Tom Utley, a veteran Daily Mail columnist, defended his long-standing habit of starting each day with The Times cryptic crossword and a cigarette while questioning the value of changing long-held routines that he credits for his health and work record.
In a column published this week, Utley described a ritual in which he wakes late, makes instant coffee, lights a Marlboro Red and completes the cryptic puzzle before reading the news. He wrote that the routine reassures him that “at least a part of my brain is still working,” and noted that he has taken four sick days in five decades of work.
Utley’s column also addressed recent reporting that questioned whether habitual completion of crosswords and similar puzzles actually benefits cognitive health. He cited a Telegraph report quoting Dr. Cheryl Lythgoe, a nurse consultant at private healthcare provider Benenden Health, who told the paper that repeatedly doing the same mental challenge can make the brain “lazy” and limit the formation of new neural connections.
“Once the brain becomes efficient, then it gets lazy again and doesn’t form new neural connections,” Lythgoe was quoted as saying in the coverage Utley referenced. The Telegraph story suggested that turning routine puzzles into an automatic habit could reduce creativity and mental speed.
Utley, writing in a column that interweaves personal anecdote and commentary, framed the debate against a backdrop of broader, sometimes contradictory, public-health advice. He cited other warnings he said he has seen – such as concerns about wearing slippers, neglecting sunscreen on cloudy days and the hazards of walking as a sole form of exercise – to illustrate what he described as shifting expert guidance.
He also repeated a figure from his column comparing his own minimal time off for illness with a recent statistic showing the average worker takes 9.4 sick days a year for physical or mental health reasons, a rate Utley said is “more than twice as many as I’ve taken in half a century.”
Utley acknowledged that dementia is “the cruellest of diseases” and that he fears it, but he described himself as having ignored some public-health advice, including warnings on smoking and drinking, over many years. He invoked family memory, recalling a grandfather who was skilled at crosswords, to make the case that some forms of puzzle-solving can deepen with age.
Public-health specialists who study cognitive aging generally recommend variety and increasing difficulty in mental activities to promote cognitive reserve, but research findings vary by study and methodology. Utley’s column did not cite academic studies directly; instead it relied on commentary in other news outlets and his own experience.
The exchange illustrates a recurring dynamic in popular coverage of health and lifestyle: individual testimonies and longstanding habits often collide with evolving scientific advice. Utley’s readers were left with his conclusion that he will continue his routine, saying it keeps him “sane,” while the health-care voices he cited urged greater novelty and broader measures for preserving cognitive health.
The column is part of a larger conversation in British media about aging, mental fitness and how best to interpret scientific guidance for everyday life. Utley’s account and the experts’ remarks underline that questions about which activities most effectively prevent cognitive decline remain contested and that individuals often balance personal experience against changing recommendations from health professionals.