How play affects the human brain.

Humans have evolved for millions – billions of years. Evolution has allowed us to grow, adapt and change to ensure our survival. Movement specialists, physiotherapists, anatomists and all the others that are working on educating society on how we are supposed to stand, sit, walk, run, jump and “train” all talk about the evolutionary process of human movement and basic survival skills. However 1 thing that these specialists don’t ever mention is 1 key aspect of human movement and human behaviour that has been hard wired and has been selected to grow and adapt with us throughout history is our ability to “PLAY”.

PLAY studies, as we know have always been done in relation to children, most books are written on the importance of play for childhood development and to assist them in having better social skills in the future. What I am talking about is humans in general. PLAY is not a skill (even though it is something most of us have forgotten how to do). PLAY is a hardwired biological, neurological, psychological & physiological thing (insert smart word) that humans and animals alike are capable of performing at any point in time, no matter the age, race, species or level of disability. and we need to stop identifying play as something that will only benefit children and start realising that children are the best versions of us because they PLAY MORE.

So, if we are supposed to play, why? Why is it so important? Why has evolution selected it as something that is beneficial to us? and how does it affect the human brain?

Well, in regards to actual brain function and stimulation there are ethical boundaries that we can not cross in order to better understand play in humans. Meaning that a lot of the studies are not allowed to be performed on humans (another conversation I thin in regards to research on animals, but that’s for another day).

What we do know about the effects of play on the human brain:

1. Mammals that play the most and have the most to learn from playing have the biggest brains (humans play and learn more from play than any other animal, hence why our brains are larger).

2. Stimulates nerve growth in amygdala (section of your brain that controls emotions), which allows us to develop better emotional maturity.

Play has proven to increase levels of BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor) in the amygdala in rats that have been allowed to play opposed to those that were not. This suggests that play (rough n tumble in this case)may help program higher brain regions involved in emotional behaviours.

3. Promotes pre-frontal cortex development (higher cognitive ability) & improves our decision making ability.

4. There is a direct link in pretend play and improved linguistic and social skills and development.

5. There has been well documented studies on the correlation between play deprivation and clinically significant anxiety disorders.

Since researching this blog, I have come to realise several things.

First is that everything that I have been devoting myself to in regards to studying, teaching and understanding play is right and if I can figure out a way to get the philosophies of PLAYtime out into the world it will make a significant change in millions of peoples lives. As cliche’d as it sounds, we will actually be able to change the world for the better.

Secondly is that the research behind the social, psychological and biological benefits of play in children (minimal in adults) is out there and is in abundance.

And third is how important it is to continue playing, learning, growing and educating others because right now I do feel like a crazy person standing in front of a massive crowd. But it only takes 1 more person to stand up with the crazy person to start making a difference.

So I want to leave you with a few notes on play, how I see it, how others have studied it and the most important aspects of it that you should learn today.

“Play, is natures means of ensuring that young mammals, including human beings, acquire the skills that they need to acquire to develop successfully into adulthood”

PLAY is not the opposite of work. PLAY IMPROVES WORK.

PLAY stimulates creativity

PLAY increases our openness to change

PLAY improves our ability to learn new information

PLAY provides a sense of purpose and mastery

The one thing that I have identified that a lot of these studies do not consider, is the connection between the physical, psychological and social development of play. It’s about more than just having emotional regulation and a high level of problem solving skills. It’s about being able to utilise your body in as many ways as possible whilst having emotional regulation, a high level of problem solving skills, excellent social skills, a good memory and ability to learn new information and a high level of creativity and adaptability.

I look forward to sharing more of my research with you soon.

Have fun

PLAY 🙂

￩￫ x

Denee Lalouette2015-03-25T09:43:59+11:00

About the Author: Denee Lalouette

A UFT PLAYground is a place that people of all shapes, sizes and ages learn to develop their movement abilities through an infinite learning and development program. UFT PLAYgrounds have been created to re-inspire our natural ability to move, create, adapt, re-act, connect, have fun and of course PLAY. PLAYgrounds have been developed to allow people to feel and explore their own abilities by utilising a multidimensional, infinite, creative and PLAYful approach to training. We live in a world full of specialists and obsessions. At an ever increasing rate, people are specialising more and more, in their jobs, in their businesses, in their sport and in their training. The result, is a backward step in human evolution. By specialising, we limit ourselves to thinking that 1 particular way of doing things is the right way, or the only way. We promote creativity, not only in movement and training methodologies but in thinking in general. A UFT PLAYground is created to provide the general public with an opportunity to PLAY across multiple styles of training and moving, to be able to progress in the training methods that they become passionate about or that excites them and to be a part of a community that promotes more than just fitness. The “fitness” industry above all others has brought about a need to specialise in order to achieve anything, and majority of what we do for “fitness” is for an aesthetically pleasing reason. We understand that aesthetics are nice and we too love to look and feel good. However a UFT PLAYground is developed to allow people to move better than ever before across a broad range of training methodologies and ideas. Aesthetics, therefore are a result not a goal of that system. We know that “If you train to look good, you will not always enjoy what you do, but if you PLAY a lot, and do the things that you love, you will ending up looking good”. Aesthetics should be a result not a goal. For years now, we have recognised that the best movers on the planet are children. They are flexible, mobile & fit, they have better relative strength than a typical adult (and even most adolescents), they are the best creators and innovators, they learn faster, the adapt better, they interact better with other people, they are more connected to nature and most importantly, they PLAY more than anyone else. As adults, we tend to believe that because we are taller and more experienced in “life”, we are better, and then we get to an age that says we are “too old to PLAY”. As we grow taller (and in a lot of cases rounder), we experience things that inhibit our ability to move, think and not think. We allow our experiences to limit our abilities as humans, whether it be a physical injury, a story that we heard or a youtube video that we watched. We also allow our emotions to control our behaviour because of our past experiences. Maybe it was the feeling of humiliation when we tried something new, regret when we failed or heart break when it was taken away from us. Because of this, we allow our experiences to control our future instead of learning from them and creating our own . This is what UFT PLAYground’s are built on. The understanding that we as humans need to go back to the way things were before our negative experiences took over our subconscious mind and body. A UFT PLAYground gives people the ability to re-learn what they have lost, as well as develop new sets of skills that will allow them to follow any particular passion that they uncover in PLAYtime. When we PLAY, we are simply, exploring. Through exploring we become curious and through curiosity we become obsessed or passionate about a particular thing. This is why in a PLAYground we allow people to PLAY across a broad range of training systems (minimum of 3), Through this system they are able to identify 1, their current limitations and be educated on how to overcome them, and 2, identify their passions and learn to develop, grow and excel in them. UFT PLAYgrounds are also a development centre for up and coming entrepreneurs in the fitness industry. Each PLAYground founder will have been trained and will be continuously trained in UFT’s Trainer Success System. This system allows personal trainers, coaches, teachers, instructors, etc. to continue to develop in their fields of specialty (as they play they will find it) and in the philosophy of PLAYtime. They will also be trained in the business systems of UFT in order to have their own successful and profitable business. See UFT Trainer Success System for more details.