Playtime has some serious benefits!

How important is play in your life? Is play something that you still want to do or do you feel you are past that stage? In this fast-paced, hectic world, with so many work and family commitments, it’s easy to forget about playing and having fun.

We all recognize how crucial play is to child development. As babies we experience the beginnings of play when a parent looks into our eyes, smiles and makes cooing sounds. Dan Siegel, M.D. says that interaction is called mindsight and actually contributes to building neural pathways which help with having good relationships as an adult. Parents will set aside time and encourage their children to have “play dates” because they know how important play is for children. But as adults, it’s easy to put play as the last thing on the “to do” list. To encourage you to play more, we wanted to share some of the benefits of play for adults.

In the areas of physical, mental and relationship health, putting play in your life can yield some big benefits. As we grow and reach adulthood, play helps the mind to stay active and healthy. Play is a wonderful stress-reliever. It triggers the release of endorphins which contribute to a sense of well-being. Endorphins are also a natural way for the body to temporarily relieve pain.

In addition, if play involves any physical activity, it helps with muscle strength, coordination, balance and possibly, teamwork. Especially people with disabilities or the elderly, who might not otherwise move as much, can benefit from play which gets them moving and interacting with others. Playing can energize you and give you a feeling of being young again.

Play also encourages creativity. Often artistic people will take some playtime which allows their minds to gain focused and relaxed attention. When play is incorporated in learning, people absorb more of the lessons and retain more of the information. There is even some research that shows that play increases intelligence. Maybe this is because, when people play, they are generally interested, curious and thinking “outside the box”. We hope that happens as we’re enjoying Scrabble!

Some of the top-ranked best places to work include play activities in their schedules. Yes, it can be a fun place to work, but the companies are doing it for several reasons. It makes the employees happier, more creative and more productive – and they take less sick days and they stay with the company longer. In other words, it positively affects the company’s profitability. Play produces a win/win situation for both the employees and the company.

As many of you know already, I (Lynn) am a psychologist and Doug and I are both success coaches. We see firsthand how important play is for relationships. Play helps co-worker relationships and also helps for friend, family and couple relationships. Research shows that play helps people develop trust and empathy for each other.

We wanted to find out what someone else would say about play. We went to International Travel Advisors because travel is fun and we thought someone there might share ideas about the importance of play. We met the owner, Earl Milbrath, who told us an interesting story about how play evolved in his life. Earl said, “Play is absolutely fundamental in my life. I spent 31 years in the corporate world and had the opportunity to be quite successful and did a lot of different things. I got self-satisfaction in my life. Then I stood back and said, ‘What do I want to do with the rest of my life’ and I found an opportunity to enter the travel business. Travel had always been our avocation. We [he and wife, Carol] love to travel.” Doug and I suggested that travel is fun and play. He nodded in agreement. Earl continued, “A good friend of mine said that I haven’t worked a day in my life since I left the corporate world and started the travel agency. That’s literally true, if you can put your avocation and your vocation together, so that you enjoy coming to work every day and you have fun going to work – that’s what life is all about.”

What about you? How are you going to put play in your life?

Here’s a challenge: Look at the many different ways you can play and see what fits for you. Schedule playtime and ask some people to join you. George Bernard Shaw said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Playing might be a new anti-aging strategy that could benefit us all!

Chanhassen residents Doug and Lynn Nodland are Success Coaches and owners of The Balance Center. They can be contacted at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2018 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.