5 MENTAL EXERCISES TO MENTALLY PREPARE FOR AN ESCAPE ROOM
We love puzzles. Challenging puzzles allow us to engage our curiosity, and in a way, we all like to be detectives. Perhaps this is one reason people love escape rooms. We believe that brain teasers, brain games and logic puzzles are mental exercises that can mentally prepare you for an escape room.
A lot of research has been performed to examine the general benefits of mental exercises. We can use this information to deduce the effectiveness on solving escape room puzzles. Much of it suggests that our brains do better in the long term if they are exposed to activities including brain teasers, brain games and logic puzzles.
Based on recent research here are some of the potential benefits of mental exercises:
- Boosts brain activity
- Enhances memory
- Reduces the risk for dementia
- Improves concentration
Let’s examine 5 types of mental exercises and potential benefits:
1. Crossword and other logic-based fill-in puzzles.
First on our list is crossword and other logic-based fill-in puzzles. Solving crossword and other logic-based fill-in puzzles such as word searches, sudoku, and mazes is fun. This type of mental exercises can be a great way to improve our vocabulary, refresh our minds, and increase one’s concentration.
The University of Exeter Medical School and Kings College London gathered and examined data from 20,000+ individuals from an age range between 50 years and 96 years of age. The team asked the individuals how often they played word puzzles such as crosswords.
The study, one of the largest of its kind, used on-line assessments from the CogTrackTM and PROTECT test systems to assess certain facets of brain function. The study concluded that “The frequency of word puzzle use is directly related to the quality of cognitive function on a range of major cognitive domains in this large population aged up to 96 years.”
A UC-Berkeley study reported that participation in cognitively stimulating activities (such as solving crosswords) may help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Beta-amyloid (identified in the study as [11C]PiB) is a toxic protein that accumulates in the brain, and is the main constituent of a brain plaque in Alzheimer’s disease. This study concluded that “Individuals with greater early- and middle-life cognitive activity had lower [11C]PiB uptake.”
The mental task of putting words together in a crossword puzzle can also help your language skills. An Irish study involved a group of university students who were asked to complete one simple crossword puzzle per day for 4 weeks. The study evaluated semantic verbal fluency (SVF), a cognitive function in the brain that facilitates information retrieval from memory. The Irish study concluded that “Simple crosswords may prove a straightforward means of improving SVF in this population.”
Check out these crossword puzzle books in our store:
Funster Crossword Puzzle Book for Adults
2. Brain Teasers & Riddles
Next on our list is brain teasers. Brain teasers are a form of puzzle that requires thinking in unconventional ways with given constraints in mind. They challenge your problem-solving skills in unique ways.
The International Journal of Environmental & Science Education documented a study on the Investigation of the Effects of Brain Teasers on Attention Spans of Pre-School Children. This study’s purpose was to explore the effects of solving brain teasers on attention spans of pre-school children. The experiment group was given the brain teaser curriculum 3 days a week, one hour a day for 10 weeks. The control group was given the National Education Ministry Pre-School curriculum. From the results it was seen that there was a significant difference in favor of the experiment group. This study concluded that “This result shows that brain teasers are effective in improving the attention span.”
Check out these brain teaser and riddle books in our store:
Of Course!: The Greatest Collection of Riddles & Brain Teasers For Expanding Your Mind
The Sherlock Holmes Puzzle Collection: The Lost Cases
3. Jigsaw Puzzles
Third on the list is jigsaw puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles are mental exercises that are especially good for improving short-term memory. Our short-term memory helps us remember shapes and colors and visualize the bigger picture to figure out which pieces will fit together.
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience documented a study, Jigsaw Puzzling Taps Multiple Cognitive Abilities and Is a Potential Protective Factor for Cognitive Aging. A postulate of the study was that solving jigsaw puzzles may provide two effective features that benefit cognition: first, cognitive demands of solving jigsaw puzzles could contribute to increase the mind’s resistance to damage of the brain (Gelfo et al., 2018), and second, regulation of distressing emotions through solving jigsaw puzzles could prevent repetitive stress that can exert a negative impact on cognitive aging and dementia (Lupien et al., 2009; Wilson et al., 2011). Cognitive aging is where abilities, such as conceptual reasoning, memory, and processing speed, decline gradually over time
Results indicate that solving jigsaw puzzles may provide protection against cognitive aging. However, engaging in low amounts of jigsaw puzzling over a 30-day period (~3,600 connected pieces) did not provide clinically relevant results to conclude a benefit. Approximately 9,100 pieces over this period, performed over long periods of time provided relevant results. Specifically, the study concluded, “Given that solving JPs has no known harms, we think that long-term, but not short-term jigsaw puzzling can be considered for recommendations regarding healthy cognitive aging as one component within an intrinsically motivated, physically, socially and cognitively active lifestyle.” Perhaps short-term jigsaw puzzling combined with the other methods of mental exercise presented in this blog article can still provide a broader spectrum of benefits.
Check out these jigsaw puzzles in our store:
Jumbo Jan Van Haasteren The Escape Jigsaw Puzzle (2000 Piece)
4,000 Piece Puzzle – The World Map
4. 3D Logic Puzzles
The fourth item on our list is 3D logic puzzles. 3D logic puzzles train logical thinking and visualization (i.e., visuospatial cognition). These puzzles include a three-dimensional version of a jigsaw puzzle or three-dimensional sequential move puzzles such as the Rubik’s Cube.
Three-dimensional sequential move puzzles often take mathematical shapes such as cuboids, polyhedral (e.g., tetrahedron), spheres, cylinders, and other miscellaneous shapes. The construct of the puzzle will provide the rules or methods of movement. Spatial recognition is required to get the object into the correct shape and/or color patterns.
We were unable to find any clinical studies evaluating the effect of solving 3d logic puzzles. We speculate that the benefits would be similar to solving jigsaw puzzles with the additional benefit of improving spatial perception and hand-eye coordination.
Check out these 3D logic puzzles in our store:
Neutron: Handmade & Organic 3D Brain Teaser Wooden Puzzle
Shooting Star: Handmade & Organic 3D Brain Teaser Wooden Puzzle
5. Escape Games Apps
Last on our list is escape game apps. Playing escape games apps will improve your perception about what certain objects could mean and what types of things to look for. As soon as you get in an escape room, you should be inspecting the room and opening, examining, and reading everything. These game apps may not make you an expert at a “brick and mortar” escape room, but they should impress upon you an idea of how to look for clues and solve puzzles. While we could not find any studies for online escape games, based on the similarities the benefits should be obvious.
Check out these games in our store:
Do you think these exercises will help prepare for an escape room? Can you think of any exercises we missed? Please comment below and let us know what you think!