Five Benefits of Play!
Do you have enough fun and play in your life?
Do you spend time doing things you love, just for the fun of it?
If not, you’re missing out on a powerful source of nourishment for your body, mind, and spirit!
Our culture tends to overemphasize things like productivity and underemphasize activities that recharge us such as rest, relaxation, and play.
Play actually is powerful medicine!
According to research, fun and play reduce the damaging hormones of stress and increase healing neurochemicals such as endorphins.
Five powerful benefits of play are:
Improve mental and physical health
Increase creativity
Enhance relationships
Increase life satisfaction
Provide helpful clues for work/career direction
Here are some reflection prompts you can think about, write about, talk with a friend about:
What activities do you love doing just for fun? Think about quiet activities (such as doing puzzles) and more active play (such as dancing).
What did you love doing as a child? Think about what kinds of playful activities you enjoyed at different ages.
How can you incorporate more play into your life? Even just five minutes of doing something for fun and enjoyment can change your body chemistry! Ideas: dance to music that lifts your spirits, talk with a friend who makes you laugh, journal about a childhood memory of play that makes you happy.
Spending time doing things we love just for the fun of it is not frivolous - it makes us happier, healthier, more resilient, and more able to contribute to our families and communities!
Love,
Liz
