Soaring Over Stress, Episode Ten ~ The Power of Play

The benefits of play for adults are discussed, emphasizing its importance for relaxation, stress relief, and connection with one's inner child. Play can be done with romantic partners, friends, co-workers, pets, and children, and can fuel imagination, creativity, problem-solving, and emotional well-being. Play can take various forms, such as goofing off, sharing jokes, playing sports, or engaging in creative activities. It can improve brain function, enhance relationships, boost energy, and promote overall well-being. The speaker shares personal experiences of engaging in play, such as making homemade Play-Doh and pom-poms, going for a walk, and taking photographs. Play is seen as a powerful tool for finding joy and hope amidst life's challenges. Hello, hello. Welcome back to another episode of Soaring Over Stress. I'm your host, Aimee Reyes, and today we're going to be talking about the benefits of play for adults, why it's important for us to continue to play well past childhood, and how it can help us deal with stress and anxiety in the workplace, yes, and beyond. Play is an important and integral part of who we are as humans, not just for children, but for adults as well. I know that many of us sometimes, you know, we grow up, we get bogged down with the expectations and stress of work and life and things like that, and we forget how important play is for us. For children, it's essential for them to learn, to grow, to develop. For adults, it's a way for us to sometimes escape reality, sometimes it's a way for us to just kind of breathe deeper. I know when we were children, I know when I was a child, the little things that we would do, making, you know, mud pies and playing in the leaves, things like that, it's such an intrinsic way of bringing me joy and hope in difficult times. Today I'm going to read an article for you in helpguide.org, written by Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, Jean Ann Segal, and Jennifer Shubin, and it is the same title, The Benefits of Play for Adults. In the article, or throughout the article, I'm going to pause and interject my own thoughts, feelings about the article and about play for adults in general, and what I personally have been doing over the past 48 hours. So it starts this way. In our hectic modern lives, many of us focus so heavily on work and family commitments that we never seem to have time for pure fun. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we stopped playing. When we carve out some time for leisure, we're more likely to zone out in front of the TV or computer rather than engage in fun, rejuvenating play like we did as children. But play is not just essential for kids. It can be an important source of relaxation and stimulation for adults as well. I have to add that I'm not trying to be sad and just say, yes, it's an important source of relaxation and stimulation, but it's so much more than that. I feel like not only is it a stress reliever, but it's a way for us to connect with our inner child. Maybe some of us grew up where we weren't allowed to play. We weren't allowed to get dirty. Maybe we were allowed to do that, but maybe there's other things that need to explore that didn't have the option necessarily to be free as we should be as children. Going back to the article, playing with your romantic partner, friends, co-workers, pets, and children is a sure and fun way to fuel your imagination, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and emotional well-being. Adult play is a time to forget about work and commitments and to be social in an unconstructed, creative way. Play could be simply goofing off with friends, sharing jokes with a co-worker, throwing a Frisbee on the beach, dressing up for Halloween with your kids, building a snowman, playing fetch with the dog, acting out charades at a party, or going for a bike ride with your spouse with no dissonation in mind. There doesn't need to be any point to the activity beyond having fun and enjoying yourself. By giving yourself permission to play with the joyful abandon of childhood, you can reap oodles of health benefits throughout your life. The article goes on to say what some of those benefits are. While play is crucial for a child's development, it's also beneficial for people of all ages. Play can add to joy of life, relieve stress, aha, there it is in the article, supercharge learning, and connect you to others in the world around you. Play can also make work more productive and pleasurable. Play helps relieve stress. Play is fun and can trigger the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain. Play improves brain function, playing chess, completing puzzles, or pursuing other fun activities that challenge the brain can help prevent memory loss and improve brain function. The social interaction of play with family and friends can also ward off stress and depression. It stimulates the mind and boost creativity. It improves relationships and your connection to others. It keeps you feeling young and energetic. In the words of George Bernard Shaw, we don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing. Play can boost your energy and vitality and even improve your resistance to disease, helping you to function your best. So personally, pulling aside from the article, in the last 48 hours, I've done a lot of play. I think I was welcomed to have that opportunity this weekend. I made some homemade Play-Doh for my preschoolers. I actually decided to make it multi-sensory, if that's a word. So I made some of the Play-Doh pumpkin pie spice scented. One is like apple strudel, and the other I named chef's salad. It's kind of silly, but it smells like oregano and chives, and I thought it would be fun for the kids to explore with in my class. On top of that, I also made some pom-poms. They're really cute. I actually learned how to make this in fourth grade. I remember during that class, I had Mr. Kastner was my teacher. As a matter of fact, I liked him so much, I did it twice. I was in fourth grade twice. But yeah, he taught us how to make these pom-poms out of yarn. I thought it was just the most amazing thing. I know throughout my life, since that time that I was about 10 years old, I'd say, I have made those pom-poms over and over, just for fun, as a stress relief. And on my Facebook page, Eagle Exercises, I'm going to post pictures of the things I made and the things that I did over the past 48 hours, including the recipe for the homemade Play-Doh, if you're interested, and things like that. So you can check out Eagle Exercises. But yeah, I made the pom-poms. Actually, I made them for gross motor, fine motor skills for my preschoolers, and then the Play-Doh is also for them. And then I went on a walk yesterday. So I have this app. It's called Photography as Prayer. It's a really cool app. I would suggest anybody check it out. It only takes 10 minutes a day, and you don't even have to do it every day. As a matter of fact, I know months have gone by since I've participated in it. But what it is, it's an app that kind of guides you how to take pictures on your phone. I know one of them is called People I Love, and so for 10 minutes, you just keep taking pictures of people that you love. Another one is called, I think it's called The Hidden Life of Trees. I did that particular one one day when I was walking through the forest. It's amazing how much more you see when that's all you focus on for 10 minutes. You turn all notifications of your phone off, and for those 10 minutes, the app guides you as to how to take pictures for that particular category. And it comes up with some really beautiful shots. So yesterday, the one that I did was called A Walk in My Town. And I took all these pictures of various things in my town. I took a picture of somebody's outdoor Halloween setup. It's really cute. It's skeletons sitting around the campfire. And I took a picture of a mailbox, took a picture of somebody's owl sculpture they had in their yard, and then pictures of flowers and the lake and things like that. Now on my walk, I also happened to find somebody had ripped out bushes. I don't mean just a small amount, a very large amount of marigolds. And my mind as of late is recently, can I eat this? Can I eat this? Can I eat this? I love finding out that the foods that grow all around us that we think are weeds or are just useless plants are actually completely edible. So knowing that, in the very least, I could dry out the flower seeds, the top of the flower, and then replant them in the spring, I collected a ton of marigolds. Came home and researched that yes, you can eat marigolds, but I believe it's only two particular ones out of like the 50 different varieties. And that added with the fact that it said if you're allergic to ragweed, you shouldn't eat marigolds. So that stopped me altogether from trying. And I decided to instead, I'm just going to dry out the flowers for seeds next year. Later in my walk, I came across a ton of nuts on the ground. I think they're chestnuts, but I'm not certain. I believe I'm going to make the picture of the marigolds and the nuts as the profile for this episode. So if you happen to see the picture and can identify those particular nuts, I'd be grateful. In any event, I recently saw a TikTok that said you can actually use a certain nut to make laundry detergent. Yeah, laundry detergent. I was blown away. I got to go back and try to find that video to see if I should be roasting these over an open fire or making them into detergent to wash my clothes. But in any event, I had so much fun on my walk. I've had so much fun making the Play-Doh and making the pom-poms and just kind of giving back in a way to my inner child, the playful, joyful moments. When I was picking up the nuts, and it was very cold yesterday, I might add, in northern New Jersey, I was thinking of that Christmas song, you know, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and I was singing that as I was collecting the nuts. Somehow I get lost in a good way, in the simple joys and pleasures of life, collecting nuts, singing a Christmas song, reminiscing about days gone by. And it was so, so powerful for me. The amount of hope it brings to me amidst this crazy journey of dealing with chronic health issues, dealing with financial insecurities, food insecurities, housing insecurities, and more. I can't begin to tell you how much injecting play into my life is such a positive and impactful thing for me to do. Now, the article goes on to say, play and relationships. For me personally, before I begin reading it, I am single currently, and I am totally okay with doing things for myself, by myself. I even sing love songs to myself, because it's really good to kind of foster self-love and to take care of yourself if you don't necessarily have a partner. For a long time, I didn't even have co-workers because of the chronic illness. So I would have to find it in my own way. Other ways that I quote-unquote play is I write poetry, I write books, I actually just started a new book. I also do tons of different types of art. So just a few things that are ways in which I play as an adult. So okay, the article goes on to say, play is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. Playing together brings joy, vitality, and resilience to a relationship. Play can also heal resentments, disagreements, and hurts. Through regular play, we learn to trust one another and to feel safe. Play helps develop and improve social skills. Play teaches cooperation with others. And then it goes on to say, play can heal emotional wounds, like I was talking about earlier. As adults, when you play together, you're engaging in exactly the same patterns of behavior that positively shape the brain of a child. These same playful behaviors that predict emotional health in children can also lead to positive changes in adults. If an emotionally insecure individual plays with a secure partner, for example, it can help replace negative beliefs and behaviors with positive assumptions and actions. There's a warning, there's a lot of people out there that will literally play with you, and they will, and not in a good way. So they're going to feed off of your insecurities, and they're going to pretend to offer you a safe space. Please be careful. I've made that mistake far too many times myself. The article goes on to talk about play at work. Many dot-com companies, the article says, have long recognized the link between productivity and fun working environments. Some encourage play and creativity by offering art or yoga classes, throwing regular parties, providing games such as foosball or ping pong, or encouraging recess-like breaks during the workday for employees to play and let off steam. These companies know that more play at work results in more productivity, higher job satisfaction, greater workplace morale, and a decrease in employee skipping work and staff turnover. If you're fortunate enough to work at such a company, embrace the culture. If your company lacks the play ethic, you can still inject your own sense of play into breaks and lunch hours. Keep a camera or a sketch pad on hand to take creative breaks when you can. Joke with coworkers to relieve stress, play cards, or compete in word puzzles together. It can strengthen the bond you have with your coworkers, as well as improve your job performance. For people with mundane jobs, maintaining a sense of play can make a real difference to the workday by helping to relieve boredom. Success at work doesn't depend on the amount of time you work. It depends on the quality of your work. And the quality of your work is highly dependent on your well-being. Taking the time to replenish yourself through play is one of the best ways you can help your career. When the project you're working on hits a serious glitch, take some time out to play and have a few laughs. Take a pause for the day. It does a lot more than take your mind off the problem. When you play, you engage in the creative side of your brain and silence your quote-unquote inner editor, that psychological barrier that censors your thoughts and ideas. This can often help you see the problem in a new light and think of fresh and creative solutions. Playing at work keeps you functional when under stress. It refreshes your mind and body. It encourages teamwork, increases energy, and prevents burnout. Playing at work triggers creativity and innovation. It helps you see problems in a new way. So then the article goes on to say, tips for managers and employees. It's tempting to think that the best way to cope with an ever-increasing workload is to push your employees to work longer and harder. However, without some recreation time, it's more likely the work will suffer and your workers will become chronically overwhelmed and burnout. Encouraging play, on the other hand, creates a more lighthearted work atmosphere that, in turn, encourages employees to take more creative risks. It provides opportunities for social interaction among employees and encourages creative thinking. At my old job, I worked for two different contracted agencies. One was in the factory, which was extremely, like a very mundane task. You did the same thing over and over and over and over. And that particular job, I actually loved for a variety of reasons. Number one, my boss, Jason, was amazing. He was such a nice guy. And I had some coworkers that were fun as well, and that always makes such a difference. And then because it was such a mundane task, once I got down the task at hand, because it did change from day to day, once I figured out, okay, this is what I need to do at this particular station for this particular day, I could get lost in my thoughts. I would be there packaging candy and thinking about building a future house or thinking about a vacation that I would soon be taking. Sometimes the house was fictitious. Sometimes the vacation was fictitious. This allowed me some time to just kind of have fun and get lost in my thoughts while working and getting paid. Just win-win. The other job I had was kind of, I would say in some ways, more stressful because of the boss that I had at the time. And then some other aspects about it as well. And so when I would struggle at that particular job, during my breaks or in between customers coming to me, sometimes I would start writing poetry. During my break, sometimes I would finish the poem or I would be drawing about it. I believe I've said this in one of my last podcasts, but did you know that scribbling while you're going through tough times, if you're thinking about what's bothering you and you literally just scribble, you move the emotion from your amygdala, which is your emotional center in your brain, to the prefrontal cortex where you can more readily work it out. So those are two really good examples. There was actually a guy at that job, his name was Cliff, and he is an amazing artist. And during his breaks, he would literally sketch all different things with just a pen. And he could do shadowing. It was absolutely brilliant and amazing artwork. I'm actually going to contact him today and see if he's okay with me adding his link somewhere on my Facebook page, Eagle Exercises and or this podcast. So anyway, he would find creative ways, an outlet, so to speak, during work. So to wrap up, guys, I just want to encourage you, whether it's at work, whether it's at home, whether it's with friends, coworkers, your kids, your pets, or by yourself, please carve out time each day to play. If you can't do it every day, maybe plan one or two days on the weekend. Maybe, just like my app, Photography as Prayer, you can carve out 10 minutes a day to just kind of get lost in a moment, to not have to think about work or other obligations that you have. Life can press down on us pretty damn hard. And if we stay there and we focus on the stressors, all we do is increase the stress. We need to have a way to release the stress, a way to express the stress to kind of process it out of our bodies and our minds. And one way to do that is to play. So whatever it is that interests you, I would highly encourage you to check out nature, to get your hands dirty, whether that's cooking, whether that's building something. Again, moving your body, the somatic exercises always helps your body deal with stress. When we plug in to our childlike ways, we plug in to a release, we plug in to a way to kind of exhale from all of the crushing things that weigh on us day to day as adults in the workplace and beyond. So get out there and play, my friends. And if you found this podcast helpful, please message me on my Facebook page, Eagle Exercises, or you can leave a message here at audio.com. I want to thank you for tuning in. Again, this is Amy Rae for Soaring Over Stress. And I want to let you know that I see you, you matter, and your story counts. Until next time, friends, have a great day. Soaring Over Stress