CROSSWORD PUZZLES
A new study by researchers from Columbia University and Duke University published in the NEJM Evidence shows that doing crossword puzzles has an advantage over computer video games for memory functioning in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
CROSSWORD PUZZLES
In a randomized, controlled trial, led by D.P. Devanand, MD, professor of psychiatry and neurology at Columbia, with Murali Doraiswamy, MD, professor of psychiatry and medicine at Duke, researchers determined that participants (average age 71) trained in doing web-based crossword puzzles demonstrated greater cognitive improvement than those who were trained on cognitive video games.
To conduct their study, researchers at Columbia and Duke randomly assigned 107 participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at the two different sites to either crossword puzzles training or cognitive games training with intensive training for 12 weeks followed by booster sessions up to 78 weeks. Both interventions were delivered via a computerized platform with weekly compliance monitoring.
The study also highlights the importance of engagement. Based on remote electronic monitoring of computer use, participants at a later stage of impairment may have better engaged with the more familiar crossword puzzles than with computerized cognitive games.
For decades, the Times remained the only major metropolitan newspaper in America without a puzzle. On Feb. 15, 1942, just two months after the Japanese Navy Air Service had launched its air strike against the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, the Times caved. Suddenly, the puzzle was not a frivolous distraction but a necessary diversion, something to keep readers sane with the rest of the news so bleak. And, as an editor pointed out in a note to publisher Arthur Hay Sulzberger, the crossword would provide readers something to occupy time during coming blackout days. So Sulzberger decided to institute a puzzle. But, he reasoned, if the Times was going to have a crossword, it was going to be the best crossword in the nation.
Lastly, a bit of good news: research suggests semantic memory does not decline in normal aging. As you continue to learn new information throughout your life, your vocabulary and your ability to solve crossword puzzles may actually improve with age.
Need help with crossword answers in Persona 5 Royal? On certain days when you return to Leblanc in the evening, you'll find a crossword book on the leftmost table. Examining it will allow you to take on a crossword challenge. Crosswords do not make time pass, and you can attempt them even if you've been to the Metaverse during the day. Completing a crossword grants you a small amount of Knowledge, so they're worth doing (and they're kind of fun).
The first crossword puzzle appeared in December 21st, 1913 of the Sunday edition of the New York World, written by Arthur Wynne. Since, crossword puzzles have grown in popularity and have become a standard part of newspapers and publications across the world.
If you do the same crossword over and over again, you'll never see any improvement. But if you find a variety of different crosswords and work them into your routine, then you'll always have something new to look forward to and something new to challenge yourself with.
If you're looking to improve your vocabulary or just pass some time, a crossword game is an excellent choice. It is the best of both worlds. You get to learn something new while you have fun, and it can be played almost anywhere.
Don't worry if you're just starting out playing crosswords either, as we can provide you with a little crossword help. Before long, you won't even need it. You'll have words like "smee" and "alee" and "era" and "ere" leaping to mind as if they've always been there. After all, challenging yourself mentally is a good thing, and we're happy to help with that.
These free crossword puzzles are designed for ESL students from beginning to advanced levels. They are downloadable and may be reproduced for classroom use. Crossword puzzles can be used to teach, introduce, and reinforce vocabulary words. Each crossword puzzle comes with an answer key. Answer keys can be shown on classroom interactive whiteboards, making it easy for students to correct their own work. The vocabulary words can be repeated chorally or read individually for pronunciation practice. Note: Interactive crossword puzzles are available for some EL Civics subjects and they are clearly marked.
These EL Civics puzzles are designed to help students learn about the American government and history. They include information about American figures, symbols, landmarks, and buildings. Some of the crossword puzzle clues are from the US Citizenship Test.
Part of civics education is knowing about your state. Each of these state crossword puzzles includes information such as the state's nickname, the date it entered the union, its flower, highest mountain, or longest river. Some answers can be found on this website's state lessons page.
Be especially on the lookout for short words composed of common letters, such as "area," "ode," and "aloe." Those words have been featured in hundreds of New York Times crossword puzzles in the past 25 years, according to the database XWord Info. Do enough crosswords and you'll start to notice the same small words pop up time and time again.
One subset of short crossword answers is three-letter compass directions. There are eight choices here: north-northeast (NNE), east-northeast (ENE), east-southeast (ESE), south-southeast (SSE), south-southwest (SSW), west-southwest (WSW), west-northwest (WNW) and north-northwest (NNW).
Crossword puzzles follow a strict logic that can sometimes steer you toward the correct answers. For example, clues will always match the tense of their answers, so if you see a clue like "Interacted with Jeeves," you'll know the answer will be "asked" instead of "ask" or "asking."
As Wordplay editor Deb Amien wrote, "A crossword puzzle is not a test of intelligence, and solving is not really about the size of your vocabulary. Becoming a good solver is about understanding what the clues are asking you to do."
Crosswords might not keep you sharp, but they are fun! Try our brain-trivia crossword to see how much you know about the brain. Or, to learn more about research on the effects of crosswords vs. brain training, read about this independent, peer-reviewed study in 681 participants.
Some puzzles will provide some starting information in the Introduction,including the location of 1-Across (and 1-Down, too) and the symmetry of the puzzle.If you want the extra challenge of figuring these out,hide the introduction quickly when you open the puzzle.You can always show it later if you want.
For puzzles where the 1-Across location is not specified in the introduction,you can still learn it by tapping on the iconat the top of the screen and turning on the Shade Starting Cell hint.This will highlight where clue number 1 goes in the grid.(Note: if a puzzle does not include a solution, this hint is not available.)
For puzzles with standard symmetry, if the puzzle has an odd number of Across clues,the middle clue will be in the middle row and will have a length which will match thewidth of the puzzle in being either odd or even. The same is true for the Down clues.If there is an odd number of both Across and Down clues, the two middle answers willintersect in the center of the grid.Similar logic can also be used for non-standard symmetry.For example, in a puzzle with a left-right symmetry, the middle clue of an odd-lengthDown clue list will be in the middle column.
Study finds adults with mild cognitive decline assigned puzzles showed less brain shrinkage, better daily functioning.A new study shows that doing crossword puzzles has an advantage over computer video games for memory functioning in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. The research was conducted by scientists from Columbia University and Duke University. The study will be published today (October 27) in the journal NEJM Evidence. 041b061a72