Sudoku is simple, but what it affects isn't.
If some of you haven't heard of it, Sudoku is a logic-based puzzle game, similar to a crossword puzzle, and it has far more benefits than just being a good time-killer. If practiced daily, it can improve basic thinking and learning skills that most, if not all, of us can apply to everyday life, whether we know it or not.
The real attraction to Sudoku is that, unlike your average crossword puzzle, it requires no external knowledge. It has a simple set of rules that one only needs to understand, and that's it!
(Besides knowing how to read and write the numbers 1 through 9.) Countless apps, found on any appstore, and websites are out there with a seemingly infinite amount of puzzles, so many that one person couldn't hope to conquer them all in their lifetime. Not to mention that new puzzles are created daily. If one worries about going through all of them, they can put those fears to rest. There are enough puzzles for one to do once a day for the rest of their life, and still have enough for the rest of us to do.
What does it do for us?
In a nutshell, Sudoku exercises ones logical thinking processes, and such constant stimulation of it can even improve your logical thinking skills. If you are stumped by "who-dun-it's" and other various logical puzzles, Sudoku might be a good alternative, as it lends itself a fewer set of rules that are always constant and never-changing.
It also isn't a bad choice for a hobby that takes a very small percentage of your time. Even I find myself doing a couple puzzles every night to get me in the sleeping mood.
Memory and logic are interconnected, if one is affected, the other will undoubtedly be affected as well. Therefore, Sudoku can show improvements on one's memory.
So if you ever find yourself scatterbrained from time to time, practicing Sudoku might be a good method to diminish that. Other benefits include, but are not limited to:
- A reduced risk of Alzheimer’s; through daily stimulation of the brain we will create stronger connections within our brains which is one of the best ways to fight off Alzheimer’s later in life.
- Improvement in thinking and learning skills; Sudoku constantly requires you to look at the same situation from different perspectives, a skill one can easily implement into everyday life.
- And a sense of accomplishment; after spending time on a Sudoku puzzle and eventually solving it, you'll feel good about accomplishing something that was giving you great difficulty. On top of that, if you become a daily Sudoku player, you'll see yourself improving as it takes less and less time to solve a puzzle, and that realization will further your sense of accomplishment.
Start today!
There are many skill levels in Sudoku, and the multitude of puzzles are all measured by a certain difficulty.
Some puzzles are ranked differently than others, but there are puzzles out there ranging from players with a "I just started tomorrow" skill level all the way to players that have been daily Sudoku'ers since the dawn of time.
So, hop onto your phone, nearest computer, or even buy a Sudoku book and start the literal number crunching. Your brain will love it, and you will too!
