We all know that play is an important and natural aspect of growth and development as a child. Free play gives children a chance to discover what they love and to practice the skills of life in a low stakes manner. But did you know there is evidence that play in adulthood is almost as essential, if not more? Of course, our playful side as adults looks radically different. Our play evolves into hobbies, work passions, but generally can be recognized by our inherent need for variety and challenge. It’s very specific to the individual, and will not look the same for everyone, as kids or adults. As the author Stuart Brown puts it, “play is nature’s greatest tool for creating new neural networks and for reconciling cognitive difficulties”. He encourages us to think about the word “recreation” because it re-creates us and the world, making us new again. It can even help us to look at problems in new ways, giving us a fresh perspective when it does come time to work or do “real life”. Just think about how you feel after a vacation, which is typically eager and ready to go back to work. There is a balance, and work and play are actually complementary, not opposite forces.
So you might be wondering, if play is so biologically programmed within us, why on earth does it seem to totally disappear? A big factor is societal expectations and how our lives become overly structured. We are given the message that we have to “get serious” or buckle down in order to become a responsible adult. And yes, while we need some structure, we all know the feeling when things become too humdrum and even boring. As adults going too long without real play, we might ask ourselves, “is this all there is?”
This is also the same for children. Children are increasingly being shuttled around to various extracurricular activities that are supposed to be “fun” and of course build their resume to compete with future college admittees. The sad part is they might not even know what’s missing if they’ve never experienced it before, but will always feel unsettled without it. The art of unstructured play, where children get to take their own risks and figure out what they are truly made of, has all but died in this age of helicopter parenting. This is not to blame the parents, who are also a byproduct of these societal expectations of what parents should do. We just live in different times!
So how do we add more play into our lives?
For children: It is vital that children spend time playing in both free play situations and structured play. Free play is especially important in early childhood because it’s so critical to their development. Free play is when children have the opportunity to choose their own play schemes, without rules. Essentially it’s allowing children to play whatever and however they want. It builds motor skills, imagination, fosters independence, lets them discover their interests and skills, promotes problem-solving skills, and so much more. Structured play, on the other hand, include goal-oriented activities such as organized sports or games that often have rules. This kind of play can help with following directions, playing collaboratively with others, as well as fostering skill development in specific areas. It’s important to strike a balance between structured and free play. Outdoor play provides an added bonus of sunlight which can promote Vitamin D synthesis, which boosts immunity, bone strength, and newer research even showing benefits to cardiovascular health. Our children should be playing outside as much as possible, and physical play in particular can develop not only motor skills, but sensory processing skills. Sensory processing skill development helps with maturation of the brain stem, which is designed to take in information from our environment. For instance, when children take in visual information efficiently from the environment, they are less likely to trip because they notice an obstacle in their path. Children who get ample movement opportunities will often have more efficient sensory processing skills as well, as seen by increased coordination when navigating their environment or playing sports. If you think of authentic play when you were a child, it typically revolves around some type of movement. One of the many reasons why screentime (i.e. tv, Ipads, cell phones, etc.) are not advised for young children (especially under age 2) is because it’s sedentary and robs children of these authentic and critical play opportunities.
For adults: Consider tapping into your play personality! Knowing your play personality type can shed light into what gives you the most joy. Stuart Brown in his book, “Play” outlines eight main types of play personalities, with one type being the “dominant” personality. He also highlights that we all have a combination of these play personalities, but to what extent differs depending on the individual. If you read the below examples of the 8 play personalities, and are not sure what yours might be, Brown points out that you can look for activities we gravitated towards in our childhood as clues. For example, if you gravitated towards movement in play (the kinesthete), you might have felt drawn to sports. Even if you stop playing a certain sport for whatever reason, whether it was due to an injury or other circumstances, think about other ways that you can incorporate fun movement. Although movement itself is healthy, and usually accompanies a lot of play, it does not have to be in the form of sports, dance, or other traditional avenues.You could look at hobbies where you build things with your hands. If you’re feeling stuck on deciding on a career, you might consider a profession where you’re not stuck at a desk all day. If that’s not possible, try a new hobby that is as active as possible. Of course, your play personality sometimes does change as you evolve into adulthood depending on your interests and passions as well.
The Joker: This play personality always involves some type of joking around and finding ways to be foolish. Typically, the goal would be to make other people laugh. Interestingly, it’s one of the first types of play that we engage in as babies, as parents make infants laugh by blowing raspberries, making silly face/sounds, etc.
The Kinesthete: These are people who like to move, so if you love dance, sports, yoga, for the sake of it, then this might be your core personality type. It’s important to distinguish that competition is not the main emphasis, although it often goes with the territory.
The Explorer: This person who is the explorer finds great pleasure in exploring new places. There is a sense of adventure in the new. They might also crave exploring new feelings, thoughts, or experiences through many different means (i.e. music, the arts, researching a new topic, etc.).
The Competitor: The person who is the competitor finds joy in playing competitively, usually in a game format with specific rules. The goal is to win for this person. However, it can be either social (playing with others), or solitary (playing by oneself). In adulthood, people who have this as their main type of play personality might find themselves driven to be number one in their line of business to receive a tangible reward (i.e. money, rewards, perks, etc.).
The Director: If this play style is your preference, you might enjoy planning and organizing events, parties, or excursions. These players tend to be more social and you might find them thriving in theater productions at any age or involved in community or political organizing as an adult.
The Collector: We all know someone who loves to collect items – anything from stamps, china, purses, antiques, even larger items like cars. What might be a bit more surprising is that some collectors enjoy “collecting” experiences, such as visiting all the national parks, a certain amusement park, and the like. This might look similar to the explorer, but the main thrill is the process of collecting the experiences. If you are also a storyteller (more below), you might even consider documenting the experiences in a written blog, video, or even a photo album. There are so many ways nowadays to document experiences, whether it’s digital or manual, take your pick.
The Artist/Creator: This type of player loves to create something new or breathe fresh air into something old. Many artists and creators enjoy making things with their hands. It can be something aesthetically pleasing, like making pottery, a painting, stained glass, knitting, or it could be something functional like a vegetable garden, creating a recipe from scratch or putting a new twist on grandma’s cookies. The creator can also be considered someone who fixes things like shoes or watches to make them new, functional, or beautiful again. Less obvious creators would be the carpenter or nurse who finds joy in fixing the broken.
The Storyteller: The imagination is the storyteller’s play thing. As you can imagine, the storyteller can bring “life” to any scenario, making it more fun. Even something mundane like sweeping the floor can be made playful if the cleaner is imagining they are Cinderella. A car ride can easily be a train ride into the country or a rocket jetting off into space. As an adult, while cooking dinner, you can imagine you are a chef at a fancy restaurant or an exciting competitive cooking show. The storyteller can also simply tell stories through writing fiction or even visual art. The storyteller’s playground is as vast as their imagination will take them. Literally, anything is possible as long as you can imagine it.
Work and Play
Some people are lucky enough to find jobs that fit their play personalities – for instance, the Joker might become a comedian. The Kinesthete might choose a career as a professional athlete. However, much of the time, we end up fulfilling the playful side of ourselves in our hobbies and leisure activities. The danger comes into play (no pun intended) when we ignore that side of ourselves, completely. Just like any other aspect of our personalities, if you don’t use it, you lose it. Take this coupled with the fact that our lives often become so busy, survival and just “getting through another day” becomes the main focus. Play becomes a side note and even thought to be a luxury. I’m going to venture as far as to say that without play, we become robots, living a joyless life. Hobbies often get a negative rap; at best viewed as something secondary in one’s life, and at worst, something frivolous. Especially in the westernized world, our careers define our identities, and let’s face it – for most of us with 40 hour work weeks, the majority of time is spent working. This brings me to the next question – if you find yourself in a job that you doesn’t bring you a sense of play, and you don’t have a lot of time for hobbies, what can you do?
The Takeaway
Even if you don’t have the perfect job that’s aligned with your play personality, you can definitely infuse play into your work. Also, it goes without saying that you should use your free time wisely. Infusing your free time with authentic play can improve your quality of life drastically. Start small and do something that brings you joy. Start a new hobby or revitalize an old one. And if you can’t think of anything, look for clues in your childhood. What did you gravitate towards? Was there anything you longed to explore more of, but weren’t given the chance? Just remember, it’s never too late!