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Five Ways Crossword Puzzles Boost Your Brain

Are you in love with the littleblack-and-white chequered box that comes with the newspaper every day? Arecrossword puzzles your preferred brain-tickle while you get ready to faceanother morning?

Well, Crossword Puzzles Day is comingup on 21^st December, and we just wanted to tell you, you’re doinggreat! For Crossword puzzles are not just fun, they’re great for your brain inseveral ways. Here are five ways doing crosswords boost your brain.

1. Vocabulary building and memory – Crossword puzzles are agreat way to learn new words – and their correct spellings – in a fun andengaging way. Doing crosswords everyday can expand your vocabulary greatly, andthe exercise puts you in practice for learning new things outside crosswords.It also exercises your memory regularly, thereby improving your ability torecall and remember. All of this results in better verbal skills too, as a recentstudy published in the Irish Journal of Psychology found.
2. Logical thinking and problem solving – Crosswords require manyskills that we need in real life. It takes thinking creatively, it takesperseverance, and the ability to move logically – all of which are necessaryfor problem solving. Doing crosswords regularly hone these skills, and make youa better problem-solver in real life too.
3. Relieves stress and anxiety – Crosswords are a greatstress-buster. They take our attention away from the stressors and activate thereward circuit of positive neurotransmitters in our brain when we successfullycomplete one, which makes us feel good. It also gives us a sense ofaccomplishment which positively impacts our daily work. For people with Anxietyissues, crosswords can be a great grounding exercise. They help our minds to calmdown and focus on processing the puzzle at hand, which can alleviate anxietysymptoms or at least take the edge off it.
4. Improves Focus – Crosswords needcontinued attention and focus to complete them successfully. For people who areeasily distracted, crosswords can be a fun way to practice focusing on onething alone. Going through this practice regularly improves focus in otherareas of life too.
5. May help with Dementia/Alzheimer’s – A study byUniversity of California, Berkeley found direct correlation betweenengagement in mentally stimulating activities such as crossword puzzles and alowered risk of memory-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Thestudy finds, doing these activities regularly prevents the build up of toxicproteins like beta-amyloid in the brain, which are the main component of thebrain-plaques that characterizes Alzheimer’s and related diseases of the brain.Although Alzheimer’s is a complex disease and many factors contribute to itsdevelopment, it seems keeping your mind stimulated with crossword puzzles willhelp and not harm the cause.

ConclusionCrosswords are challenging, fun, and a great activity to improve your mood with myriad benefits. So if you are not one of those puzzle-heads, try giving it a go this Crossword Puzzle Day. Who knows, you might start enjoying it. Trust us, your brain definitely will.