Play is More Than Fun - Dr. Stuart Brown
Joanne Louis-Paul • October 1, 2021
Play is anything but silly; it’s crucial
This week is the last week to pin down our programs for the remainder of the Cycle and I thought this TED Talk on the importance of play was apt.
Take a listen. Even if you don’t create a play leg, this paradigm shift on the nature and function of play could help change your perspective on your program and your life!
My takeaways:
- Play is serious
- Play is an altered state
- When two people are in play, the right sides of their brains sync up
- Helps with problem-solving
- Born by curiosity and exploration
- Different types of play
- Body play - desire to get out of gravity (ex. jumping up and down)
- Object play - links the mind and the hands
- Social play - helps us belong
- Rough-and-tumble play - great learning medium to develop emotional and cognitive regulation
- Spectator/ritual play - like watching sports
- Imaginative play - creative solo play, storytelling
- Many neurocognitive benefits to play
- Important for our survival
- Opposite of play is not work, but depression
- We are designed to play our whole lives
- Sharing play signals with each other builds trust
- Neoteny - the continuation of immature behaviors into adulthood
- Humans are the most playful, which contributes to our adaptability
- We each have our own play history
- Flow State
- Energized focus
- Full engagement
- Sense of success
- Incorporate different types of play throughout your whole life
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