How to Strengthen Your Brain With Puzzles

Doing a daily Sudoku or crossword puzzle can strengthen your brain.

According to the Brain Health and Puzzles website, "brain teasers can and do help keep the mind stay sharp. Like the muscles in your body, your mind strengthens with daily stimulation and can atrophy if neglected and not used." There are several different types of puzzle that you can use to strengthen your brain power, including newspaper and magazine crosswords, mental teasers and jigsaw puzzles.

Instructions

1. Strengthen your brain by doing a mental puzzle right now. The Franklin Institute advises that smaller mental brain teasers are a great way to strengthen brain power and can be done anywhere. Try, for example, using your weaker hand to do some everyday tasks; switch the hand you are using to move the mouse with your weaker hand right now. The Franklin Institute says that "if you are feeling uncomfortable and awkward don't worry; your brain is learning a new skill." Strengthen your brain by using your weaker hand in other actions, such as brushing your teeth, texting on your phone or combing your hair.

2. Test and fortify your brain power with a crossword. Crosswords are vocabulary brain teasers that require players to find synonyms or anagrams of certain words and fill the answers into a grid. This activity helps improve your brain's curiosity, concentration and -- most of all -- test your memory and general knowledge. According to the Dummies website "you benefit much more from working out consistently for shorter amounts of time" so ensure that you set aside a certain amount of time per week to complete a crossword or two. Find daily crosswords in daily national newspapers, magazines and in crossword puzzle books.

3. 

   Jigsaw puzzles help improve the brain's memory and coordination.

   Enhance the brain of younger children by getting them to complete jigsaw puzzles. The Self Growth website claims that "introducing puzzles to children at a young age is an enjoyable way for them to develop important manual dexterity, memory and coordination skills." Jigsaw puzzles can help strengthen numeric and visual skills but you must also ensure that the jigsaw is the correct age-group for the child. Give your child a puzzle that is too difficult and they may become frustrated and lose interest. Check the puzzle packaging to find the advised age group icon to see if it's right for your child.

Tips & Warnings

• Try completing three or four weekly Sudoku puzzles if crosswords are not your thing. Sudoku puzzles are mental math challenges that work and look similar to a crossword but test your numeric skills and mental arithmetic. Internet websites such as Web Sudoku offer daily challenges that you can play and answer online.

References

• Brain Health & Puzzles: Brain Teasers and Puzzles
• Franklin Institute: The Human Brain - Exercise
• Dummies: Using Crosswords to Stimulate Your Senior Brain
• Self Growth: Enhancing A Child's Brain Power Through Jigsaw Puzzles

Resources

• Sharp Brains: Brain Teasers
• Web Suduko