Despite their innocent beginning, jigsaw puzzles, invented in the late 18th century by London mapmaker John Spilsbury, have endured two hundred and fifty years of consumer acceptance as a pastime not entirely anticipated by their inventor. Today puzzles come in multiple piece counts from as few as 10 enormous pieces for young children to assemble on the floor up to 20000 pieces for the most avid puzzle hobbyist that can take up to a year to complete.
Today, images are printed rather than hand painted onto the board surface. The puzzles are made of cardboard as opposed to wood and are cut by precision machines rather than hand sawn with a jigsaw as in Spilsbury's day. As a gesture to their origins, some manufacturers still produce a few titles (especially for children) from wooden boards. Used as an early teaching tool, world maps would be painted on the board, be cut up using a jigsaw into the various countries and put together again by young geography students.
Inserting the correct piece into the appropriate space requires both cognitive ability and manual dexterity. Not only the shape (which tends to be similar) but color are clues to proper assembly. For those whose cognitive powers are not as acute as they once were, jigsaw puzzles are a fun way of exercising the mind as well as practicing small motor skills.
Obviously there are many ways to stimulate the brain such as reading, crosswords or playing mind teasers such as Sudoku. Card games have the added benefit of socialization as well as deductive reasoning. It has been recently brought to light that physical exercise and diet rather than mental feats alone will help prevent the onset of dementia.
Nevertheless it is the unexpected benefit of assembling a jigsaw puzzle that carries unique observational, cognition and motor skills making the pastime distinct. Puzzle manufacturers have seen the median age of the puzzle consumer advancing and (not through any act of altruism) have been developing more puzzles with extra large pieces. Typically such a puzzle will have 500 pieces but will have the same dimensions as a regular 1000 piece puzzle. The images tend to be brightly colored with well defined sections.
Learning, consolidation, storage and recall are the four distinct stages of memory. Without the ability to recall it is impossible to determine the deterioration (or lack thereof) of the other three stages in an individual. If the mind of a healthy puzzler can put together a 1000 piece puzzle in less than one hour (which is a regular competitive feat) then by encouraging those same learning and consolidation techniques in a senior there is every reason to believe a cognitive benefit will be gained.
As an attempt to address the problems of the aging brain, clinical studies and chemical discoveries as well as gene therapies appear reassuring and may even offer treatment today. Prior intervention requiring only the mildest but repeated stimulation such as discussed above is preferable to medical intervention. Diet, exercise and mental activity are the sure ways to provide stimulating challenges as well as pleasurable activities whose benefits could last decades.
The greatest fear is that we lose our uniquely individual memories and thus our true self. Not much effort would be required of those who can reawaken once healthy skills and prolong the pleasure of a healthy mind and body by simple exercises such as jigsaw puzzles.
Today, images are printed rather than hand painted onto the board surface. The puzzles are made of cardboard as opposed to wood and are cut by precision machines rather than hand sawn with a jigsaw as in Spilsbury's day. As a gesture to their origins, some manufacturers still produce a few titles (especially for children) from wooden boards. Used as an early teaching tool, world maps would be painted on the board, be cut up using a jigsaw into the various countries and put together again by young geography students.
Inserting the correct piece into the appropriate space requires both cognitive ability and manual dexterity. Not only the shape (which tends to be similar) but color are clues to proper assembly. For those whose cognitive powers are not as acute as they once were, jigsaw puzzles are a fun way of exercising the mind as well as practicing small motor skills.
Obviously there are many ways to stimulate the brain such as reading, crosswords or playing mind teasers such as Sudoku. Card games have the added benefit of socialization as well as deductive reasoning. It has been recently brought to light that physical exercise and diet rather than mental feats alone will help prevent the onset of dementia.
Nevertheless it is the unexpected benefit of assembling a jigsaw puzzle that carries unique observational, cognition and motor skills making the pastime distinct. Puzzle manufacturers have seen the median age of the puzzle consumer advancing and (not through any act of altruism) have been developing more puzzles with extra large pieces. Typically such a puzzle will have 500 pieces but will have the same dimensions as a regular 1000 piece puzzle. The images tend to be brightly colored with well defined sections.
Learning, consolidation, storage and recall are the four distinct stages of memory. Without the ability to recall it is impossible to determine the deterioration (or lack thereof) of the other three stages in an individual. If the mind of a healthy puzzler can put together a 1000 piece puzzle in less than one hour (which is a regular competitive feat) then by encouraging those same learning and consolidation techniques in a senior there is every reason to believe a cognitive benefit will be gained.
As an attempt to address the problems of the aging brain, clinical studies and chemical discoveries as well as gene therapies appear reassuring and may even offer treatment today. Prior intervention requiring only the mildest but repeated stimulation such as discussed above is preferable to medical intervention. Diet, exercise and mental activity are the sure ways to provide stimulating challenges as well as pleasurable activities whose benefits could last decades.
The greatest fear is that we lose our uniquely individual memories and thus our true self. Not much effort would be required of those who can reawaken once healthy skills and prolong the pleasure of a healthy mind and body by simple exercises such as jigsaw puzzles.
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Mental challenges such as jigsaw puzzles help prolong a healthy mind and enhance the pleasure of life. Get in touch with once healthy abilities by easy Mental challenges using 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles.
