A short break combined with brain work can help with stress. Relaxation – Taking even 10 minutes to tackle a sudoku puzzle helps pull you away from the other concerns of the day.As you work these puzzles, it will help you sharpen your memory. Memory – Sudoku is all about memory, keeping track of numbers and their location.The brain enjoys learning, so this may help with other tasks. Learning – As you work more puzzles, your speed will increase, which indicates that you’re learning more about the game.Since it requires careful thought, you will zero in on what you’re doing. Concentration – Sudoku makes you think critically, which requires concentration.Here are four areas in which sudoku can help seniors:

In fact, study participants who worked such puzzles more than once a day had superior cognitive performance in key areas, such as reasoning, attention and memory.

When people over 50 engage in thought games like sudoku and crossword puzzles, their brains function better, according to a study in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Like chess, it encourages you to think a few steps ahead to your next move, which is a good exercise for the brain. > Read “ Fun Handheld and Video Games for Seniors ”įind out more about how to play sudoku for beginners, why it’s a great game for seniors, some tips for playing it, and more you should know. Variations of the puzzle first appeared in the 19th century, then reappeared again in 2004 in The Times of London, where it enjoyed a renaissance as a fun brain game. Sudoku, which has gained in popularity in the past dozen or so years, actually originates long before that, and not from where you might expect.Īlthough “sudoku” is a Japanese word (meaning “digit single”), it got that name only around 1986.

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