Top 5 Reasons Why Puzzles Are Good for your Child’s Brain Development
The early years of a child’s life is very important. This is the time that the brain undergoes rapid development and so this is the period in which the quality of experiences the child undergoes plays a key role in shaping his/her brain to learn and become successful later in life.
The human brain is the most complex yet amazing body organ we have.
Imagine everyday, every minute there are billions of neurons working together to process a simple thought or express any emotions. A child’s brain is born ready to learn and parents must be able to support its proper growth by providing their children plenty of opportunities to play and explore.
One good approach is by letting them play puzzles. Numerous researches have proven that playing puzzles are good, not only for your child’s brain, but also for you.
In one study, University of Chicago researchers found out that the parent-child puzzle play interactions help children with acquiring spatial languages. It also increases IQ,and improves memory, among other things.
To mark International Puzzles Day, Puzzle Ready is listing the top reasons why you should let your child play with puzzles.
Here are top 5 brain benefits of playing puzzle:
Puzzle Help Brain Coordination
Puzzles Delay Dementia and Alzheimer's
Puzzles Increase IQ
Ever wonder why some people take pride in their IQ results? An IQ, or Intelligence Quotient, is a measurement of one’s intelligence. High IQ points generally mean a high cognitive level.
Say your kid has an average IQ of 90 but wants to have an IQ of 130-144. Playing puzzles can help him achieve that. In a University of Michigan study, one researcher found out that it only takes 25 minutes a day to add 4 points to your IQ score.
This is because puzzles exercise your brain’s ability to process information by requiring you to remember different shapes and sounds in order to solve them. Isn’t it amazing? Imagine you can save 4 IQ points daily. Some of history’s well-known geniuses have an average IQ of 160.
Puzzles Help Brain Coordination
With billion neurons and trillion connections, the brain is divided in two: the left and right hemisphere. Each brain section has different functions. The left brain is responsible for your logical skills while the right brain produces most of your creative juices. Solving jigsaw puzzles promotes connections in both hemispheres.
When you and your child are solving a jigsaw puzzle, the logical left brain is stimulated by problem-solving while the right brain sees the big picture in the jigsaw puzzle box before you begin playing. This give and take of neuron connection in both hemispheres enhances an individual's ability to learn, understand and remember. With billions of neurons working, plus your hand-eye coordination, puzzle games will keep you pre-occupied and your brain stimulated for hours.
Puzzles Improve Memory
Puzzle improve memory, especially short-term memory. When solving a jigsaw puzzle, the brain stores the memory of the jigsaw photo guide temporarily as it processes the shapes and colors that fit together. Using this memory, it will begin to piece the puzzle pieces together within minutes, or as long your brain can still remember what the completed puzzle looks like.
Playing jigsaw puzzles regularly can then help you train your short-term memory to be more accurate, improving your memory recall.
Puzzles Delay Dementia and Alzheimer’s
What if one day you forgot the name of everyone you love? It’s a scary thought but the reality is, there are an estimated 5.7 million Americans of all ages who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, studies have shown that every 65 seconds, someone in the United States develops this disease.
You can’t stop aging because you can’t stop time. But the good news is, you can delay diseases common to old people, like dementia and Alzheimer’s, by playing puzzles. According to medical research, puzzle games are one of the best brain exercises to keep your minds active. A single puzzle session can improve memory, reasoning and speed of processing information.
Puzzles Lower Stress
Being an adult means dealing with responsibilities and stress. But stress, in itself, is not necessarily bad. It’s the body and mind’s way of responding to good and bad experiences in life. Like anything else though, too much of it can be bad for your health.
Playing puzzles can be relieve your stress. According to studies, playing puzzle games can be a good diversion for your brain. It takes your mind away from the negativity and allows you to just focus on accomplishing the puzzle.
When you solve the puzzle, the brain produces dopamine, a neurotransmitter that regulates moods and emotions. It’s basically a feel good hormone that’s responsible for motivating you to solve the game and making you happy when you accomplish it.
Organizing Puzzle Pieces
Another way of cutting down your stress when playing puzzles is by keeping all your puzzle pieces together. You can’t solve a jigsaw puzzle with even one missing piece. But you don’t have to turn your home upside-down in order to find a misplaced piece. You just need the best 1500 piece puzzle board now.
Puzzle Ready’s puzzle board organizer will help you keep all the puzzle pieces together. No more searching for corners and checking under your furniture for the missing piece. This puzzle board has 4 color-based drawers that will help you and your child sort the pieces based on its colors, shapes and sections. It’s lightweight and balanced for easy lift and quick storage.
Spare yourself a headache while thinking of ways to store them when you need to put them aside.
