🎉 Fun Fact Friday 🎉
7 Surprising Ways Puzzles Are Good for Your Brain!
Did you know.......
1. Puzzles Exercise Both Sides of Your Brain
The two hemispheres of your brain control different functions. The left side of your brain controls analytic and logical thinking and the right-side controls creativity. When you are working on puzzles, you are engaging both sides and giving your brain a real mental workout.
2. They Improve Your Memory
Working on puzzles reinforce the connections between our brain cells  – and form new ones – so they are a great way to improve short-term memory. We use memory in the process of completing a jigsaw puzzle when we remember shapes, sizes, and pieces and visualize where they fit in. Studies have shown that the growth of new brain connections that are formed to help reduce the amount of brain damage in Alzheimer's patients.
3. They Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills
The ability to solve problems and think critically is useful in almost any life situation and puzzles help us develop these skills. Since puzzles require us to take different approaches to solve them, we learn how to work by trial and error, formulate and test theories, and how to change tracks if not successful
4. They Improve Visual and Spatial Reasoning
You need to be able to look at individual parts of a jigsaw puzzle, or available spaces in a crossword puzzle and figure out how to fit the pieces or words into their space. If done regularly this will improve your visual and spatial reasoning skills and that translates into being a better driver and can make you a Tetris-like packer.
5. They Enhance Your Mood
One of the brain benefits of puzzles is that they increase the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood, memory, and concentration. Dopamine is released with every success as we solve the puzzle. No wonder puzzles are so much fun!
6. They Lower Your Stress Levels
Puzzles invigorate our brains, but they are also very relaxing. While we are concentrating on how to solve the puzzle, our minds are only on one task and that encourages our brains to go into a meditative state. This leads to a better mindset and better stress coping skills.
7. They can Improve Your IQ Score
Since puzzles can improve our memory, concentration, vocabulary, and reasoning skills it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that they also raise our IQs. A study at the University of Michigan showed that doing puzzles for at least 25 minutes a day can boost your IQ by 4 points.
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Have a great weekend!
From all of us here at Paradise Hill Ranch & Western Wear
 
- Katherine Oster
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