Health
How to keep sharp — with puzzles!
Puzzles are fun and entertaining, but their benefi
ts go beyond simple recreation. In fact, playing and
solving puzzles on a regular basis can benefi t adults
and children in various ways.
Puzzles often stimulate problem-solving centers
in the brain and can improve brain health. Researchers
have found that, by completing crossword
puzzles, playing challenging games or doing other
puzzle-related activities, individuals may be less
likely to develop brain plaques that have been tied to
Alzheimer’s disease. Data published in the Archives
of Neurology found a distinct connection between
people who exercised their minds with stimulating
activities in their early and middle years and brain
health. This group had less Beta-amyloid protein uptake
in their brains, which is linked to the onset of
Alzheimer’s, than those who didn’t engage in puzzles
during the same time frame.
Beyond their health benefi ts, puzzles offer some
additional perks.
• Puzzles boost vocabulary. Puzzles such as crosswords
or codewords/cryptograms introduce people
to new words. This helps people expand their vocabulary
and can help them improve their spelling.
• Puzzles teach patience. Puzzles can be challenging,
and such challenges can promote patience in regard
to approaching and realizing goals.
• Puzzles can reinforce lessons. Teaching through
puzzle play is an effective way to tap into memory retention
while making lessons fun.
• Puzzles may improve intelligence. Engaging
in puzzles can force players to think and reason using
general knowledge, memory, spatial imagery,
������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
COURIER L 42 IFE, DEC. 6-12, 2019
and logic. These skills help to sharpen intellect over
time. Researchers at the University of Michigan even
found that adults could boost their IQs by four points
after spending 25 minutes a day doing puzzles.
• Puzzles reinforce concentration. Concentration
is required to fi nd words hidden in a word search
puzzle or to solve a brainteaser. According to data
on SelfGrowth.com, puzzles naturally induce a state
of creative, focused meditation.
• Puzzles improve visual-spatial reasoning. When
solving a jigsaw puzzle or working one’s way through
a maze, players have to look at different shapes and
fi gure out where they fi t within the larger picture.
Better visual-spacial skills can help with packing,
driving and using a map and can be valuable career
tools in fi elds such as architecture.
Puzzles are a fun recreational activity that also
can boost brain health.
��r. Vivian J. Bea, an expert
in breast cancer disparities,
has been named section
chief of breast surgical
oncology at NewYork-Presbyterian
Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
She also serves as an assistant
professor of surgery at
Weill Cornell Medicine.
“Dr. Bea is a gifted surgeon
who is deeply committed to patients,
the underserved, and
eliminating breast cancer disparities
through research and
health initiatives,” said Robert
Guimento, president of New-
York-Presbyterian Brooklyn
Methodist Hospital. “We are
delighted that she will be leading
the hospital’s breast surgical
oncology program, and
providing our patients with exceptional
care.”
In her new role, Dr. Bea will
strive to reduce breast cancer
disparities in the Brooklyn
community through education
and outreach. Her goal is
to reduce breast cancer mortality
through community education,
early screening and
detection, and access to New-
York-Presbyterian Brooklyn
Methodist Hospital’s multidisciplinary
breast cancer treatment
center. She has already
begun engaging the community
through the development
of culturally competent educational
and training programs
about breast cancer risk and
prevention.
“An esteemed breast surgeon,
Dr. Bea has dedicated her
career to ensuring the best outcomes
for her patients by providing
the highest quality care
that features all of the cuttingedge
advances in managing benign
as well as malignant diseases
of the breast,” said Dr.
Lisa Newman, chief of the section
of breast surgery at Weill
Cornell Medicine and NewYork
Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
Medical Center. “We are
excited to welcome her to Weill
Cornell Medicine and NewYork
Presbyterian.”
“I am thrilled to be joining
NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn
Methodist Hospital,” Dr.
Bea said. “There are disparities
in our communities that lead to
different health outcomes based
on one’s race, genetics, income
and access to care. Because African
American women are often
diagnosed at later stages in
the disease, their breast cancer
mortality rates are 40 percent
higher than white women. By
prioritizing education, outreach,
early diagnosis and
multi-disciplinary treatment,
we can save lives.”
Most recently, Dr. Bea was
a breast surgical oncologist in
the Division of Breast Surgery
at MD Anderson Cancer Center
at Cooper in Camden, New
Jersey. Prior to that, she served
as a clinical specialist at the
University of Texas MD Anderson
Cancer Center in Houston,
where she completed her
fellowship in breast surgical
oncology. She completed her
residency and internship in
general surgery at the Medical
University of South Carolina in
Charleston.
Recognized as a rising star
and top physician in her field,
Dr. Bea was selected as one of
the 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority
Health by the National
Minority Quality Forum for
her dedication to community
outreach and breast cancer
disparities research. She was
also recognized by the American
Society of Clinical Oncology
(ASCO) Conquer Cancer
Foundation, and received the
American Association for Cancer
Research (AACR) Minority
Scholar in Cancer Research
Award. She is a member of the
American Society of Breast
Surgeons, the National Medical
Association, the American Association
of Cancer Research,
and the Arnold P. Gold Humanism
Honor Society of the American
College of Surgeons.
Dr. Bea is also the founder
of Girls Loving OurSelves Successfully
(G.L.O.S.S.), a mentoring
program for underrepresented
middle and high
school girls, and a children’s
book author.
�������� �������������� ������ ���������� ���������������� ������������ ������ �������������� ������������������ ������������������ ������ ����������������
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������
/SelfGrowth.com
