Human beings love playing puzzle games and solving puzzles. According to a survey done a few years ago, it was found that about 50% of adults enjoy playing puzzle games because it is relaxing and it gives them a boost. If we check history, puzzles have been around for a quite while now. Puzzles and puzzle games date back more than 2000 years.
Humans love playing puzzle games because we like to challenge ourselves, give our brains mental food, exercise our mental skills, improve our problem-solving skills, and obviously, have fun. Anyone who has ever played a puzzle game during his/her childhood knows how enjoyable it can be to solve mysteries and puzzles. But apart from the fun and enjoyment factor, playing puzzle games and solving puzzles has some other benefits too, some of which we have discussed below:
Improves Problem-Solving Skills
When we solve different puzzles and mysteries, it helps to solve our problem-solving skills. While playing different puzzle games, one has to think out of the box, look for patterns, and make logical & reasonable choices to solve the puzzle. When you are playing any puzzle game, whether it is Sudoku, Crosswords, or any typical puzzle game, you are actually improving your problem-solving skills.
Problem-solving skills are highly valued in real life, especially in the workforce, and by solving puzzles, we can develop these important skills. Every puzzle is different from others and requires us to take different approaches and find new ways to solve a problem through the trial and error method. These skills can be of so much value when transferred to work life. These skills can help not only solve problems at hand but also solve the problems that are present in society and come up with new innovations.
Solving challenging and difficult puzzles also helps to improve our pattern recognition skills, which is the brain’s ability to make inferences out of different hints, create meaning, and find the right order.
Increase Our Attention To Detail
Solving puzzles also increases our attention to detail. When you are trying to solve a puzzle, your attention to detail is very crucial, otherwise, you might miss a minor clue or hint. While playing puzzle games and solving different puzzles, you train your eyes to pay attention to the slightest of details and find the smallest difference. This ability to pick up on small details is very important in real-life and it is a valuable skill that not many people possess.
Improves Our Short-Term Memory
Solving puzzles also helps us with improving our memory, especially short-term memory. While solving different puzzles, our short-term memory is used to remember the exact pattern of shapes & colors, and also mentally visualize the bigger picture to find out which piece will fit in which location. This reinforces already existing connections between our brain cells and allows us to develop better short-term memory that we can use in real-life. Short-term memory is required everywhere, whether at work or home and simply by playing various puzzle games, you can improve your short-term memory.
Improves IQ
Playing puzzle games and solving puzzles improve our short-term memory, reasoning, and logical thinking, which ultimately help to raise our intelligence quotient or IQ. It has been found that playing puzzle games and solving puzzles daily can help to boost IQ. This is a hidden benefit of puzzles that many people are not familiar with just like they are not familiar with the awesome word puzzle-solving tool, Word Unscrambler.
Improves Our Mood
Along with other benefits of playing puzzle games and solving puzzles, it also improves our moods and gives us a feeling of happiness. When we solve a puzzle, it causes our brain to release the happy neurotransmitter, dopamine that gives us the feeling of happiness. It is a natural thing that when we accomplish something, we feel happy and the same is the case with solving puzzles. It gives us an inner feeling of satisfaction after solving puzzles that we have accomplished something and it boosts our mood, the same way our mood improves after we beat our friends at Scrabble with the help of Scrabble Word Finder.
Solving puzzles is good for your brain. Whether you are solving puzzles in real life or playing puzzle games on your mobile phone, you shouldn’t stop because it provides a good mental workout and keeps your mind sharp and active. Puzzle games are perfect to play alone and also with friends & family members. The benefits of puzzle games are already in front of you and along with various cognitive benefits, your mood also improves after solving puzzles.