Who doesn’t love a good puzzle? There’s something about finishing a crossword, or a game of sudoku that gives you a sense of accomplishment. It also doesn’t hurt that it makes us feel like we’ve got on upon those that couldn’t crack the code. But what we might not realize is how much these brain teasers, puzzles, riddles, and others of the like, are helping us improve our minds.
The Benefits of the Puzzle and Mind Games
Humans have been puzzling for many years, and the advancement of these puzzles mirrors the advancement of human civilization. The first of these puzzles is believed to be the maze, which was, in fact, a life-size maze. Soon after came the jigsaw puzzle, which was used to help teach world geography in the 18th century, and after that word puzzles began to be printed in newspapers in the 20th century to entertain their readers [1]. These kinds of games have developed exponentially with technology and you can even carry a multitude of them in your pocket.
But what are all these games doing to us? Well, scientists have discovered that puzzles, if done on a regular basis result in the best benefits for you. Here’s what puzzling can do for you.
Enhanced Memory
Working on puzzles strengthens the existing connections between our brain cells, and sets up new connections, both of which greatly increases our mental speed and thought process [1]. It’s also been proven that puzzling is beneficial for people of all ages. Young children benefit because their minds are still malleable and growing and puzzles help strengthen their minds. Seniors also benefit greatly because as we age, the connections between our brain cells become weaker or disappear altogether. Puzzling is a great way of keeping neurological disease like dementia and Alzheimer’s at bay.
Accelerated Ingenuity
Puzzles make our brains think in different ways. It forces us to think outside of the box instead of linearly and every time we do this we are teaching our brain to think in different ways. Solving puzzles requires a lot of trial and error, so we are able to formulate theories and then test these theories to see if we are correct. This allows us to combine our creative capabilities with our more empirical mind and this type of imagination brings us to innovative, precognitive and efficient problem-solving skills that can be applied pretty much anywhere in life.
Production of Dopamine
You know that feeling of satisfaction you get when you solve a puzzle? That’s dopamine being released by your brain. If we solve a small puzzle or make a big breakthrough, our brains release dopamine which improves motor skills, increases concentration power, makes us optimistic, confident, and enhances our recollection. An increase of dopamine cements the practice of solving puzzles in our brain, which is why most people will want to try new and more challenging puzzles after solving one.
Brain Teasers To Train Your Brain
Below are two images and examples of brain teasers. These are here to prove to you how puzzles work on our brain.
In this first picture, the goal is to find the cat hiding amongst the owls.
Found it? If you did, and you are up for an even harder image, this next one requires you to find the panda in the pets.
If you found both of these then great! Your brain is working the way it should be, and if you have this itch for a harder puzzle, scratch it! Give your brain some exercise with a brain teaser and keep it strong and healthy for a long, long time.
