Many studies have demonstrated an association between mental stimulation from games, puzzles, and challenging tasks, and a lower risk for developing dementia.

A study published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry suggests that doing daily crossword puzzles will improve cognitive performance.

Researchers randomly divided 37 middle-age and older adults into a crossword puzzle group and a control group that wrote a daily entry in a diary rather than complete daily puzzles.

Before and after the four-week experiment, research volunteers were given assessments of different language skills, such as how quickly they can think of certain words.

Study volunteers in the crossword-puzzle group demonstrated significant improvements in their verbal cognitive skills, while the control did not.

These encouraging findings will likely make many crossword fans even more passionate about their puzzles.