I think lots of us wonder how to keep our minds in top shape, so do puzzles actually make your mind younger? Will they help to protect us against dementia? Can they make us mentally sharper?
I often see adverts for apps saying that puzzles are great for our brains. It also seems logical that using our brains will be beneficial. So, when I set out to write this article, I expected to summarise the research on how puzzles make or keep your mind younger. But things don’t seem to be that straightforward….
I did some internet searches with the aim of finding good quality research on puzzles and brain health. My aim was to go back to the original data so that I didn’t just regurgitate information that’s already out there. My expectation was that I’d be able to write a few paragraphs showing that A, B and C researchers have proven X, Y and Z benefits of doing puzzles. But what I started to spot were articles suggesting that things were not so clear-cut. Could it be that the research doesn’t back up what we’ve been lead to believe?
A bit of background on research
Prevention of dementia is an important area of research. The difficult bit though is how do you prove that you have delayed the onset of dementia? No-one can say that a specific person will get dementia, let alone when they may see symptoms. For this reason, some research uses people who already have mild symptoms.
Normally, research uses large groups of people, split into two or more groups. Within these groups, one set will have no intervention. These are used as a baseline from which to compare the effects of intervention/s. Eventually the researchers hope that the different groups show differences. For dementia prevention research, they expect that a percentage of the baseline, no intervention group will start to see some symptoms of dementia by the end of the research period. That percentage can then be compared to the percentage in the other group/s. Often for this type of research, they focus on specific mental capabilities such as short–term memory or speed of processing information. That’s because they’re measurable.
Research on puzzles
The issue with puzzles is that some people enjoy them and some don’t. Plus we all tend to have puzzle types we enjoy, with others that we don’t. Some people have had a lifetime of puzzles. One question is do you get benefits if you’re forced to do something? Another is if doing puzzles just makes you better at doing puzzles. Also, it’s a bit chicken and egg. Has doing puzzles made your mind younger or do you have a mind that’s suited to puzzles and happens to do well at the tests. It is very difficult to actually prove cause and effect when it comes to brain health and puzzles. It is also very hard to prove longer-term effects.
So what research is there to say if puzzles make your mind younger? These are some studies that have been done (in no particular order).
- A study in America showed that when people with mild cognitive impairment started doing regular crosswords, their cognitive function improved [1].
- Another American study showed that doing puzzles helped to delay memory decline in people with mild impairment [2].
- A small study found that doing Sudoku may help areas of working memory [3].
- A good sized UK study has shown that older people who do puzzles have sharper brains [4].
- A study on regularly doing jigsaw puzzles showed an improvement in visuospatial functioning [5].
- Another study showed that an enriched, diverse lifestyle can help to reduce the risk of dementia, though puzzles had less of an effect than things like taking classes or letter writing [6].
The lack of concrete evidence that puzzles make your mind younger has actually resulted in one company being taken to court for misleading advertising. Lumosity have agreed to pay The USA Federal Trade Commission $2 million for deceptive advertising [7].
The consensus seems to be that if you enjoy doing puzzles, do them. They wont harm you and there is a chance they might help [8]. But if you’re looking for a more effective way to stave off dementia there are other things you should also do [9].
Proven ways to help your brain
So, if puzzles aren’t necessarily the answer to preventing dementia, is there anything that has been proven to help?
From what I’ve read, brain health and heart health have been well proven to be linked. So if you want a healthy brain, keep your heart healthy. It does make sense that if your brain isn’t getting a good supply of nice blood, it can’t function as well. It has been proven that having a stroke doubles your risk of dementia (dementia most of the time has a vascular component) and that high blood pressure is a big predictor of strokes [10]. So if you want to make your mind younger and reduce the risk of dementia, physical exercise is the way to go [11].
Memory problems are also linked to depression, heavy drinking and isolation [11].
What about puzzles
If puzzles haven’t been definitively proven to make your mind younger, is it worth doing them?
Even if there doesn’t seem to be enough data to say puzzles make your mind younger, stimulation is good for your brain [12]. Solving puzzles can give a release of the happy hormone dopamine [13]
Doing puzzles stimulates various parts of the brain. This can improve skills such as spatial thinking, language and reasoning [14]. People who do puzzles are usually better at tests involving memory, attention and reasoning [7]. Doing puzzles is certainly better than endless hours of mindless TV.
Summary
Writing this article has been truly enlightening. I had bought into the messaging that puzzles make your mind younger, partly because it seems logical too. I had never questioned this, perhaps because I enjoy doing puzzles. But looking at the information out there the story is less clear. Stimulation, such as puzzles, is good for our brains, but if we want to keep our mind younger we should look to keeping our heart healthy as a more important thing.
Do you think puzzles help to keep your mind younger? What’s your favourite puzzle? Please leave a comment below.
References
1. A. E. Budson (2022). Have you done your crossword puzzle today? [online] Harvard Health. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/have-you-done-your-crossword-puzzle-today-202211292857.
2. Pillai, J.A., Hall, C.B., Dickson, D.W., Buschke, H., Lipton, R.B. and Verghese, J. (2011). Association of Crossword Puzzle Participation with Memory Decline in Persons Who Develop Dementia. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS, [online] 17(6). doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617711001111 .
3. Grabbe, Jeremy. (2011). Sudoku and Working Memory Performance for Older Adults. Activities, Adaptation & Aging. 35. 241-254. [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254355415_Sudoku_and_Working_Memory_Performance_for_Older_Adults
4. ScienceDaily. (n.d.). Regular crosswords and number puzzles linked to sharper brain in later life. [online] Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190516082349.htm .
5. Fissler, P., Küster, O.C., Loy, L.S., Laptinskaya, D., Rosenfelder, M.J., von Arnim, C.A.F. and Kolassa, I.-T. (2017). Jigsaw Puzzles As Cognitive Enrichment (PACE) – the effect of solving jigsaw puzzles on global visuospatial cognition in adults 50 years of age and older: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 18(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-017-2151-9 .
6. O’Mary, L. (n.d.). Crosswords, Crafts Linked to Dementia Prevention: Study. [online] WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20230717/crosswords-crafts-linked-dementia-prevention-study
7. A. Ward. Mind tricks: Do puzzles, brain games really keep older minds sharp? [online] The Topeka Capital-Journal. Available at: https://eu.cjonline.com/story/lifestyle/health-fitness/2020/03/12/mind-tricks-do-puzzles-brain-games-really-keep-older-minds-sharp/1538806007/
8. Ageuk.org.uk. (2018). Brain exercises: Keeping the mind active | Age UK. [online] Available at: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/health-wellbeing/mind-body/staying-sharp/looking-after-your-thinking-skills/exercise-for-the-brain/.
9. www.psychologytoday.com. (n.d.). Do Brain Games Help Prevent Dementia? | Psychology Today. [online] Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evidence-based-living/202211/do-brain-games-help-prevent-dementia .
10. www.heart.org. (n.d.). Keeping your brain sharp isn’t about working more puzzles. [online] Available at: https://www.heart.org/en/news/2021/01/21/keeping-your-brain-sharp-isnt-about-working-more-puzzles .
11. www.hopkinsmedicine.org. (2021). Memory: Myth Versus Truth. [online] Available at: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/memory-myth-versus-truth .
12. AARP. (n.d.). Cognitively Stimulating Activity: Impact on Brain Health. [online] Available at: https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/global-council-on-brain-health/cognitively-stimulating-activities/.
13. www.psychologytoday.com. (n.d.). Why We Enjoy Puzzles: The View From Play Studies | Psychology Today. [online] Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pathways-experience/202203/why-we-enjoy-puzzles-the-view-play-studies .
14. Lisa, Jan. 10, U. and 2020 (2020). This Is What Happens to Your Brain When You Do a Puzzle. [online] Reader’s Digest. Available at: https://www.rd.com/article/what-happens-to-your-brain-when-do-a-puzzle/ .
Dr Eleanor Rogerson founded Hobby Aids because she believes hobbies are good for you and limitations shouldn't stop doing what you enjoy. She is based in North Lincolnshire, UK.
Her background is chemistry, but after years in industry she wanted to work for herself and so went self-employed. During this time she mainly worked as a gardener. Recently she has been diagnosed with arthritis in her hands, which has caused her to discover the gap in the market to cater for hobbies for people with limitations.
Interesting subject, dementia can have a such profound impact on the person and their wider support network. I know personally it’s something I fear. So little is known about its cause and there are limited options for treatment so doing anything to try and help keep the brain healthy is definitely worth a try. I feel a jigsaw puzzle coming on and more walks in the beautiful local countryside.
Thank you Yvonne. Jigsaws and walks sounds a lovely combination!