Kids are healthier if they play nicely with others. It’s why kindergartens teach tots to get along while playing games and working on arts and crafts.
Interestingly, recent studies show that playfulness is also an important factor for adult mental health.
Laughing with your partner, playing peekaboo with the kids, and romping with the pets promotes wellbeing. Studies also link play to improved brain function, problem-solving and creativity.
Now researchers are investigating the benefits of playfulness for the retired and elderly.
While we know instinctively what playfulness is, defining it is tricky.
Professor Dr Lynn Barnett at the University of Illinois, the United States, is considered a heavyweight as she has studied playfulness since 1976.
She suggests that playfulness is a mindset that helps us see situations as amusing, and that this is what pushes us to play.
Professor Dr Rene Proyer at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, who has studied personality and humour since 2014, points out that adult playfulness is sophisticated.
Our verbal skills make us witty, and we can also bring an empathetic warmth into our laughter that kids simply haven’t mastered yet.
With other experts weighing in, it’s no surprise there are several adult playfulness scales – and they are all different.
Playfulness is associated with creativity, light-heartedness, a sense of the absurd, using play to bring joy to others, verbal wit, and more.
While scientists love a passionate battle about definitions and variables, studies typically show a link between playfulness and good mental health, no matter how terms are defined.
In 2020, a team led by Assistant Professor Dr Mohammad Heidari at Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Iran, studied the effect of laughter therapy on 90 seniors aged 60-99 in care homes.
Three times a week, half of the group watched lighthearted video clips, played group games, and ran joke-telling competitions.
After 10 weeks, the laughter therapy group were significantly happier, reporting significantly improved quality of life and less depression than the other care home residents.
In 2022, a team lead by Prof Dr Shoshi Keisari at the University of Haifa, Israel, put half of a group of 78 seniors aged 63-98 into a 12-week playback theatre group programme.
After three months, the theatre club group had significant better mental health including self-acceptance, personal growth, and improved friendships as well as better quality of life. Even better, these benefits persisted for three months.
In 2015, a team led by Professor Dr Simon Coulton at the University of Kent, England, put half of a group of 258 elderly participants aged 60 and over in a Silver Song Club for 14 weeks.
The singers reported significantly better quality of life, and lower anxiety and depression. The effect persisted for three months. However, after six months, that difference disappeared.
With these and other studies showing similar effects, the message is clear.
For older folk, retirement typically means giving up a job, a change that comes with a double whammy of lack of mental stimulation and a loss of friends.
Playfulness can relieve this. It is the mental health vitamin pill that ensures an active, happy mind and promotes happy friendships.
Unfortunately, many of us associate being an adult with being serious. Organised play often drops out of our everyday lives when we’re kids.
There’s also a subtle but strong message that simple playfulness is reprehensible. A park visit becomes “edutainment” and turns into a lesson about identifying plants and birds.
As for sports, playing badminton or football without a smartwatch that counts steps, heartbeats and calories is unthinkable for many of us.
This “constant improvement” mindset is problematic. Life is more than work, duty, and responsibility. A successful life is a joyful journey.
Play is enriching, helping us have fun with friends and family. This provides instant short-term happiness and a stock of delightful memories.
Thankfully, adding play into your life is super simple. Gather friends, family or neighbours and try these tips.
> Karaoke Games. Put your fave songs into a hat and take turns to lucky dip. If you sing My Way like a cat, all the more fun.
> Charades. There are store-bought games and adaptations like Pictionary but the classic method whereby you put book, film and theatre play titles into a hat is simple. Create teams and set up a league.
> Card and board games. Classics like Dominoes, Whist, and mahJong keep the mind active, but board games like Cluedo, Mysterium, and Risk can be played in pairs.
> Dancing. Learning the steps to the waltz, the polka or line dancing is a good laugh, especially if you change partners at random. Get a person to lead or YouTube up instructions. Bonus: It’s a light physical activity that will keep you in good trim.
Play: it isn’t just for kids!
Ellen Whyte is a British-registered counsellor and psychotherapist who has a soft spot for cats. She founded an online practice in 2016, and works with clients in 20+ countries.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
