Improve Your Mental Acuity by Engaging in Word and Number Puzzles Daily

Researchers have long held the belief that problem-solving activities (crossword puzzles, sudoku puzzles, and other “brain games’’) improve brain function and slow the normal cognitive decline caused by aging.

A recent study conducted by the University of Exeter and King’s College London suggests this might be true. The study analyzed differences between those who engaged with word and number puzzles on a regular basis and those who did not. 19,000 people between ages fifty and ninety-three participated in the study over the course of one week. Results were publishing in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and included the following:

• Those that frequently completed crossword puzzles or solved Sudoku puzzles had sharper performances “across a range of tasks” that included reasoning, memory, and attention.

• People who engaged with word puzzles on a daily basis performed as well as those ten years their junior.

• Those who engaged with numbers puzzles on a daily basis performed as well as those eight years their junior.

• Both groups had faster reaction times when asked to press buttons flashing on a computer screen.

Regardless of the results of this study and others like it, one thing is certain: solving mentally-challenging problems is a lot of fun and a great way to pass the time! Test your cognitive and memory skills with two advanced Sudoku puzzles and a crossword puzzle (provided courtesy of YES! magazine and puzzle writer Patrick Blindauer). Find puzzle solutions on page eighty.