Jake PopistDoing jigsaw puzzles has long been a popular pastime for families all over the world. Many people solve them at home, while others like to bring a puzzle along on a family vacation. Puzzles are not only fun to do, but they are good for your brain as well. Keeping your mind active and challenged has been shown to help stave off Alzheimer’s, dementia and other complications of cognitive decline. If that’s not enough to entice you to break out a puzzle, read on for more reasons why puzzles are so great.
Do It Anywhere
Gone are the days when you needed to have a large table available in your home to do puzzles. Back in the day, you would need to leave the puzzle there until you had finished it, potentially taking up space on your table for days or even weeks at a time. Nowadays, you can buy puzzle tables that are designed to be packed up when not in use, even keeping your puzzle just as you left it in some cases. Stave Puzzles has some great offerings in this area. Shop their selection of puzzle tables and other puzzle accessories today.
Spend Time with Your Loved Ones
Doing a puzzle doesn’t have to be a solitary affair. Bring your spouse, friends and even children in on the action. To keep things interesting, look for a puzzle with lots of detail, rather than a landscape where half the puzzle is just blue sky. The more detail in the image, the more fun it will be for you and your loved ones to solve, as each person can choose a particular area to work on. This helps to keep the table organized as well, as you can sort pieces into the various quadrants much more easily when you know which portion of the puzzle a particular piece belongs to.
Do Something Other Than Watch TV
It can be disheartening to think about just how much TV people watch these days. Since the advent of TV and movie streaming services, it seems as though this is the go-to activity for many people in the evenings. Break out of this rut by solving a puzzle instead. Not only will you be activating your mind, but you’ll also have a sense of accomplishment when you finally complete the puzzle. While binge watching an entire TV series can be a bit of an accomplishment in itself, it won’t give you the same feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment that you’ll get when you finish a puzzle.
Use Both Sides of Your Brain
Your brain is divided into two hemispheres, and each is responsible for a different area of thought. The left side of your brain is responsible for logic and reasoning, while the right side handles creativity and emotion. Most people have one side that is more dominant, and that dominance becomes even more apparent as we get older. This is typically because people seek out careers and leisure activities that play to their strengths. Puzzles force you to use both hemispheres of your brain, giving you the chance to exercise your non-dominant half while still making the most of your dominant half.
Show Off Your Accomplishment
When you have finished a puzzle, you can glue the pieces together using puzzle glue so that you can frame the finished puzzle. This way, you can show others your accomplishment. Children especially love being recognized for a job well done. Even if a puzzle doesn’t match with the rest of your decorative scheme, you don’t have to keep it hanging there forever. Simply switch it out for a new puzzle the next time you complete one. This is an easy, affordable way to update the artwork in your home on a regular basis, especially if you and your family complete puzzles often.
So, before you plunk the kids down in front of the TV after dinner, try doing a puzzle instead. It may take a little while for everyone to get on board with this new idea, but after a while, they’ll be happy with your new arrangement. Take the time to chat with your kids while doing the puzzle for even more family bonding.
Jake Popist
