Puzzles and games, along with other stimulating activities, can increase cognitive scores in seniors with dementia ... word searches, and crossword puzzles are excellent cognitive exercises.

That premise launched multiple brain training websites and apps, and most likely contributed to the sale of countless Sudoku, crossword and logic puzzle books over the past two decades.

For example, one found that, among adults who developed dementia, those who regularly completed crossword puzzles delayed the onset of memory decline by more than two years compared with those who ...