The simple act of spending a few minutes each day doing something that stimulates your brain can help maintain mental quickness. Riddles, which force you to think in non-traditional ways, are a good way to help keep up your mental fitness.
Riddles are a form of brain teaser where the answer to the question is not always readily apparent. Riddles have been around since ancient times as a way of testing and comparing wit and of keeping people in suspense. An example riddle would be this: "What type of animal keeps the best time?"
The question is a bit misleading at first (and therefore it makes a good riddle!) because when asked, most people would probably start thinking about different types of animals and whether or not they would be able to keep time. They might think "hmm... cats? Monkeys? Snakes? Fish?" as they go through a large list of animals, and then they will probably realize that none of those animals are able to actually keep time, hence the riddle requires a different approach.
The answer to this riddle is "a watchdog!" Get it? The question wasn't meant to be taken literally, as most people would've initially interpreted it, because the answer is simply a play on words. Watches are used to keep time, so a watchdog is the animal that keeps the best time.
Studies have shown that people who spend a few minutes each day trying to solve riddles or other brain teasers score better on IQ tests over time and into old age because forcing the brain to work in this way causes it to stay "fresh" by maintaining efficiency within the synapses.
Some people who take the train to work every morning will do a few riddles during their ride as they prepare for work. And some companies email a few riddles to their employees every morning, as well to help "warm up" employees' brains.
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