THIS week we wanted to take a look at puzzles and how they are useful for keeping our mind active.

September 9 is International Sudoku Day, a day that is designated by the International Puzzle Federation.

This specific date was chosen because Sudoku is traditionaly played on a 9 x 9 board.

The day is meant to celebrate the popular number puzzle game of Sudoku and encourage people to learn and play it.

Playing Sudoku can help improve concentration, memory, and logical thinking. Studies have shown that older people who regularly play Sudoku can benefit from keeping their brains active, and it may even help prevent cognitive dysfunctions like dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Puzzles in general have many benefits for children and adults alike.

The ability to creatively solve problems and think critically is greatly valued in the workforce. Puzzles help us develop all of those important skills.

Puzzles require us to take different approaches to try and solve a problem since there’s a lot of trial and error involved. We also learn the value of formulating theories, testing hypotheses, and changing our perspectives when something doesn’t work out according to plan.

When solving a puzzle, we have to look at different pieces and figuring out where they fit within the larger picture. Doing this regularly helps improve our visual-spatial reasoning. Better visual-spacial skills help with a number of everyday tasks.

These photos show how people in Cumbria have enjoyed puzzles over the years. We hope they will bring back some fond memories for some of you.