According to a new study, people who keep their brains active by playing puzzles, crosswords and brain teasers, not only earn more but hold more senior positions at work.
Puzzle makers Jumbo Games surveyed 1,033 British workers aged 18 and over and found that the average income of puzzlers was 32,073 pounds while non-puzzlers took home 7 per cent less with an average salary of 29,923 pounds, Express & Star.Com reported.
People with an annual income of 45,000 pounds typically puzzle 35 per cent more than those on lower salaries (10.6 times a month compared to 7.9 times a month), while 70 per cent of people earning more than 1,20,000 pounds puzzle three times a week.
Some 14 per cent of puzzlers said that completing jigsaws and solving mind games such as crosswords and sudokus boosts their concentration at work while a quarter (25 per cent) believe that it gives them an edge over their colleagues.
More than a tenth of managing directors and chief executives questioned (11 per cent) admitted that they have seen a noticeable improvement in their brain power as a result of playing puzzles and brain teasers.
The study found that one in 10 Brits that puzzle (10 per cent) have been promoted in the last six months and nearly a third (28 per cent) have had a pay rise.
"Research shows that completing puzzles and other mental games sharpens the brain by improving concentration, memory, level of alertness, recall of detail, recognition of patterns and speed of reaction time," behavioural psychologist Donna Dawson said.