Brad Lomas – Benefits of Crossword Puzzles

Entertainment, Health
Brad Lomas
Brad Lomas

During his off time, HR Consultant Brad Lomas enjoys simple, stimulating hobbies like chess and crossword puzzles. Crossword puzzles in particular allow Lomas to take a break anywhere, even if it’s a 15-minute lunch during a busy work day. Despite their humble origins in 1913, crosswords are still popular more than 100 years later as a mentally-stimulating pastime. Crosswords offer more benefits than just entertainment, though. Here are four benefits that you’ll reap from doing regular crossword puzzles:

  • Dementia Prevention – Dementia and Alzheimer’s are relatively preventable conditions, especially if you keep your brain sharp. Crossword puzzles and other problem-solving games do this by helping to maintain synapse connections, to encourage problem-solving and to improve memory at any age.
  • Improved Vocabulary – Word games like crossword puzzles help improve your vocabulary by exposing you to new words or words that you don’t use often. Crossword puzzles in particular can help cement a word in the brain by providing a general definition along with the new vocabulary.
  • Better Pattern Recognition – Patterns play a large part in most peoples’ daily lives – they often give your day structure and help you find connections between seemingly-unrelated things. Crossword puzzles can improve your ability to recognize patterns in your daily life, a benefit which will potentially improve your productivity and problem-solving skills.
  • Boosted Confidence – A difficult crossword puzzle yields dozens of “aha” moments. They happen each time you figure out which word you were looking for after minutes or maybe even days of trying. This satisfaction is even greater when you complete an entire puzzle. Regularly completing crossword puzzles will create several of these enthusiastic moments and the boost in confidence can translate to how you approach the rest of your life.

These are just some of the many benefits that crossword puzzles offer. When people like Brad Lomas want to step away from the stress of daily life, they can get lost in a crossword puzzle or two and they walk away with a larger vocabulary.