Almost everyone knows that sudoku is a logic game that can help exercise and even boost a person’s mental capabilities. This game teaches patience, requires logical thinking and works on filling in numbers, but no math skills are required!

Easy to understand, accessible and available to all ages and skill levels, playing sudoku is always a worthwhile hobby! However, did you know that sudoku benefits also include alleviating or preventing certain conditions?

But before that, it’s essential to remember that playing sudoku is not a substitute for proper medical treatment and assessment. However, it can help in many ways.

With that said, here are several examples of sudoku benefits against specific health conditions:

Depression

Defining Depression

Depression, also called Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or clinical depression, is a mood disorder that goes beyond the regular feelings of sadness we all experience at times.

It's like a heavy cloud of sadness or emptiness that lingers, making it tough to find joy or hope. Anyone, regardless of age or status, can be affected by depression.

It can impact how you think, and feel and even your physical health, making everyday tasks seem incredibly difficult. Some common symptoms of depression include:

• Fatigue or loss of energy
• Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• Thoughts of death or suicide
• Persistent sad, empty or irritable moods
• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
• Changes in appetite or weight
• Sleep disturbances (insomnia or oversleeping)

Benefits of Sudoku to Depression

Sudoku is a sustained activity that is great for improving a person's mood by giving them something to do and distracting them from distressing thoughts and concerns. To play sudoku is to devote a certain portion of your time to using logical skills to solve puzzles, so it can help depressed or anxious people from entering a negative mental state.

While there are many advantages to playing the game, solving challenging sudoku puzzles isn't just for the health benefits—it's also great for building determination, which is important for people struggling with these mental health conditions. Do remember that while playing more puzzles is great, the enjoyment and the experience itself are the most important.

Just like how physical exercises can impact the overall mood of an individual, challenging thinking games that promote logical thinking skills like sudoku are helpful in providing both entertainment and a short-term goal for the day. Such a simple game can end up spawning complicated strategies for more challenging puzzles, which eventually results in a healthy routine. This is especially effective for people dealing with depression and anxiety, and playing brain games and solving sudoku puzzles gives them a sense of accomplishment that boosts the will to live in a fun way.

Successfully finishing a sudoku puzzle imbues one with pride and helps them believe in themselves more. That's why healthy competition sudoku groups are common in retirement homes and certain communities.

Aside from that, people depressed with monetary problems can still move forward in finding and solving sudoku puzzles as a new hobby. Sudoku can be drawn manually, printed on sheets or played on free sudoku puzzle websites like ours.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

Defining Dementia

Dementia is an umbrella term for a decline in mental capability to the point that it interferes with normal life. It can be frustrating and confusing because even simple tasks can become challenging. Dementia affects your ability to plan and make decisions, and it can change your personality and behavior too.

It's not a normal part of getting older, but it's mostly present in older demographics and requires proper care and support. Many common mental problems fall under dementia.

Defining Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is a specific disease under dementia that can be best described as a type of brain disorder (mental illness and brain disorder are similar but different things) that messes with your memory and thinking. It's like having a bunch of tangled wires in your head, making it hard to remember things you once knew easily and hampering proper brain function.

You might forget the names of certain terms and family members, get lost in familiar places or even forget how to do everyday tasks like bathing or cooking. Alzheimer's is a progressive condition, and it's not just normal forgetfulness—it becomes worse and more frequent as time goes by.

Dementia and Solving Sudoku Puzzles

All kinds of mentally stimulating activities are considered to be significant in improving brain health among patients dealing with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. As these conditions are mostly associated with the aging population, the benefits of playing sudoku lie in keeping the brain active, which then promotes logical thinking, problem-solving skills, memory recall and other cognitive functions.

The benefits of sudoku for these patients don't end there though, as having healthy competition among family members or fellow patients can also improve social interactions, and provide a sense of accomplishment and belonging.

While there are no surefire ways to prevent or cure dementia and Alzheimer’s fully, giving these patients brain teasers and constant activities can greatly improve the state of their minds. Playing sudoku improves long- and short-term memory, their mood and provides them with a direction even though they're struggling with these conditions.

Stroke

Defining a Stroke

A stroke can be described as a "brain attack." It happens when something blocks the blood flow to a part of your brain, kind of like a traffic jam in your head. When this happens, brain cells don't get the oxygen they need, and they can start to "malfunction" or even die.

It's like a short circuit in your brain that can mess up how your body works. Depending on which part of the brain is affected, a stroke can cause problems with speaking, moving or even logical thinking.

Playing Challenging Sudoku Puzzles and Its Connection to Stroke Recovery

While a stroke is more of a physical disability that restricts motor control and the senses, the brain can still benefit from playing games like sudoku. Sudoku as a puzzle in particular, is especially convenient for patients with limited limb control since everything in the game can be completed through clicking or tapping.

One of the biggest benefits of sudoku is that it's not physically demanding to play, unlike most modern games which require reflexes and great hand-eye coordination. To play sudoku is to solve a puzzle that simply consists of filling in cells with numbers, where you can exercise your problem-solving skills in a calm manner that fits your own pace.

Since strokes affect the brain, brain-boosting activities like sudoku puzzles can be beneficial for recovering patients, as rehabilitation goes beyond just the motor functions—memory recall, problem-solving skills, logical thinking and other cognitive functions are also just as important.

Neurological Conditions

What Are Neurological Conditions?

Neurological conditions refer to a wide range of medical disorders that affect the brain, spinal cord and nervous system. These conditions can be caused by a variety of things, such as genetic factors, infections, injuries, autoimmune disorders or degenerative processes.

Neurological conditions can have a significant impact on a person's physical and cognitive function, as well as their emotional and behavioral well-being.

Sudoku Benefits Among People With Neurological Conditions

While these conditions are mostly dealt with through surgery and medication, playing sudoku can still help in dealing with neuro-related issues. In fact, any popular puzzle game can help, but playing sudoku can prove to be a lot easier.

Mental activities like puzzle games can provide numerous health benefits, such as enhancing neuroplasticity and improving their mood while they cannot function as well as before. This is especially true for bedridden patients, as they are limited in the number of activities they can perform.

Providing them with something to do and ways they can feel a sense of accomplishment in their decision-making and memory skills, and do wonders for their behavior and assist in cognitive rehabilitation.

Other Cognitive Decline-Related Conditions (Parkinson’s, MCI, etc.)

Cognitive decline is the gradual loss of the ability to perform cognitive functions such as thinking, learning, remembering, etc. While most cognitive decline-related conditions such as Parkinson’s disease are commonly found among the older populace, they can still affect anyone—especially those who are not regularly engaging their brain in mentally engaging exercises.

Regularly playing Sudoku and other cognition-based activities can help keep the mind turning, which not only lowers the risk of mental conditions but also improves overall mood and productivity. Even the act of trying to find endless free games can stimulate the brain and help reduce the risk of losing logical and concentration skills.