The Benefits of Doing a Puzzle and a Puzzle Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent this puzzle in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Are you a puzzle person? As the country shut down the sales of puzzles went up. In fact there was a puzzle shortage back in April. Puzzle manufacturers could not keep up. One company said that in one day in March they sold more than they sold in the entire month of December. (Source) I have always loved puzzles. However when Hazel was younger I often had Steve do them with her. She found out why a few years ago at my parents condo building. I become a little obsessed with the puzzle and will stay working on it for hours and hours and not go to bed because I want to find one more piece. My focus is completely on the puzzle and not much else. However we have started to do more puzzles as a family. Or at least they will help me a bit with puzzles now. I shared a new puzzle awhile ago as one of our stay-cation activities. (Which Hazel has found 1 of our missing pieces--under the chair cushion. Now we are just missing 1 piece. I know it will turn up.) Today I am going to share another, but before I do I thought it would be fun to look at some of the benefits of doing a jigsaw puzzle!

Benefits of Doing a Jigsaw Puzzle

1. Doing a jigsaw puzzles uses both sides of your brain at once
2. Jigsaw puzzles improve your short-term memory.
3. They help your visual-spatial reasoning.
4. They are a stress reliever. This can increase your productivity with work since it helps you reset your brain. They can also lower your blood pressure and heart rate since they help you destress.
5. Studies show that doing jigsaw puzzles can help you live longer and have less chances of developing memory loss—dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
6. Doing puzzles has been shown to increase mental speed and thought process.
7. Solving puzzles and riddles for 25 minutes a day can raise your IQ by 4 points!
8. Doing puzzles helps you pay greater attention to detail.
9. Puzzles help improve your problem solving skills. These skills can help at work!
10. Puzzles can be great on your own or as a family or team. They can help build better collaboration and teamwork.
11. Puzzles help develop perception, organization and concentration in kids.
12. For kids puzzles help develop fine motor skills.
13. Puzzles can help teach patience, self-confidence, and self-control in kids.
14. Puzzles are often used in occupational therapy after a traumatic injuries to fingers and hands as well as brain injuries.
15. A study has shown that people already living with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia can be comforted by working on simple jigsaw puzzles.

Basically jigsaw puzzles can help develop thinking skills, problem solving skills as well as keep you healthier. Um, wow!! Plus it can put off Alzheimer's symptoms the more you do them regularly. Since Alzheimer's runs in my family this is huge! Now I need to get more puzzles!!

Sources:

• Abel, Olivia. Guideposts. “6 Surprising Benefits of Doing Jigsaw Puzzles.” (7 Mar 2019) https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/health-and-wellness/living-longer-living-better/6-surprising-benefits-of-doing-jigsaw-puzzles
• Brandpoint. “7 Surprising benefits of doing jigsaw puzzles.” (21 Aug 2018) https://www.brandpointcontent.com/article/33202/7-surprising-benefits-of-doing-jigsaw-puzzles
• G., Jimena. Cronicas Puzzleras. “10 Surprising Benefits of Doing Puzzles.” (13 Apr 2020) https://cronicaspuzzleras.com/en/10-surprising-benefits-of-doing-jigsaw-puzzles/

Today I am going to share my experience with the Bali Jigsaw Puzzle from Tuttle Publishing. This puzzle features a beautiful photograph of the Bali's Pura Ulun Danu which is a scared temple on Lake Bratan. The temple was built in 1663 and is dedicated to the water goddess Dewi Danu. The puzzle has 1,000 pieces and is a good quality. 

I pulled out this puzzle and began working on it. Hazel and Steve did not have much interest in it, so I did it by myself. I found it fun to put together. The reflection at first seemed like it might be difficult but I quickly figured out how to tell if the piece was part of the building or the reflection. I was able to do this puzzle in a few days (remember my puzzle obsession). I found it a little easier than the last one, but that may be because I did it myself and didn't have to figure out how the others were looking and thinking about the puzzle solving.

I have really enjoyed the puzzles from Tuttle Publishing. I am thinking I may need to get the other ones available. I love learning a little bit about the different locations as well as dong the high quality puzzles. The photos are so beautiful and fun to work on. I hope you will check them out. Please feel free to share photos of puzzles you have completed lately in the comments!