I thought solving the crossword puzzle and Sudoku might be enough. But a new study out by PopCap Games and University of Massachusetts Amherst suggest I might need to start playing casual games online, since I RECENTLY turned 50.

According psychology researcher Susan Whitbourne, playing PopCap’s popular Bejeweled Blitz social game could help keep my mind sharp. (I need all the help I can get).

Whitbourne determined that by playing the game regularly, 47 percent of adults over 50 said they felt sharper while performing other tasks. Meanwhile, 24 percent of adults over 65 said their ability to see patterns improved.

Seattle’s PopCap Games was the underwriter of the research.

Here is an article by MassLive.com in June on the research.