Your Brain on Play: The Science of How Fun Can Fuel Wellbeing

This week we’re exploring the impact that fun and play have on our health, wellbeing and ability to perform to our potential. While fun and play are usually NOT what we think about when perform at a high level, there is amazing research that shows that having fun, playing and crafting happiness in our lives is a key determinant of sustainable high performance.

This week we’re exploring the impact that fun and play have on our health, wellbeing and ability to perform to our potential. While fun and play are usually NOT what we think about when perform at a high level, there is amazing research that shows that having fun, playing and crafting happiness in our lives is a key determinant of excellence and sustainable high performance.

Some amazing science

Don’t just take my word for it - here are some findings from published studies (references at the end of this email):

Happy people tend to be healthier physically and have a lower risk of developing chronic diseases.

A study on individuals with type 2 diabetes found that those who were happier had lower inflammatory markers, which might slow the progression of the disease.

Happy people have also been shown to be more productive at work, and there is even some research suggesting that happiness can improve mitochondrial health.

What can we do?

Research on twins suggests that 35% to 50% of happiness is genetic. This means that while a lot of our happiness is out of our control, there is still a lot that is in our control. The catch is that, according to a conversation I had with Dr. Gillian Mandich, who studies the science of happiness, humans aren’t great at knowing what makes them happy. She says it’s not the big shiny moments, such as a promotion or new car, but rather the small moments that add up over time that determine how happy we are.

Dr. Michael Rucker, another expert in the field of happiness I had the pleasure of chatting with, says that the Goldilocks spot is to dedicate at least two hours per day (14 hours per week) to pleasurable activities. This might mean carving out some time for a specific fun activity or learning how to find pleasure in an activity you’re already doing.

Like many other things, happiness is a learned skill that we must practise. But eventually it will become habit and you’ll be in a positive state more often.

Small Outbreaks of FUN

So how can we invite more happiness into our lives? Keep in mind how powerful it can be to make small changes:

Idea 1: Sprinkle in small bursts of joy.

The sum of small day-to-day moments create a happy life. So one way to invite more happiness into your life is to sprinkle in small bursts of joy throughout the day. This might mean emailing someone to thank them for something they did for you, having a meaningful conversation with a friend, taking 30 seconds to help someone who needs it, or recalling a great past experience.

Idea 2: Seek out playful activities

Engaging in playful activities such as sports or games not only boosts your happiness but is also important for your brain. A study found that juvenile rats that engaged in “rough and tumble” play had higher activation in certain areas of the brain compared with control rats. They also had greater brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expression, suggesting that play is important for neurodevelopment.

Idea 3: Don’t underestimate the power of humour

Laughing is such a powerful mood lifter that laughing therapy is being used to treat people for mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, as well as stress-related diseases. It appears that laughter suppresses cortisol, one of the stress hormones, while enhancing dopamine and serotonin, the feel-good chemicals.64 Give yourself some laughter therapy by going to see a stand-up comedian or an improv show, or watch your favourite comedy.

A KEY insight - You don’t need to be happy all the time

Into every life a little rain must fall. In fact, trying to be happy all the time makes us less happy, because we’re constantly chasing (and failing to achieve) an unrealistic expectation. Instead, focus on creating joyful moments when you can and accepting the lows as they come as well. Also, think of happiness as a result, not a pursuit in itself: it’s a side effect of the choices you make about how you see and interpret events, how well you understand yourself and your needs, how much you invest in relationships and activities that fulfil you, and so on. Not only is it important to work through and embrace the learning that difficult life moments provide, it’s also critical to not confuse happiness with getting everything you want. It’s an outcome of perspective and effort, not a shiny bauble that can be bought and sold.

But I have work to do…

Not only is play important for our health and wellbeing, it may also be beneficial in practical and professional settings. In the workplace, play has been shown to reduce stress and negative emotions, increase productivity and job satisfaction, and improve employee cohesion, commitment, and overall work quality. For example, a 2020 study investigating a play-at-work intervention at a South African telesales company found that employees who played games such as puzzles, foosball, cards, or darts during their lunch break were better able to psychologically detach from their work than those who did not. Overall team performance also increased following the intervention.

The most important latent function of play may be stress reduction. In a cross-sectional study of university students, playful participants reported significantly lower levels of perceived stress and demonstrated greater adaptive-oriented and fewer maladaptive-, escape-, or avoidance-oriented stress-coping strategies than their non-playful counterparts. In this way, play allowed them to mobilize cognitive resources for coping in the face of stress and building resilience.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, in many cultures, there is a prevailing notion that fun and play are only for children. But as researchers have begun to investigate the role of play in the lives of adults, they have found it is important for health and wellbeing across all age groups.

The lesson to take away from all of this? Get out and play. It not only comes with great benefits for your health, wellbeing, and career but is also fun, creative, and enjoyable.

References:

Dfarhud, D., M. Malmir, and M. Khanahmadi. “Happiness & health: The biological factors—systematic review article.” Iranian Journal of Public Health 43, no. 11 (November 2014): 1468–1477.

Panagi, L., L. Poole, R.A. Hackett, and A. Steptoe. “Happiness and inflammatory responses to acute stress in people with type 2 diabetes.” Annals of Behavioral Medicine 53, no. 4 (March 20, 2019): 309–320.

Salas-Vallina, A., M. Pozo-Hidalgo, and P.R. Gil-Monte. “Are happy workers more productive? The mediating role of service-skill use.” Frontiers in Psychology 11 (March 27, 2020): 456.

Picard, M., A.A. Prather, E. Puterman, A. Cuillerier, M. Coccia, K. Aschbacher, Y. Burelle, and E.S. Epel. “A mitochondrial health index sensitive to mood and caregiving stress.” Biological Psychiatry 84, no. 1 (July 1, 2018): 9–17.

Chick, G., C. Yarnal, and A. Purrington. “Play and mate preference: Testing the signal theory of adult playfulness.” American Journal of Play 4, no. 4 (2012): 407–440.

Wallace, J. “Why it’s good for grown-ups to go play.” Health and Sci- ence. Washington Post (May 20, 2017). https://www.washingtonpost. com/national/health-science/why-its-good-for-grown-ups-to-go- play/2017/05/19/99810292-fd1f-11e6-8ebe-6e0dbe4f2bca_story.html.

Magnuson, C.D., and L.A. Barnett. “The playful advantage: How playfulness enhances coping with stress.” Leisure Sciences 35, no. 2 (2013): 129–144.

Neale, D. “A golden age of play for adults.” British Psychological Society (March 25, 2020). https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/gold- en-age-play-adults.

Edwards, D. “Play and the feel good hormones.” Primal Play (June 23, 2022). https://www.primalplay.com/blog/play-and-the-feel-good- hormones.

Guitard, P., F. Ferland, and É. Dutil. “Toward a better understand- ing of playfulness in adults.” OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health 25, no. 1 (January 1, 2005): 9–22.