Crosswords may improve health and longevity

It’s now fairly widely believed that crossword puzzles can extend life expectancy.

There is no doubt that they exercise the brain and keep the mind active. Solving a daily crossword is a healthful way of passing the time.

Best themed crossword puzzles

Many crosswords have themes which have to be figured out by the solver. These can be repeating sets of words in a puzzle or long repeating phrases which are all similar.  Usually the hints or clues for these are quite tricky but they can be cracked by solving the words that connect to them. This will lead to the aha! moment when you figure out the answers to them.

You can find some of the best themed crossword puzzles at Ilovecrosswords.com This is a website which offers crossword books by one of the most well-known theme crossword writers in the USA, Myles Mellor.  All the crosswords on his website are purchased through secure link to Amazon.com and his themed crossword puzzle books are highly ranked there.

Some of Myles Mellor’s books which stand out in this themed crosswords category are 101 Themed Sunday Crossword Puzzles and 110 Themed Crossword Puzzles both of which will provide hours of enjoyment and relaxation.  Another very good crossword book on this site with many themed crosswords is 110 Easy to Read Crosswords- Medium level puzzles.

Whatever your preferences are in terms of difficulty levels, this site has some of the best crossword puzzles out there.  There is a whole set of easy crosswords there and these include the popular 150 Easy Peasy Crossword Puzzles: Puzzles to challenge and entertain your brain rated over 4 stars out of 5 on Amazon.  A sister to that book is 201 Easy Peasy Crossword Puzzles which has over 50 extra crosswords and only $1 more than the earlier book.

Performing well in Amazon rankings

Amazon easy crossword puzzles has included these books in its searches and rankings which says a lot for their quality and popularity.

Going back to the health benefits, some studies have reported that crossword puzzles may slow the onset of Alzheimers disease. Myles Mellor has donated a daily crossword feed to the Altzheimers.org website to help people who suffer from this.

Getting started

Interestingly, Myles got started in his profession as a crossword writer because he wanted to help his father who was living in England.  Back in 2001 Myles’ mother died leaving his Dad alone after 50 years of marriage. His father was quite depressed and Myles wanted to cheer him up. He recalled that his father loved crosswords and had actually taught him how to solve them when he was a boy. So he started to write some themed crosswords on pieces if paper with a felt-tip pen and sent them off to his Dad. His father loved the puzzles and wrote back enthusiastically after completing them. After he had completed 3 or 4 of them, he advised Myles to try to publish them as they were “pretty good”.

New career

That was the beginning of a new career.

Twenty years later Myles Mellor is now one of the top crossword puzzle writers in the USA.

He syndicates crosswords to over 100 newspapers and creates theme crosswords for 60-100 magazines and companies every year, many on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.

He also writes themed crosswords for anniversaries, celebrations and even weddings and engagement parties. People provide words related to their lives and families which Myles uses to create crossword puzzles which tell a personal story and heartfelt messages to loved ones.

Myles Mellor’s main concern when creating crosswords and puzzles is to bring joy and relief to people amidst the daily stresses of living.

Here’s a note he received from a solver:

“ I came across your crossword puzzle book at my local thrift store. I just wanted to tell you that I am really enjoying it. It’s different than many of my other ones. I am a 41 year old woman who’s struggled with aphasia since my adolescence. I just wanted to tell you that I like your work.”

Crosswords may not cure diseases but they sure help people live happier lives.

Myles Mellor’s  credits include: Southwest Airlines, TV Guide, Roundel (BMW magazine), Wall Street Journal, Tribune Media Services, Fleishman-Hillard, The Daily Fashion, Vibe magazine, International Musician, Blue Cross Lifetimes, The Genome Society Journal,  Land’s End, MasterCard, Computer World, IBM’s demo.com, The Council on Foreign Relations, OECD, T-Mobile, America’s Community Bankers, Today’s Officer, Meetings Professional International, American Bar Association, Costco, Harvard Law School, Orange Coast magazine, Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, History Channel magazine, SAP, Long Island Pulse, The National Association of Realtors, Outdoor News, Pilates, Nob Hill Gazette, Athlon Sports, Speed TV website(re NASCAR), Little League Baseball, Ability magazine, Healthy Living, Lighthouse Digest, Dodge Viper, IEEE, The Diversity Journal, Planet Green, Odyssey Couleur, DIVA, Mann Publications and hundreds more.