Are word searches good for you? An honest look at the evidence

The short answer

Word searches are a relaxing, accessible activity. We found no rigorous randomised study showing that they improve spelling, vocabulary or memory.

What exists are small studies in education settings. One study of 96 nursing students measured only their opinions: puzzles made lessons more enjoyable and felt helpful, but no learning outcome was tested. In a small study with dental students, crosswords and word searches were combined and tested only immediately afterwards, so it cannot say which part helped.

Sources: Kalkan et al. (2022) · Views of students on crossword and word search puzzles in nursing education · Nurse Education TodayNirmal, Muthu & Prasad (2020) · Use of puzzles as a teaching-learning method for dental undergraduates

What a word search actually practises

While searching, you hold a word in mind and scan the grid for its letters. You practise careful looking and recognising a spelling that is given to you.

Recognising is not the same as recalling. Finding a word in the grid does not require you to bring it up from memory yourself – and according to learning research, that act of recall is what makes words stick.

What learning research recommends

A widely cited review by Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) rated ten learning techniques. Only two received the highest rating: testing yourself and spreading practice over time. Rereading did poorly.

In experiments by Roediger and Karpicke (2006), students remembered material much better after two days and after one week when they had tested themselves instead of studying again. A meta-analysis by Cepeda and colleagues (2006) confirms that spaced practice works reliably, and the longer you want to remember something, the longer the gaps can be.

For children there is a small but relevant study: first and second graders spelled words more accurately when they had practised them from memory than when they had only copied them (Jones and colleagues, 2016). A word search is closer to copying – that is our inference, not a separate study.

Sources: Dunlosky et al. (2013) · Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques · Psychological Science in the Public InterestRoediger & Karpicke (2006) · Test-enhanced learning · Psychological ScienceCepeda et al. (2006) · Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks · Psychological BulletinJones et al. (2016) · Retrieval practice leads to better spelling than does rainbow writing · Educational Psychology Review

How to get more out of a word search

A few additions turn searching into remembering. These suggestions connect the puzzle with the learning principles above.

• After the puzzle, cover the word list: how many words can you still name?
• Write the found words from memory, then check them against the list.
• Revisit the same words a few days later – for example with a new puzzle.
• Use your own target words in the generator, such as vocabulary from class.
• Make a sentence or a short story with three of the words.

Word searches in later life

In a large online study of 19,078 adults aged 50 to 93, people who did word puzzles more often scored better on all 14 cognitive tests (Brooker and colleagues, 2019). That is an association, not proof of an effect: participants volunteered, and mentally sharper people may simply choose puzzles more often. The study also does not separate crosswords from word searches.

The best-known randomised trial in this area tested crosswords, not word searches, in people with mild cognitive impairment – against computer games, not against doing nothing. None of these studies shows protection against dementia.

Sources: Brooker et al. (2019) · Frequency of word puzzle use and cognitive function in older adults · Int J Geriatr PsychiatryDevanand et al. (2022) · Computerized Games versus Crosswords Training in Mild Cognitive Impairment

In dementia care: enjoyment and company, not training

The UK guideline NICE NG97 recommends offering people with dementia activities tailored to their preferences, and group cognitive stimulation. It explicitly advises against cognitive training as a treatment for mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

The German S3 guideline on dementia (2023) suggests cognitive stimulation in mild and moderate dementia – a weak recommendation based on low-certainty evidence. It describes it as stimulation through enjoyable activities, often in groups and focused on social contact. A Cochrane review finds a small benefit for thinking and better communication with such programmes.

A word search can therefore be a pleasant shared activity when the person enjoys it – as part of everyday life, not as therapy. You will find practical tips in our guide to word searches in dementia care.

Sources: NICE guideline NG97 (2018) · Dementia: assessment, management and support · Section 1.4DGN & DGPPN (2023) · S3-Leitlinie Demenzen, Version 4.0 · AWMF-Register 038-013Woods et al. (2023) · Cochrane · Cognitive stimulation to improve cognitive functioning in people with dementia