Play allows us to learn how to be creative and helps nurture critical thinking, personality development, and adaptive pathways for us in childhood. The benefits of play are far-reaching, but we often give up play as adults for more serious pursuits such as our careers, our relationships, and our families—all of which are valid pursuits.

The play has been shown to release endorphins, improve brain functionality, and stimulate creativity. And it can even help to keep us young and feeling energetic. Studies show that play improves memory and stimulates the growth of the cerebral cortex. Play has
also been shown to trigger the secretion of BDNF, a substance essential for the growth of brain cells.

Playing with your romantic partner, co-workers, pets, friends, and children is sure and a fun way to fuel your imagination, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and emotional well-being.

Why is it important to play?

Adult play is a time to forget about work and commitments and to be social in an unstructured, creative way. The focus of the play is on the actual experience, not on accomplishing any goal. There doesn’t need to be any point to the activity beyond having fun and enjoying yourself.

Play is so key and yet so often overlooked in adulthood. Fortunately, we can easily create a play practice in our lives as there are many different ways to play and many different types of play. Stuart Brown, MD, has been studying the play for decades and in his book,” Play”, he outlines the five-play archetypes that he has observed during his years of research.

The benefits of play

While the play is crucial for a child’s development, it is also beneficial for people of all ages. Play can add joy to life, relieve stress, supercharge learning, and connect you to others and the world around you. Play can also make work more productive and pleasurable.

During free play time, children can express themselves in the way that they choose depending on the day, time, and the situation they are in. Every child is unique and has a different way of expressing her/himself and her/his creativity.

Play can:

• Relieve stress;
• Improve brain function;
• Stimulate the mind and boost creativity;
• Improve relationships and your connection to others;
• Keep you feeling young and energetic;

Play:

• Helps develop and improve social skills;
• Teaches cooperation with others;
• Can heal emotional wounds.

Let’s play and enjoy life 🙂