But it will be important that your table height is the correct level for you. So we suggest using table ‘ risers ’ to match the correct level for you while you are standing on a good solid mat under your feet with comfortable shoes or slippers. I have found it to make a world of difference to puzzle in these circumstances so I hope you will find a way to accommodate yourself in the same way.

Now let' s talk about how jigsaw puzzles may help the left and right brain. I am a huge fan of mental wellness and have done jigsaw puzzles throughout my life. During my own life span, I too have needed to find ways to de-stress, unwind and relax.

And there was not always endless hours or space to do jigsaw puzzles so I had to find other ways. During my research I have discovered the following information on how our brain works and how it applies to working jigsaw puzzles…..it’ s interesting….ok, so check this out……

I have discovered our mind has two separate hemispheres or lobes called right and left-brain which you have probably already heard of. Each side does different functions.

They say Right side brain deals with emotions and performs tasks like mental and social factors. Then they say the Left side brain functions in language and movements.

Using both the sides of the brain is like brain exercise and this is where jigsaw puzzling helps you to exercise BOTH sides of your brain.

Here ’ s briefly how it works (I’ ve been

‘ schooled’ on this). They say the left brain does the thinking, likes to make the lists and be organized. Then the right brain takes care of the creativity and emotions.

Now look at the jigsaw puzzle - the left brain likes to organize the loose pieces into their respective positions and the right brain sees the creativity of the puzzle image unfold right in front of our eyes, caressing our emotions with enthusiasm and a sense of achievement and accomplishment.

You will not notice your left and right brain cells actively working together at the same time but the continuous activity of thoughts in the brain that involves ALL the cells of the brain actually increases the brain ' s capacity, so the Experts say.

Research and studies are constantly being produced showing how doing jigsaw puzzles (for the brain) and maintaining a fully active lifestyle (for the body) may gain you a longer lifespan and reduce or delay future long term old age problems such as Alzheimer ’ s, memory loss and/or dementia. Now this is important! Our brain produces dopamine, which gives us the capacity to learn and maintain our memory level. That said, while solving a jigsaw puzzle the brain increases the production of dopamine - it’ s like watering your own brain seeds….the jigsaw puzzle being the ‘ water ’ and the brain cells being the ‘ seeds ’ .

So when you

' re having fun, these brain cells are more active. That means they release a lot of dopamine and your brain judges that less time has passed than actually has. Therefore you may find yourself wondering, “how come the time flies by so fast when I’ m puzzling?” Now you have your answer. It’ s another one of the important benefits to puzzling especially if you are in a situation where your time needs to be filled due to certain circumstances.

And there

’ s more benefits! First, talk about increasing our concentration or keeping us alert! BUT - don ’t forget the visualization.

Doing the constant focus of the next piece to create the bigger picture provides us with a high level of mental activity which in turn rewards us in the form of physical health by lowering our breathing, reducing our heart rate and decreasing our blood pressure - which is kind of a form of meditation in itself. You can reap these benefits by doing jigsaw puzzles on a daily basis even if it is for only a half hour. It will give your brain a well deserved break from the chaos spinning in your mind/life. It may help increase and/or maintain your memory levels, it may improve how your brain functions and may assist in decreasing your daily stress levels.

Like meditation, it takes some time to recognize the changes in how you feel by doing jigsaw puzzles but in my opinion, not as long as meditation does. That’ s why I like ‘ quick-fix ’ jigsaw puzzles.

And lastly, here

’ s my tip to you……DO BOTH!……a daily solid half hour of meditation and another daily solid half hour of jigsaw puzzling is THE best NATURAL solution that has proved to provide THE most positive results for me…….

ps….the jigsaw puzzling usually does not end in a half hour either.....just sayin