BY KIMBERLY MAYER
Perhaps because I grew up as the daughter of an Organizational Psychologist, I love puzzles. My dad would be working in his home office evaluating candidates for executive positions, and I’d pop in hoping he’d give me Wechsler tests. These many years later I know we can do no better for the brain than participate in mentally stimulating puzzles, crossword puzzles and the like. Again and again, studies find that puzzle engagement builds cognitive reserve and can delay age-related memory decline.
Half of my dining table at home is often occupied by a jigsaw puzzle. I appreciate how each new set can be a challenge, yet calming. While puzzling, a person zones out with a focus much like meditation. Both the left brain (logical) and right brain (creative) hemispheres of the brain are engaged simultaneously. Critical thinking skills are improved, and as the puzzle comes together the brain releases dopamine—a feel good chemical. What is there to lose?
I had just returned from NYC on May 31, just missing “Read on the Lawn Day,” an event in Bryant Park near 42nd St. Sponsored by Reading Rhythms, 1,500 people showed up June 1 with blankets and books to read silently in the park. The event was free. An outdoor reading room, I would have liked that. Instead I was back on island for a bird walk at The San Juan Islands Sculpture Park & Nature Preserve. “In June most birds have arrived from their wintering grounds,” pointed out our guide, Tyler Davis. I was content to be there too, peering for birds in trees, listening to their songs, and following their flights in the sky.
The benefits of puzzles, events like Read on the Lawn Day, and a bird walk… If I didn’t know where this column was going when I started, I do now. Whatever we can do to break from screens—that, I think, is the gist of it.
Originally published Wednesday June 10, 2026 in The Journal of the San Juan Islands
a little elbow room
a little elbow room 