Does Sudoku Exercise The Brain?
There are certain hobbies that once adopted are not easily dropped. Sudoku is one such pastime and, like the practice of doing crossword puzzles, it is supposed to be beneficial to the brain. These kinds of intellectual games are quite addictive and some people believe that where the element of addiction is present it can’t possibly be good for you.
Researchers, whoever they are, seem to think applying yourself to solving Sudoku puzzles is among the very best ways to increase the power of your brain. You could mix Sudoku with a daily dose of classical music, a diet rich in protein, combine them with a policy of always getting your eight hours sleep and you will be a mental Jet Li. If you prefer Country And Western music, burgers and late nights in front of the TV, you can still keep your brain in shape with sudoku because it doesn’t interfere with your established lifestyle. That’s providing you don’t hate mental games or brain teasers.
You can carry a sudoku exercise with you, get one off a website or find one in a newspaper. You can start a puzzle in the train on the way to work and complete it between phone calls and typing up reports. Of course, like doing crossword puzzles, reading novels and smoking cigarettes in your breaks at work, Sudoku does have the potential to alienate you from your friends and acquaintances who would rather just engage in mindless human interaction during breaks.
While you are engaged in any of your usual mundane jobs your brain is on autopilot and you are in a kind of trance. Sudoku challenges you to focus your attention, apply the principles of logic and to engage your brain with something fresher than your domestic or career problems. This active engagement of the brain is said to be the equivalent of a session in the gym for your body. Your brain actually works better if it is challenged on a regular basis. It keeps brain cells healthy and your mental agility at its peak.
Memory loss and Alzheimers disease run like rabbits from a brain bulked up by regular sudoku problems. So far it is not known whether sudoku improves your dress sense as you age. Now schools are beginning to teach kids to solve sudoku problems because academics now believe that it helps children achieve higher scholastic results.
Here is a basic tutorial on sudoku –