Play Keeps You Healthy

Play Creates Connections

HAVING FUN?

When was the last time you had some real fun? Perhaps you can't even remember because it was so long ago.

Adults in the 21st century lead incredibly hectic, busy lives, and because we have to make work a priority and include time to spend with our families, there is little room left for fun. Sadly, at some point, between being a child and growing into an adult, we stop playing. If we do have any spare time as an adult, it's more than likely we'll spend it in front of the TV or laptop screen.

Engaging in the fun games and holistic fitness we did when we were little isn't something that would usually come to mind. This decline in fun is a shame for a wide range of reasons, and one of the most pressing is that play – primal play, innate and instinctive, like when we were children—keeps us healthy. It's good for us.

It's an excellent source of relaxation and a way to de-stress, it's a great alternative to exercise, and it keeps our brains working in the way they should too.

““It’s the things we play with and the people who help us play that make a great difference in our lives.””

— Fred Rogers

Be Creative Through Play

When you take the time to play with your children, your pets, your partner, or your friends and family, you can allow your imagination to be set free and be as creative as you want and need to be. What you might not realize is that as well as enjoying this creativity, you will be learning how to be a better problem-solver, and you'll be improving your emotional wellbeing. When you are an adult, your playtime is a time to forget all about your grown-up troubles and commitments, and it allows you to be unstructured for once—you'll feel free.

You can also use play to grow your connections and improve the way you interact with others. You don't have to have a reason to play, and whether you choose to throw a Frisbee, go for a bike ride, play games usually associated with children, kick a ball, create your imaginary world, or anything else, you can enjoy your life so much more. Let's look more closely as to why play is vital for adults regarding health and social connections.

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The Benefits Of Play

Most people understand how crucial primal play is for a child's ultimate development, physically, emotionally, and mentally. However, it is beneficial for adults too—play is for everyone—for all ages. There never has to be a point where you stop playing. It can bring joy to your life, it can de-stress you, and it can even help you to retain information. For the very best results, playing with at least one other person helps the most. We are, after all, social creatures.

So how does play relieve stress? It does so because, when you are enjoying yourself, your body will release chemicals called endorphins. These chemicals make you feel good naturally and promote a sense of wellbeing throughout your body and mind. Studies have shown that they can even offer pain relief, at least temporarily. When you feel this good, stress is no longer an issue.

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Play For Cognitive Function

Play also improves your brain function. When you are playing, even if you are just running around and catching a ball or pretending to move the way an animal moves by playing horsey with your kids, you are challenging the brain a lot more than sitting in front of a boxset of your favourite TV show. Even less active play, such as puzzles and building things with bricks, will enhance your brain capacity. The better your brain works, the more information you can retain, and the more memories you will have.

Play will also boost your creativity through stimulation of the mind. Creativity is essential in all areas of life, and no matter what job you might have, creativity will be a part of it. You'll always need to develop new ways of working to make the most of your time, which requires creativity. This application is just one example, but it's clear that the more you play, the more creative you will be and the better ideas you'll come up with. Problem-solving will become a lot less arduous.

Finally, another benefit of play is that it will help you to feel young and stay energetic. Although we all get older and there isn't a lot that anyone can do about that, it's often a question of mind over matter. Once you start to think you're old, you will be. If you continue to feel young, that's how you will stay, at least as far as possible. By playing and reliving our childhoods to some extent, we can remain youthful for a long time to come.

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Play And Connection

It's clear to see how play can benefit us when it comes to our mental, physical, and emotional health - particularly when it comes to human movement - but what about when it comes to our social connections and relationships? Is it possible to make human connections through playing? The answer is that we can also improve this through play. When we share laughter and fun with others, it strengths our relationships, fostering feelings of trust, compassion, intimacy, and empathy.

Play is one of the most effective ways to keep a friendship, family connection, or even a romantic relationship exciting and fresh. Plus, if you feel any resentment, playing with them will reduce that feeling and may even heal any rifts because you will both feel much more positive overall. When we play regularly with someone, no matter what the game might be, we learn to trust them more, and this, of course, will strengthen any relationship.

Social skills are a hugely important part of any adult's arsenal of life skills, but they can take time to achieve. Play ensures that these social skills are developed and improved. Just like a child can learn how to interact appropriately with others through play, an adult can too. Even if an adult understands the intricacies of body language, verbal cues, cooperation, teamwork, and boundaries, play will allow them to refine these social skills so that they feel more confident and less awkward in social situations.

We've briefly mentioned cooperation and teamwork, which is a vital part of any successful adult life. Did you know that play can enhance your ability to do this and be good at it? It's true. When you play with others, you automatically engage in a way that encourages everyone to work together. By taking these skills and applying them to the real-world example of work, you can ensure that it's easier to break down any potential barriers and work out how best to use your team to their best advantage.

Play more often for healthier relationships and a healthier you.