You may have heard that solving crossword puzzles daily is a great way to advance your brain cells. It is sure to be helpful. But scientists have also learned that the brain needs new experiences to be at its best. Merely doing the same thing over and over is not as sufficient as you might think.
Sharpbrains.com is a research and advisory firm dedicated to helping individuals, fellowships and condition providers stay on top of the most recent research in brain fitness. Their site gives this marvelous advice:
"The point of having a brain is positively to learn and to adapt to fascinating new environments. Once new neurons appear in your brain, where they stay in your brain and how long they survive depends on how you use them. 'Use It or Lose It' does not mean 'do crossword puzzle estimate 1,234,567.' It means, 'challenge your brain often with fundamentally new activities.'"
The well-known seniors' organization,formerly known as the connection for the Advancement of Retired Persons, quotes Dr. Lawrence Katz of Duke University medical Center. He believes that when we go straight through the same routines day after day, the brain performance required to do these tasks positively decreases. But when we engage in new activities, or even changes in our routines, we are triggering parts of the brain that weren't used before. This creates "enhanced performance in the brain."
RevolutionHealth.com has compiled a list of recommendations from neuroscientists on the best activities to boost our brain health. Among the recommendations: activities should teach you something new, they should be challenging, they should be progressively more difficult, and they should be rewarding.
So how do crossword puzzles fit in? If you are doing crossword puzzles that are increasingly difficult and if you find it rewarding, your pastime may be beneficial. But if you are repeatedly solving "Easy Crosswords" from the newsstand and you find it to be tedious, the benefit may be limited.
What should you do if you positively love word puzzles, but you want more brain stimulation than you're receiving from your crosswords? Try something new! Try other clue-based and wordplay puzzles. Try logic puzzles. Try estimate puzzles. Try whatever that is fun, fascinating and new.
© 2008 Ann Richmond Fisher
