Why play is essential to our health
What if there was a way to feel happier, more energised,
more creative AND be even smarter? And what if that way was actually fun, and
pretty much free? Would you do it?
It’s not a new drug or expensive treatment, it’s play.
In essence, play is something you want to do for the sake of
it, not for any outcome or result. It is purposeless, all consuming, and fun.
Humans are wired for play. And when we deny ourselves the
chance to play, things go, well… haywire.
In fact, there is such thing as “play deprivation”, and it
has serious, even fatal, consequences.
Psychologist and researcher Dr Stuart Brown is one of the
leading authorities on play.
He began with researching the background and childhoods
people convicted of murder, and found many had severe play deprivation.
He subsequently did research on rats. (He says funding for
play research on humans is hard to come by; too few Universities will give a
grant for “play” over more serious topics.)
He took two groups of juvenile rats. One group was allowed
to play, the other was not. The groups were then presented with a collar
saturated with cat odour: fear and danger. Both groups ran and hid. But, here’s
what happened next:
“The non-players never come out – they die. The players
slowly explore the environment, and begin again to test things out. That says
to me, at least in rats – and I think they have the same neurotransmitters that
we do and a similar cortical architecture – that play may be pretty important
for our survival.”
Infuse your life with play
“The opposite of play is not work, it’s depression,” says Dr
Brown. “Think about life without play – no humour, no flirtation, no movies, no
games, no fantasy. The thing that’s so unique about our species is that we’re
really designed to play through our whole lifetime.”
At the end of his popular TED Talk, Dr Brown says, “So I
would encourage you all to engage not in the work-play differential – where you
set aside time to play – but where your life becomes infused minute by minute,
hour by hour, with body, object, social, fantasy, transformational kinds of
play. And I think you’ll have a better and more empowered life.”
How to play as an adult
As adults, we tend to avoid risk of failure. We don’t want
to try something new in case we’re bad at it. Play removes that pressure. It
doesn’t matter if you’re not “good at it” – it’s the doing of it that matters.
Here’s how to start”
1. Think back to the play you enjoyed most as a child, and
then find similar activities. If you enjoyed climbing trees, you could try rock
climbing. If you loved play dough, you could find a pottery class, or, as a
cheaper option, start making bread at home.
2. Make time to be spontaneous. You might need to schedule
blocks of time where you allow yourself to play. Make an appointment in your calendar
to act as a reminder.
3. Don’t post about it. When you share your play on social
media, you’re giving it a result. Try doing it just for you.