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Why doing puzzles makes you happy

The fascination about doing puzzles

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Why do we do puzzles?

Work is done and it's time to go home! In order to put some distance between work and their colleagues, many people seek an after-work activity that allows them to take their mind off of their routine life. In this respect, doing puzzles is an appropriate solution to relax after a day at work.

Does doing puzzles really make people happy?

It certainly does! Assembling a puzzle can truly bring happiness. Searching, finding and assembling and ultimately seeing the puzzle come together is what most people find fascinating.

What do researchers say?

Not only puzzle fans say that doing puzzles makes you happy. It has been scientifically proven that doing puzzles is sure to lift your spirits – in more ways than one, as Dr. Stephan Lermer (Communication Psychologist) has discovered: “Firstly, surprising sub-goals are achieved when doing a puzzle.”

“Secondly,” adds Lermer, “the overall result, which symbolizes ‘I did it!’ can be displayed, which brings admiration and recognition. I like to differentiate between arrogant and healthy pride – people who do puzzles can be proud of themselves in a healthy way.”

Competence meets challenge

But psychology is aware of even more reasons why doing puzzles is fascinating for so many people: “We humans feel stressed if we have a task that we don't succeed at and are bored if we are competent at something but have no task,” explains Lermer.

“By doing puzzles, we achieve the perfect balance: this is where competence meets challenge. That means: We have a task that we are capable of doing, but are not sure how long we need to complete it and whether we will be successful at it on the first try. That is the charm of doing a puzzle.” Actually achieving goals, which we have set for ourselves, strengthens our self-confidence and brings us inner harmony and satisfaction. And who knows – maybe doing puzzles even is the key to happiness.