Crossword puzzles, move over, because a new study from the University of California attests that “Googling” or otherwise browsing the Internet lights up the brain like a Roman candle. When study participants performed Web searches while undergoing MRI scans, they showed an improved efficiency in cognitive processing and in the way their brain encodes information. This held true even for middle-aged and older individuals who had minimal computer experience and who performed Internet searches for only a short period of time.

Internet searching, it appears, engages a complicated brain activity that exercises and improves the brain when it comes to language, reading, memory, visual abilities, and reasoning and decision-making processes. The good news is that we now have a new way to keep our brains fired up and that our brains continue to learn and remain sensitive to fresh stimulation at any age.