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How
Puzzles Can Help You
Stay Sharp in
Your Later Years…Start Now!
Recent research has indicated that puzzles can play an important part
in keeping older adults sharp.
In an
article in Playthings Magazine, June 2005, Tina Benitez notes that many
"senior retirement homes are stocking up on puzzles to help seniors keep
their minds active".
Fighting
Alzheimer's can be done by exercising the brain with such things as
"reading, jigsaw puzzles or chess", according to an AP article appearing in
the Dayton Daily News on March 6, 2001 which cites research done by Dr.
Robert P. Friedland that appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences. This work showed that people in their 70s who "regularly
participated in hobbies that were intellectually challenging during their
younger years tended to be protected from Alzheimer's disease."
Michael
Ryan, writing in Parade Magazine in June of 2001, suggests doing crosswords,
anagrams and word games to help "keep the mind agile and the memory strong".
Rehabilitation - Hand-Eye Coordination and Motor Skills
Benitez (Playthings Magazine, 6/05) noted that "rehabilitation
centers are also using puzzles with children and adults with neurological
problems to help with hand-eye coordination and other motor and cognitive
problems".
Three
dimensional puzzles help people with physical hand problems in that they
require the use of two hands to assemble; those who favor or have lesser
abilities with one hand are forced to use both hands together to build the
structure.
Lateral
Thinking - For Adults and Kids
Lateral thinking puzzles challenge people to look at things
differently - to find alternate solutions when the obvious choices, tainted
by our preconceived notions, are not correct. The phrase "lateral thinking"
was coined by Edward de Bono, who "consults with schools and major
corporations to spark ingenuity and inspire problem-solving among people."
(Better Homes and Gardens, June 2005)
Paul Sloane,
author of numerous lateral thinking puzzle books (link here) notes
that these type of puzzles make children think creatively - "No matter what
type of puzzle they try, their mind still has to follow a deliberate,
systematic process that leaves them dreaming up plenty of highly imaginative
ideas." (same - BHG, p. 184). The benefits to solving lateral thinking
problems are numerous - they force children to think of many solutions, they
help kids be better problem solvers which impacts their schoolwork in
general, and it helps them build more self confidence (Better Homes and
Gardens, June 2005), according to de Bono. So…start early with your
children!
Have Fun!
"Spend an old-fashioned evening with your family or friends quietly
working on it (a jigsaw puzzle or board game) together" suggests Marilyn Vos
Savant in Parade Magazine, December 2, 2001.
Jigsaws Are
For All Ages
Jigsaw manufacturers must have seen the baby boomers putting on their
reading glasses, because many companies now offer larger piece puzzles with
pictures and themes that appeal to adults. These generally are 300
oversized-piece puzzles, but some have as few as 150 pieces. Not only are
they easier to see, they are easier to handle for those who suffer from
arthritis or other limiting problems.
Children as young as 3 of 4 years are capable of doing larger puzzles - as
many as 300 pieces - according to Marlene Barron, head of West Side
Montessori School in New York City (Young Children, Sept. 1999, p 10 - 11).
They studied children as they completed puzzles and noted that "children
shared strategies with partners" as well enjoyed a "social literacy
activity"
   
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