Jigsaw Puzzles: A Gym for Your Mind, Because Science

Jigsaw puzzles are a healthy distraction that can be a form of mindfulness. Solving jigsaw puzzles can significantly benefit brain health and cognitive function in a number of ways. In addition, research shows solving jigsaw puzzles works both hemispheres of your brain.

Problem-Solving Skills: Jigsaw puzzle users need to adopt different strategies to complete a puzzle. This skill can often transfer to other areas of your life where strategic and logical thinking are required.

Boosts Memory: Working on a jigsaw puzzle is effective at improving short-term memory. The user needs to remember shapes and colors, activity that can reinforce existing connections between brain cells and form new ones. Research has shown that solving puzzles also reduces brain damage in Alzheimer’s patients.

Enhance Visual-Spatial Acuity: Regularly solving jigsaw puzzles by visualizing where each piece fits within a larger context improves your spatial reasoning. This skill can translate to better driving skills, or even being more efficient at organizing home/work spaces.

Enhanced Mood: Solving jigsaw puzzles increases production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is critical for regulating mood, memory, and concentration. Each time you fit a puzzle piece correctly, a bit of dopamine is released, leading to an improved sense of satisfaction and well-being.

Lowering Stress Levels: Putting a jigsaw puzzle together will shift your brain into a meditative state. If, like me, meditation bores the crap out of you, get a jigsaw puzzle. Beyond just the meditative state you achieve while focusing on a single task, solving jigsaw puzzles can increase your creativity while lowering your overall stress levels.