Play isn’t some trivial, dumb thing that’s just for kids. Playing should be as important to you as eating greens or drinking water. Not only does it grow new brain connections for happier moods and better memory, but playing also sets off a cascade of body-positive effects that help keep you slim and vital.
All animals play — from otters and dolphins to kittens and humans. Grizzlies that play the most survive the longest and rats that frolic develop bigger, more complex brains. Have you ever seen a pile of boys wrestling around? Or a pile of puppies? Or a pile of boys and puppies? Even though it’s not obviously productive (and can even be dangerous), it’s natural.
Saying yes to doing what feels wonderful isn’t reckless. Designing your life around your enjoyment isn’t crazy. Accepting all your desires and cravings as good and fun — and even healthy — is doable and possibly a higher evolutionary art.
Playing Your Way Through Life
Playing teaches us to use our imagination, which is possibly the most powerful human ability, letting us create wild alternate realities that we can explore without leaving the real world. Children start to imagine by telling silly stories around age 2, but this instinct continues to nourish and evolve as we age.
Rough and tumble play, wrestling and play fighting teach us to play fair and even cooperate with others — and to understand unspoken physical boundaries. (I’m a huge fan of a good pillow fight.) This roughhousing also helps us develop social awareness. Studies of young rats that are denied wrestling play, a kind of rough and tumble pile, develop serious social problems in adulthood and aren’t able to mate.
Playing with tough problems is one of the best ways to learn how to conquer it. That’s why kids sometimes learn faster than adults — they aren’t afraid to say, “I don’t know” and just try out different ideas to see if they work. Playing allows you to learn from a mistake and do it differently the next time around.
Playing and Your Brain
Physical play and physical pleasure help our brains stay healthier and our hormones stay balanced as we age. They keep our neural pathways open and running smoothly, and keep the brain “young.”
What’s crazy is how adults — especially women — have been convinced that denying, restricting and punishing themselves is the way to get what they want. But in fact, science has shown that restricting, depriving, counting calories and being hyper-vigilant about food and eating put us into a “fight or flight” stress state. When that happens, your body makes more stress hormones like cortisol and releases insulin. That insulin tells your body not to use fat as a source of energy. Instead, it says, “Hold onto that fat. We may need it later.”
So the more your body is in a stressed state — and not a fun, playful one — the more you create a biochemical state inside yourself that packs on the pounds. Which is why the old way most of us were taught to lose weight — that you must punish, push or restrict yourself in order to lose weight — can backfire. But you know what puts an end to your body’s stress state?
— Enjoying yourself.
— Playing.
— Indulging all of your sensory pleasures.
— Savoring every moment, every bite and every breath.
— Dancing through your day like someone who deserves even the smallest desires, hopes, inklings and cravings.
I don’t just encourage you to play outside (or in the bedroom) because it’s a lot more fun than dragging your butt to the gym (it is), but because it will give you the health and weight results you’re looking for — feeling good, loving yourself and being totally psyched to be alive and confident.
When you play in your body and allow yourself the fun and pleasure you would encourage a beloved child or puppy to pursue, you get out of your head and get into your body. You start feeling and listening to your body and enjoy the pleasure chemicals that play can provide, including:
1. Dopamine: Everything you do or eat for pleasure produces dopamine surges in your brain. From setting and achieving goals to having sex to holding hands or hugging, this key player in the reward system of your brain is where we get that feeling of pleasure.
2. Endocannabinoids: Possibly the cause for the “runner’s high,” these self-produced cannabis chemicals are created by your brain and are called the “bliss molecules,” which make movement fun and keep you coming back for more.
3. Oxytocin: “The bonding molecule” is produced from skin-to-skin contact, making love, affection and intimacy. Playing and commiserating with a friend also releases oxytocin and bonds us with friends and lovers. It also, funny enough, bonds us to our dogs, so cuddling and playing with your dog makes them into a loved, lifelong partner. (But you dog lovers already knew that.)
4. Endorphins: These tiny molecules are basically self-produced morphine or opiates that have pain-killing properties. They’re released during strenuous physical play, sex and orgasm, and help relieve pain. (On a side note, there are certain acupuncture and acupressure points that also trigger production of endorphins, which is probably why my post-knee surgery recovery went so well.)
This all goes to show that you can act your way into a happy, natural high — and natural weight loss — without punishing yourself.
Most of us weren’t trained by our parents to look for the fun, or taught the importance of playing, or made to believe that our joys and pleasures were valuable. Most of us are trained to see play and pleasure as a treat that you can have after you’ve perfected your work or done all your chores. But I believe that fun, silliness and pleasure are necessary for a healthy, happy body. I believe learning to put a premium on play is how you lose the weight and feel great — every day.
I invite you to view play and fun as a biological necessity. Answer the call of your body’s cravings and desires. I ask you to ponder that play and fun are the only paths to real health. And I’ll meet you on the playground!
More from U.S. News
7 Mind-Blowing Benefits of Exercise
Play Your Way to a Healthy Body and a Happy Life originally appeared on usnews.com
