Are your jigsaw puzzle skills up to scratch? Jigsaws have been an enjoyable hobby for many people for generations. The one thing that’s great about jigsaws is that they require your complete attention. You can have background music on, but your focus will be completely on the puzzle.
That is what helps to make them the ideal activity for kids that need to have a break from the TV or their tablets and still be engaged. After years of building jigsaw puzzles, it will have you enjoying the meditative time. In fact, you are achieving several great benefits.
The benefits you get from building jigsaw puzzles include the following:
Improves Short-Term Memory
Do you forget the basics such as what you ate for dinner yesterday? Completing a jigsaw puzzle can reinforce all the neuron connections between your brain cells. When they are strengthening, your mental speed will help improve your short-term memory.
Great Family Activity
Building an active jigsaw puzzle on a kitchen table is a great way to involve the whole family in an activity together. It can be difficult to resist the pull of a puzzle. You can’t just walk past without trying a few pieces. And then before you realize it, all the family is enjoying themselves and joining in.
Offers Stress Relief
Everyone that mediates is aware of the importance of staring at a fixed object. This is the way you draw focus and remove the “rabble” from your mind. When making a jigsaw puzzle, your focus is completely on what is in front of you. Building a puzzle relaxes you and helps to shake off the stress from your day. You may even notice your heart rate slowing and your blood pressure going down.
Brain Stimulation for Both the Left and Right Side
Our brains will need a workout just as much as our bodies and a jigsaw puzzle offer a total workout for the brain. The right side of the brain is the creative side and the left side is for more logical solutions. When building a jigsaw puzzle, both sides of the brain are engaged, this can increase your ability to solve problems.
Enhances Visual-Spatial Reasoning
All the pieces of a puzzle interlock with each other. You enhance your visual-spatial reasoning when you visualize how each piece of the puzzle works together. You may wonder why this matter. It is the exact same skill that you utilize whenever you read a map, pack a suitcase, drive a car, or even dance with your partner.
