According to new research presented at the 2017 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, the more regularly people report doing word puzzles such as crosswords, the better their brain function in later life.
The more regularly participants engaged with word puzzles, the better they performed on tasks assessing attention, reasoning and memory. Image credit: Steve Buissinne.
“We found direct relationships between the frequency of word puzzle use and the speed and accuracy of performance on nine cognitive tasks assessing a range of aspects of function including attention, reasoning and memory,” said lead author Professor Keith Wesnes, of the University of Exeter Medical School.
Professor Wesnes and his colleagues from the University of Exeter Medical School, King’s College London and Wesnes Cognition Ltd analyzed data from more than 17,000 healthy people aged 50 and over, submitted in an online trial.
The researchers asked participants how frequently they played word puzzles such as crosswords.
The authors used tests from the CogTrackTM and PROTECT online cognitive test systems to assess core aspects of brain function.
They found that the more regularly participants engaged with word puzzles, the better they performed on tasks assessing attention, reasoning and memory.
From their results, they calculate that people who engage in word puzzles have brain function equivalent to 10 years younger than their age, on tests of grammatical reasoning speed and short term memory accuracy.
“Performance was consistently better in those who reported engaging in puzzles, and generally improved incrementally with the frequency of puzzle use,” Professor Wesnes said.
“For example, on test measures of grammatical reasoning speed and short-term memory accuracy, performing word puzzles was associated with an age-related reduction of around 10 years.”
“We now need to follow up this very exciting association in a clinical trial, to establish whether engaging in puzzles results in improvement in brain function.”
“We know that many of the factors involved in dementia are preventable. It is essential that we find out what lifestyle factors really make a difference to helping people maintain healthy brains to stop the soaring rise of the disease,” said co-author Professor Clive Ballard, of the University of Exeter Medical School.
“We can’t yet say that crosswords give you a sharper brain — the next step is to assess whether encouraging people to start playing word games regularly could actually improve their brain function.”
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Keith Wesnes et al. The Relationship between the Frequency of Word Puzzle Use and Cognitive Function in a Large Sample of Adults Aged 50 to 96 Years. AAIC17, P2-581
