A Puzzle for Your Brain

With the arrival of 2025, I have been considering whether I should make a New Year’s Resolution. I am ashamed to admit that if I do make a Resolution, I tend to quit or forget within a month. But having recently celebrated my 50th birthday, I think I should make a resolution around my health to combat the obvious signs that I am getting older.

One thing I have noticed about myself in the past year is that my memory is not as good as it once was. I want to combat that. Thankfully, there may be a perfect, not to mention fun, way to do that: puzzles.

Puzzles of varying types have existed as far back as Ancient Babylon. You can find riddles in the Bible. There are puzzle jugs from Cyprus that date back to the 1700s B.C. And China introduced magic squares around 700 B.C. The modern jigsaw puzzle was invented by John Spilsbury in 1767. The first crossword appeared in newspapers starting in 1913.

We also can’t forget that darn Rubik’s Cube that only the best could figure out. It made its first appearance in 1974 (the year I was born, ironically).

It is surprising how something so enjoyable can also be good for you. While the science is still new, most research has shown that puzzles can benefit our overall health. Engaging with puzzles can reduce stress, lift our mood, help foster discipline, and improve social interactions. There is also evidence that cognitive decline may be reduced. But why?

Well, a good puzzle can help stimulate different parts of your brain. Memory puzzles can help keep your memory sharp. Logic puzzles help with reasoning and stimulate logic processing areas. Jigsaw puzzles improve visual-spatial reasoning. Word puzzles stimulate the language area of the brain. Not to mention that doing puzzles with others can help people learn to work together as a team. It’s a win for everyone.

Of course, you should stick with the kind of puzzles you enjoy. But there are so many puzzle varieties that you are sure to find one to excite your noggin. Let’s keep our aging brains sharp!

If you don’t have puzzles at home, some MCPL branches have free jigsaws the public can work on.

For some great reads about puzzles and their benefits, check out these books:

The Playful Brain: The Surprising Science of How Puzzles Improve Your Mind by Richard Restak, M.D.

Games for Your Mind: The History and Future of Logic Puzzles by Jason Rosenhouse

Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can’t Live Without Them by Adrienne Raphael.

Lateral Thinking Puzzles by Erwin Brecher, Ph.D.

Is Your Neighbor a Zombie: Compelling Philosophical Puzzles that Challenge Your Beliefs by Jeremy Stangroom

Pamela M.
Antioch Branch