I'm writing to note my disappointment with the headline the UK Telegraph article, "Crossword Puzzles Can Help Maintain Healthier Brains," which perpetuates the myth that doing crossword puzzles "can help delay the onset of degenerative neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's." Nowhere in the article by Michael J. Valenzuela does either the word "crossword" or "puzzle" figure. Nor does any serious research to date suggest that doing crossword puzzles can affect Alzheimer's disease. Instead, extensive research shows that it's fun, failure-free, on-going mentally stimulating leisure activities ~ such as hobbies we enjoy, do well, and engage in frequently ~ that may impact on our risk of Alzheimer's disease. If we love doing crossword puzzles and do them a lot, they may be beneficial for our brains. But if we do them out of fear of mental decline, we're more likely to have the brain-numbing experience of feeling stupid because we can't think of the words that fit the clues. For a summary of leisure activities that the best research has shown to reduce the risk of memory loss and Alzheimer's disease, see www.lbaseminars.com.

Lucie Arbuthnot, Ph.D.