The Importance of Play in Adulthood

We all love to hear the cackles, giggles, and unrestrained screams of joy from kids out and about playing. Watching children play is a joyful moment in itself – we are often transported back to a simpler time when life was all about having fun and having fun.

Through play, we learn to be creative and encourage critical thinking, personal development, and adaptive ways for ourselves in childhood. The benefits of gaming are far-reaching, but we often give up gaming as adults to pursue more serious pursuits such as our careers, relationships, and families – all valid pursuits.

But what if we could use the game to improve our life experiences, professions, relationships, and family life as adults too?

Adult gaming is vital in our stressful go-go-go life. Gaming has been shown to release endorphins, improve brain functionality, and stimulate creativity. And it can even help keep us young and feel energetic. Studies show that the game improves memory and stimulates the growth of the cerebral cortex. Gambling has also been shown to induce the secretion of BDNF, a substance essential for brain cells to grow.

One of the things that often keep us from playing is that as adults we become very attuned to who we are and what types of activities we do and which we don't. But playing is healthy and fun, so it is an advantage for us to roll the dice figuratively or in the truest sense of the word and leave the gambling behind in our lives.

One of the definitions of the game from the Oxford English Dictionary is to act easily and freely; to keep moving.

Who wouldn't want to experience more moments of lightness and freedom these days? Play is so important and so often overlooked in adulthood. Fortunately, we can easily create a game practice in our lives because there are many different ways to play and many different types of games. Stuart Brown, MD, has been studying game for decades and in his book Play outlines the five game archetypes he has observed over years of research. He discussed these and more in his TED lecture entitled "Playing is more than just fun" (described and expanded below).

Rough-and-tumble game

Rough and tumble play is a great learning medium for all of us. Diving, hitting, tug of war, flag hunting, scavenger hunt, kickball, and dodge ball are all ways to actively play. According to Dr. Brown we develop emotional regulation as well as cognitive, emotional and physical mastery through this form of play.

Ritual game

Chess, board games and activities or sports with established rules and structures fall into the world of ritual play. In ritual play we can develop, strategize, design and carry out activities that bring people together for a common purpose or goal.

Imaginative game

Do you remember when you were a kid and had so much fun living out your fantasies and letting your imagination run wild? This is what imaginative play is all about! Painting, storytelling, painting, drawing, handicrafts and acting as well as comedy and improvisation courses encourage our imagination through games.

Body play

Brown defines body play as a spontaneous desire to free ourselves from gravity – how much fun this form of play is! Yoga, Pilates, hiking, white water rafting, roller coasters, mountaineering, surfing, and snorkeling all fit into the shape of the body play.

Object game

This form of play will really take us back to our childhood as the object game can include building with Legos, playing with Jenga blocks, building fortresses and even snowball fights. The manipulation of objects, building and designing fall into the category of object play.

There are many other ways we can play, and many other categories of games. We've already discussed the positive benefits of gaming, so heads-up side effects can include (but are not limited to): improved cognitive functions, ability to deal with stress more easily and fluently, creative thinking, childlike exuberance, and more laughter. Experiment a little to see what works for you, as we could all use a little more play in our responsible adult lives.

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Michael Forman was originally from Bronx, New York and lived in New York City most of his life until he moved to Boise, Idaho with his fiancé Caitlin. He is the Executive Farm Director of Pure Love Organic Farms, a municipal organic farm that he and three other friends started on a former landfill in 2012. Michael also works as the North American Account Manager for Totally Green in the field of sustainable technologies.