A retro hobby that can help raise the level of happiness.

On a cold November day, hundreds of people gathered at an arena in Coventry, which has previously hosted gigs by Oasis, Rihanna, and Harry Styles, for a very different kind of event.

The 500 people who turned out – some from as far away as Mongolia and Canada – were taking part in an activity less known for drawing crowds: the Rubik’s UK Championships in “speed cubing”, or puzzle cubes at breakneck speed. Racing to solve

The arena was lined with tables and 15 events were held over three days. Some were involved in solving puzzles with one hand, others were blindfolded. Teenager James Alonso won the biggest event of the tournament – solving the classic 3×3 cube in 6.3 seconds.

Speedcubing has been popular since the 1980s. World record For the same tackle in this event is currently held by Max Park of the USA with a time of just 3.13 seconds. That’s a far cry from the initial speed of Ernie Rubik, an architecture professor who invented the Rubik’s Cube in 1974 and took about a month to solve it.

Flash forward to today and an estimated 412,000 people have participated. Speed ​​cubing competitions around the world. Popularity has also increased, with global sales of Rubik’s Cube products recorded at $86.6m (£67m) in 2023, up 13.5% from 2022.

This is not counting sales of other types of puzzle cubes by different brands. Some are wooden, others are electronic with built-in Bluetooth, then there are those with all sorts of colorful designs.

But now, scientists have hailed speedcubing, in particular, as not only a popular pastime but one that may have health benefits.

“Speedcubing offers a unique set of cognitive challenges, [alongside] social connectedness, and personal success that contribute to happiness”, says Polina Beloborodova, research associate at the University of Wisconsin Medicine Center for Healthy Minds.

And it is said to be much deeper than a simple momentary rush.

“Speedcubing addresses the basic psychological need for a sense of competence, effectiveness, and mastery,” explains Dr. Beloborodova. It involves a number of factors, including, problem solving, memory, spatial reasoning and motor coordination.

But solving a cube can also bring pleasure because it affects other emotions, according to Dr. Julia Christensen, a senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Aesthetics in Germany. “Awe, beauty, dynamism, these are all aesthetic emotions, and experiencing them gives us the greatest sense of joy,” she says.

“For example, when a pattern is the right pattern, when a movement is particularly striking on a cube, these aesthetic emotions can give transformative experiences.”

Some speedcubers have described the state of mind that the activity can bring as a feeling of “flow”.

“This state is achieved when the difficulty of the activity matches your skill level, distractions are minimal, goals are clear, and feedback is immediate—all characteristics of speed cubing,” Dr. Beloborodova says.

Flow can feel “almost meditative,” according to Ian Scheffler, author of Cracking the Cube, who has experienced it first-hand. “You get into a state where you’re kind of thinking and not thinking at the same time – you’re reacting to what the cube is giving you, but in an almost natural way.

“It’s a kind of mindfulness that’s deeply rewarding… a calm, relaxed state where you’re completely in tune with every turn of the puzzle.”

According to Dr. Christensen, there is good reason to seek a regular flow state. “Science shows that people who experience flow regularly have better mental health, potentially better physical health, and are more adaptable.

“When we repeat movements they are logged or encoded from the explicit, effortful memory systems, and transferred to the implicit, less effortful, and procedural memory systems,” she continues.

Nicholas Archer, a 17-year-old speedcuber from West Yorkshire, won the one-handed competition this year. UK Championship With an average time of 8.69 seconds, says he has tested it. “When I’m solving the cube, I definitely don’t have to think too much about what I’m doing. It’s all automatic.”

Dr Adil Khan, a reader in neuroscience at King’s College London (KCL), says, “Speed ​​cubing or solving the cube on your own can increase your happiness” – but when the social aspect is mixed in, a The benefit can also be high.

“Since speedcubing is a social phenomenon, perhaps the social aspect combines with puzzle solving to provide a deeply satisfying experience.”

John Hammer started speedcubing at the age of 44, when he was introduced to it by his 13-year-old daughter. He has since solved the cube nearly 10,000 times but doesn’t think he would have kept up the enthusiasm if he had been speedcubing alone.

“The fact that I can do this with my daughter and that we cheer for each other. Also, being a part of the Cube community has been a huge motivator.”

Competitions tend to be more children and teenagers – it’s not uncommon for competitors to be as young as six. This activity is also significantly more popular among men. According to the World Cube Association, 221,117 men participated in their events. compared to 24,311 females.

Regardless of demographics, “for those who view speedcubing as an important part of their lives – such as those competing in tournaments – it can offer eudemonic pleasure, dedication, achievement, and like-minded people.” Community can foster a sense of purpose and meaning, argues Dr. Beloborodova.

Psychologists distinguish between two aspects of happiness: “hedonic well-being,” which relates to emotional experiences, and “eudomonic well-being,” which relates to meaning and purpose in life.

“Both are essential to overall happiness and speed cubing can contribute to both types of well-being,” she says. All of these “contribute to better mental health”.

The effects of speed cubing on brain and cognitive function, however, are less clear.

When solving the cube, the brain is trying out different movements, asking “What if I move the cube like this?” Dr Toby Wise, Senior Research Fellow in Neuroimaging at King’s College London explains.

“Your brain stores a memory trace for different configurations of the cube, and it can work its way through the different configurations to determine which one will produce the best result.”

However, this does not necessarily produce long-term benefits, such as improved memory function. That’s because, as Dr. Khan explains, the mind isn’t like a muscle that needs to be flexed to grow.

For years it has been suggested by some that solving puzzles, whether sudoku or crossword puzzles, can play a role in reducing cognitive decline or dementia. However, this is not necessarily the case.

A study conducted by Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and the University of Aberdeen, and published in BMJ in 2018, found that people who engage in regular intellectual activity throughout their lives have higher mental abilities, providing a “higher cognitive score”. They do, from where the fall occurs, but they do not deny any gentleness.

“Solving puzzles doesn’t improve your brain power any more than the puzzle itself,” argues Dr. Khan. “And almost certainly does not prevent age-related decline in brain power.”

Another benefit of speedcubing, according to regular players, is its sense of escape from modern life.

“Having a clear goal, something you can actually achieve, is something we don’t necessarily have in our day-to-day lives, and it satisfies our brain,” says Dr. Christensen. say

This perhaps explains why the Cube is so popular in an age where there are many computer games and technological activities to choose from. As Mr. Hammer says: “When I pick up the cube, I become more alert and focused.”

He also uses it at work. “It can help me enter the next meeting in a more structured perspective,” he says.

Mr. Scheffler agrees: “The process of taking the cube from this chaotic, disordered state, which is always different because there are so many configurations of the puzzle, to a single ordered state is basically what it’s all about.” What humans want to do.

“Man has a basic need for order out of chaos, because the universe is a very chaotic place, and most things are not given order.”

Top photo credit: Getty Images

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