Each puzzle gives you deep relaxation and amazing mental clarity. But have you ever wondered why this occurs?
Puzzle games are a fascinating way to bring order into your mental chaos and restore the inner balance in these stressful times. Jigsaw puzzles require a lot of concentration and discipline, and are much more than just a leisure activity. If you complete puzzles every day, in your privacy, this wonderful creative activity becomes a beneficial practice, very similar to mindfulness.
Mindfulness and puzzling: a perfect match
The concept of mindfulness refers to awareness of the present moment. Accepting feelings and emotions as they come, without putting a label on them, is also mindfulness. When you are fully aware of the present moment, no previous thoughts disturb you and no plans from the future make their way into your mind.
Do you remember what it was like in your childhood when you enjoyed every moment and felt that the whole world belonged to you? You were curious, fearlessly exploring and experiencing every day that absolute freedom of being yourself. But as you grew up, you lost that magical feeling of childhood, you gained experiences of all kinds, and your mind became more and more overwhelmed with thoughts.
In today’s times, living consciously and finding the inner balance is an increasing need. And jigsaw puzzles are one of the miraculous tools we have at our fingertips to achieve this. Adult puzzles and mindfulness go hand in hand.
Whether you choose a puzzle of 500, 1000, 2000 or even more pieces you enjoy every moment of the process, you learn to accept yourself, and you discover the magic of puzzle games with innocence and enthusiasm, just like a child.
Mindfulness through puzzling: 5 awesome health benefits
Each puzzle session is an amazing mindfulness journey that brings you untold benefits. Here are 5 of them:
1. Improve attention
In mindfulness practice, improving attention is very important. In puzzling, this occurs naturally because completing the picture from hundreds or thousands of pieces is the main goal. Therefore, your mind releases negative thoughts, making room for positive ones. By practicing this ability to focus on a specific thing, you are training your mind to work in your favor. This makes you more successful in solving daily tasks and dealing with difficult situations.
2. Sharp memory
Do you ever go to the pantry and forget why you went there? Or do you sometimes forget where you parked your car when you go shopping? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. We all experience memory loss or confusion. This happens due to tiredness, stress, and the general pressure we constantly put on our minds. When you put the puzzle pieces together, you get rid of all of your worries. You have to focus on the task ahead and memorize certain shapes, colors, and positions where you think the pieces would fit. This simple practice trains your memory and helps you focus on each present moment.
3. Improve your cognitive activity
Just like mindfulness, puzzling helps you focus better and maintain this deep state for a long time. This allows you to do whatever activity you set out to do in a short and efficient time: learning, working, and much more. Also, playing puzzle games stimulates both brain hemispheres, and you manage to think creatively and analytically at the same time. What could be more wonderful than that for your mind?
4. Effective stress and anxiety management
Stress is a kind of unseen enemy often accompanied by physical and mental exhaustion or fears of all kinds. Puzzle games, as well as mindfulness practices, don’t make these negative states magically disappear, but they do help you manage them, put them on the sidelines, and start living in complete peace with yourself. In addition, your brain releases more dopamine during the puzzling activity and each completed puzzle brings you happiness and immense satisfaction that you have accomplished a difficult task.
5. Acceptance and reconciliation with yourself
To find the logic of your first 1000-piece puzzle is not exactly the easiest job on earth, right? Most of the time we tend to judge ourselves harshly for every task we fail to complete on time. Small complaints pile up and end up consuming a lot of your energy. Puzzle games show you that there is always a solution and that, although you may not be able to figure it out the first time, you can always start again. The important thing is to be patient with yourself and to firmly believe that you will succeed.
Art puzzles for adults: a time for mindfulness
Art puzzles can give you precious moments of peace, relaxation, and reconnection. Recreating stunning replicas of famous masterpieces gives you the unique feeling of bringing the magic of an iconic artistic period into the present moment. With each piece you put in the right place, you are one step closer to the perfect painting that will look amazing on your wall.
Creating these masterpieces are an opportunity to fully enjoy the present, but also to reflect on your desires, and aspirations and make peace with yourself. The art puzzles offer you a complete and complex experience and are a truly mindful moment.
Conclusion
Jigsaw puzzles are a great way to celebrate life. They are a form of art, a unique challenge
that teaches you to be present in your own life, to enjoy all the simple things surrounding you, to be kind to yourself, and to allow yourself to be you.
Puzzle games offer you the opportunity to escape from yourself, but also to rediscover and recreate yourself piece by… peace. Hence each puzzling experience is a way of exploring not just the image in front of you but also your fascinating inner world.
Browse ROOVI’s puzzle adult collection and select your favorite patterns for unique moments of relaxation and inner connection.
