Word games are a great way to sharpen your mental acuity. My 78-year-old neighbor, Uncle Ernie, does the New York Times crossword puzzle every Sunday. He does the local crossword every day. People are constantly amazed at his chronological age.
The mind truly is like any other muscle. If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.
If you don’t like crosswords, here are some other fun ways to sharpen your skills: Scrabble, Readers Digest’s “It Pays to Increase Your Word Power,” Password (if you’re more into TV than magazines or newspapers), even Jeopardy.
If you’re already doing one of these, try a different one. Getting in a rut doesn’t increase the gray matter. You build more neural net by trying new things.