Dr. Sonia Apgar Berget
English 102
4th December 2014
Introduction
When was the last time you lost
yourself in the boundless, free, open-hearted, self-accepting, fearless state
of play? This morning over
breakfast? Yesterday at lunch? Last week?
Last year? Can you even remember?
I’m not surprised if you can’t. It seems as though this magical and
neurologically rich state – the state of play – is slipping through our
fingers. This trend is concerning and potentially
detrimental, yet understandable due to the simple fact that culturally we are
ill-informed and misunderstand play. Our
current culture thinks of play as a purposeless activity, something either only
children do or at most adults engage in with the simple objective to have fun
or blow off steam. This is an extremely
limited view. Although fun is often a by-product of play or “play in
action," it is not synonymous with play itself. The benefits of play do not stop upon entering
adulthood. Due to this lack of
understanding of play’s true nature and vast benefits, the study of play is wildly
underfunded (Reiber 43). This further
perpetuates the lack of understanding and value in a vicious downward cycle. The Puritan heritage of this country left a
residual paradigm our society still subscribes to which says that if play is fun,
and fun implies lack of work, play in turn must equal laziness. If hard work is valued above all else, it
stands to reason play must be bad.
However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. As Brian Sutton-Smith, play theorist and
author of The Ambiguity of Play is
quoted saying, “The opposite of play is not work, it is depression” (NIFPlay). We need a paradigm shift and must reclaim the
true meaning and value of play.
True play is a state of the mind
out of which the action of play is born.
Play is a feeling, a keen mental awareness, a mental fluidity, an
ego-less state of the mind where all things are possible – all is accepted –no
idea is a bad idea – and joy and spontaneity have permission to run
rampant. This is the mental state where
invention takes place, ingenuity is fostered, and innovation is king. To play feels good, enlivening, even challenging
at times. The best part is, not only
does it feel good, but it is crucial to developing both the brain and spirit to
ensure success and happiness in all aspects of life. Better yet, it is my belief that the bountiful
state of play can be taught. This is
what I refer to as play conditioning,
strategically developed exercises tailored to create neurological change to
promote the rich benefits of the playful mind.
Like the mental conditioning of meditation leading to an increased experience
of mindfulness; play conditioning can lead to an increased experience of the
playful mind. Through repetitive
exposure to expertly crafted play promoting group and individual exercises, the
adult brain can neurologically rewire itself into a more playful state. This will allow for a more adaptive,
innovative and problem solving oriented mind.
As our ability to engage in play diminishes due to our increase
engagement with technology, play conditioning programs will provide a necessary
strategy to continue to thrive mentally, physically and psychologically as a
species.
The Need for Play
The benefits of
play are prolific and vast. In the most
basic sense, we play to survive.
Throughout evolution, play survived natural selection due to its ability
to build resilience to stress and trauma, prepare the young for adult life and
necessary adult skills, as well as a key role in mate preference. Historically, child’s play mimics the skills
necessary for successful adult life.
Throughout time, girls have engaged in nurturing activities as play,
such as doll and imaginative “house” role-play, while boys engaged in
activities like play hunting and war (Chick, Yarnal and Purrington 413). In addition to building adult skills
necessary for life, playfulness is an intrinsically attractive attribute when
selecting a long term partner. Men
select playful mates that signal youth, while woman select playful mates
because it feels non-threatening (Chick, Yarnal and Purrington 423-429).
Play is critical
to building resilience to stress and trauma.
Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, discusses a
study where two groups of rats were raised, one in a play promoting environment
the other in a play deprivation environment.
A pheromone coated cat collar was then dropped into the cages. Over time, the rats which had previously
engaged in play, eventually all came out to investigate the threat and
reintegrate into their environment. The
rats deprived of play stayed in their holes and died - every single one (“Play
is More” 11:25). Using marmosets as test
subjects, Dr. Ivan Norscia and Dr. Elisabetta Palagi, observed that play
increased most just before feeding time, when stress and anxiety is highest due
to anticipation of competing over food. A
common expression of anxiety and stress for marmosets, scratching, was
significantly reduced after an intense play session. In addition, Norscia and Palagi note: “The link between play and stress reduction
is consistent with previous reports in mammals.
In a study on young bears, Fagen and Fagen (2004) speculated that play
experience could relieve stress and build resistance to future stress. In juvenile rats and in the squirrel monkey,
another New World primate, stress hormones appeared to be negatively correlated
with play (Biben and Champoux 199; Wilson 2001)” (103). These studies suggest that individuals with a
strong tendency and propensity to play will naturally be more tolerant to
modern day stress, adaptable and resilient to the fast changing world we now
must engage in. Because of this, the
playful person will thrive and survive over those who are play deficient or
play inept.
Equally
necessary to the physiological survival reasons for play are the vast and
important psychological benefits. Play
is preverbal. Human connection is both
taught and fostered through play. Play
is our deepest and earliest form of connection, and this early connection is critical
to proper brain development.
When [a] mother and infant lock eyes, and the infant's old enough to have a
social smile,
what happens --
spontaneously -- is the eruption of joy on the part of the mother. And she begins to babble and coo and
smile, and so does the baby.
If we've got them wired
up with an electroencephalogram, the right brain of each of them becomes
attuned,
so that the joyful
emergence of this earliest of play scenes and the physiology of that is something
we're beginning to get a handle on. And … every bit of more complex play builds on this base for us humans. (Brown, “Play is More” 4:40).
Play is critical
to fostering early connections in life and raising our young properly, but also
a key aspect to developing and maintaining successful relationships as
adults. The individual needs play to
thrive as much as the couple or family unit.
The playful mind allows for deep connection and rewarding, high
functioning relationships. We feel most
“in-love” when we are engaged in play. A
definition of charisma is the ability to have fun in any situation, which can
also be interpreted as the ability to play
in all circumstances. Our best memories
are often times of play and playfulness (Brown 5). The couple that plays together stays together. Through play we release our ego, open our
hearts, become better listeners and most of all have fun. This allows for deep connection and
communication, resulting in more successful marriages and relationships of all
kinds.
Patch Adams,
clown and renowned medical doctor (or perhaps better known through Robin
William’s portrayal of him in the 1998 film, Patch Adams) believes this deep connection and expression of play
and playing together is on-par with that of love and loving. He has said that love and play are the two
greatest connectors and healers, essential to humanity at large. Under this belief, he founded Gesundheit!
Institute, a non-profit healthcare organization dedicated to bringing joy and
laughter into the all too serious traditional hospital setting (Patch Adams). Through his extensive hands on experience
healing countless individuals through play and laughter, he has concluded that:
“At the heart of the matter, there is play and there is love. They both connect us at the deepest level” (Promise of Play).
Through my own
experience healing a broken heart from infant loss, I have concluded that play
is the antidote to grief. The playful
mind is limitless and wide enough to allow for seaming opposites. Paradoxes such as grief and play have the
ability and space to co-exist. Play
promotes self-compassion, kindness and acceptance of both oneself and one’s
circumstances. If one can be with and
process their grief while simultaneously being in a play state of mind, a state
of mental fluidity, transformation, openness and freedom from preconceived
doctrines - the grief can and will transform.
The grief will move, integrating into the whole self. It is not a
diminished self, but a wider more expansive self. Building
neural-synapses prone to promote a play state of mind develops mental and
emotional resilience to challenging life events by being able to transform,
adapt to and integrate unexpected challenging circumstances.
Looking at the
benefits of play from yet another angle is play’s vast ability to increase our
high level critical and creative thinking.
Having a playful mind is vital to solving complex problems and being
able to cope and perform well in the work environment. It is out of a playful state of mind that our
deepest and most creative thought is born. “The genius of play is that, in playing we
create imaginative new cognitive combinations.
And in creating those novel combinations, we find what works” (Brown
37). This genius that play fosters happens in part
because playfulness precedes creativity (Chang, Hsu and Chen 1507). It has been studied and proved that
individuals with aptitudes in technology and math, also exhibit a propensity
towards creativity and playfulness (Chang 107-108). Perhaps most importantly play fosters high
level, solution oriented, out of the box thinking. It is said that Einstein came up with the
theory of relativity by imagining himself riding a beam of light through the
universe. If that’s not a playful
thought, I don’t know what is.
The Loss of Play
Our capacity and
propensity to play is threatened by our current culture of technological
integration and enmeshment. Our
cognitive problem solving ability is declining as our hands on three
dimensional play fades in lieu of two dimensional computer interactions. The aeronautical engineering firm JPL discovered
this after noticing that their junior engineers were failing to solve complex
problems compared with their senior counterparts. This was surprising as these young recruits
test scores and university Alma maters were equal if not more advance and
prestigious than their elders. Upon
researching to find out why this was, they discovered a single significant difference. All the older engineers had stories in their
interview process of three dimensional play growing up and talked with glee of
times taking apart their grandfather’s watch for instant. The younger recruits had no such stories, as
they grew up in a world of two dimensional engagement through computer games
and computer aided design programs (Brown 9-11).
Our ability to
navigate complex social environments is fading as well. Our social intelligence is becoming stunted the
avid use of Facebook, texting, online game playing, Snapchat – you name
it. We are exporting our social
experience online resulting in a reduced ability to recognize subtle physical social
queues and the “play-face.” The effects
of this can be seen in the young millennials now entering the work force with
lackluster interview and interpersonal skills. The article “Kids These Days: Tips for
Interviewing Millennials” from Select International Employee and Interview
Training company notes, “One topic that never fails to
surface in these workshops is the challenge of hiring millennials—inevitably,
there are some individuals who believe 20-somethings are indolent, feel wrongly
entitled, and lack basic etiquette in the workplace” (Behah). This
new generation is more comfortable texting as communication verses a phone call
or person to person interaction. How can
we fault them though, they grew up in a world were person to person interacting
and play is scarce. Social aptness can’t
be taught and fostered through the online medium. Now, it seems as if the once joyful ease of social
play is beginning to feel downright foreign and uncomfortable.
As play becomes more
difficult for humans to engage in, it seems we are finding an increased comfort
and solace in the direct, simple, love and play-filled, connections of our
pets. This could explain the recent boom
in the pet care industry – dogs in particular.
Our value in our furry friends is in on the incline while our play
declines. Participating in play with
animals is somehow societally acceptable.
We can connect with them non-verbally, bounce about, tug at their ears
and make silly sounds while looking ridiculous, yet without feeling ridiculous.
This fear to
play for fear of ridicule is to our detriment.
In today’s corporate environment individuals are scared to speak up for
fear of judgment from peers, we stifle and shutdown true ingenuity and creative
thought by a general lack of valuing the playful mind. Ironically, this is against the very
interests of both the corporations and the employees. The playful mind allows for co-workers to
solve problems and create with more innovation, quicker, and with more ease and
joy. This results in both increased
employee satisfaction, and an increased bottom line for the company.
Yet, if we don’t
raise our children to value and foster high level play at home, how can we
expect our adults to value and engage in play in the work environment? In today’s world, it seems children engage less
and less if at all in preparatory play gearing them towards a healthy and
successful adult life. We stick our
children in front of the TV or give them an iPad to keep them entertained and
out of our hair. Although this is
understandable as the challenges of parenthood are not to be undermined, we
need to take a good look at how this shift and approach to raising our young is
truly affecting them, both as children and as the adults they will become.
Through play we
learn when too much is too much and not enough is not enough. “In play we can imagine and experience
situations we have never encountered before and learn from them. We can create possibilities that have never
existed but may in the future. We make new
cognitive connections that find their way into our everyday life. We can learn skills without being directly at
risk” (Brown 34). The cognitive
development play promotes cannot take place if children are not engaging in
person to person play.
Not just our
social ability is threated by a play deprived technology enmeshed culture, but
critical brain development as well.
Norman Doidge, leading neuroplasticity scholar and author of The Brain That Changes Itself writes the
following:
Television watching, one of the signature activities
of our culture, correlates with brain problems.
A recent study of more than twenty-six hundred toddlers shows that early
exposure to television between the ages of one and three correlates with
problems paying attention and controlling impulses later in childhood. For every hour of TV toddlers watched each
day, their chances of developing serious attentional difficulties at age seven increased
by 10 percent (307).
Increased interaction in the two
dimensional world of technology (Phones, iPads, video games, television, etc.)
verses three dimensional object play is a completely different neurological
experience. This constant engagement in
the two dimensional world of “screen time” leaves little or no time for a much
richer neurological experience in the three dimensional world.
There
is recent scientific evidence that our brains react differently to
three-dimensional objects than they do to the two-dimensional representations
on video or computer screens. In one
particular study, using a brain imaging technique known as fMRI (function
magnetic resonance imaging), a window allowing direct vision overhead was a
part of the experiment. When a real hand holding a ball was presented
in the window, large areas of the brains’ visual and associational circuits
were activated. When a picture of a hand
holding a ball was shown, the visual cortex demonstrated similar arousal but
the associational areas were virtually silent.
(Brown 185)
It is critical to our development we not
lose our ability to play or time to play.
Reclaiming
Play
As a society we
need to reclaim our right to play.
Although our love affair with technology and tech gadgets is luring us
away from play, technology itself is not to blame. The vast value of technological advancements
are infinite and possess wonderful potential.
I do not by any means suggest tempering these advancement or wish to
fight technology’s trajectory in the name of play. We cannot fight the trajectory of our culture,
we simply need to adapt. We can adapt by
incorporating play conditioning programs.
Promoting play in the form of play classes, play coaching, modern day
“playrooms” or “playtoriums” (specific play oriented environments built
privately or by the government), anything which teaches and build neural-synapses
developed through play will counteract our culture’s play deprivation.
Playfulness is a
mental muscle, a skill that through a properly designed play curriculum and
safe play promoting environment can be both taught and strengthened. Repetitive positive play exposure will
neurologically promote brain change, acting as a conditioning program for the
playful mind. Recent scientific findings
refer to this ability, of the mind to adapt and change based on new exposures,
as neuroplasticity. Harvard neuroscientist,
Sara Lazar, explains neuroplasticity as “Neuroplasticity is basically this;
your brain is plastic, and neurons can change how they talk to each other with
experience” (Lazar). She proved this
ability of the brain through the study of meditation practitioners. By using MRI brain scanning technology, her
team scanned the brains of previous non meditations and then had half the group
engage in meditation for about thirty minutes a day for eight weeks. After eight weeks, the group who engaged in
meditation practice showed significant increased density in the practitioner’s
brain gray matter (brain tissue) (Holzel et al). Perhaps a play program constructed in eight
weeks sessions could be just enough for players to experience neurological
change and start reaping the rewards of the playful mind.
In happiness
psychology, there is a theory known as the happiness set point phenomenon,
which is an individual’s innate level of happiness. This level regardless of
external happenings, even to the extent of winning the lottery, once acclimated
(to the new environment and habits) will return to their pre-disposed innate
happiness level (Lickerman). Sesame Street puppeteer turned play coach,
Gwen Gordon, argues that due to recent neuroplasticity findings that an
individual’s happiness set point is perhaps more in one’s own control than
previously thought. “Whatever we bring into the world from the womb, the means
of adult happiness, may ultimately remain in our hands” (Gordon 238). If our happiness is more in control that we
previously thought, it stands to reason so is our predisposition and ability to
play.
In an ever
evolving contemporary world geared towards technology and need for high level
problem solving, the playful mind (which promotes creativity) will be a key and
valuable trait for professional success.
In
the context of globalization and technological change, people encounter more
complex and diverse problems on a daily basis… Guilford (1967) suggested that
creativity and the ability to solve these problems are the two most complex
types of human mental ability; in the age of the knowledge economy, especially,
creativity has come to be seen as the most precious human asset (Chang 101).
Play conditioning has the ability to
develop access to an individual’s highest level of deep thinking which will
predispose them towards solving complex problems.
Although some
corporate environments recognize the need for play through “team building”
activities, the typical four hours once a year, is not enough. Teaching a group of people how to run by
standing in front of them demonstrating how you put one foot in front of the
other once a year will not increase any participant’s mile time, or build the
necessary muscles to run a marathon.
Theory is not enough. Exercise and
practice of play must take place. For
example, in the play conditioning exercise of imaginative group play, the group
plays together to create and solve complex situational problems. This foster an ability to engage in
professional brainstorming sessions more effectively by teaching the individual
how to have a “yes and” attitude towards all ideas and build both the
confidence and neural synapses to explore and voice radical and unique thought. This results in quicker, more innovative,
group problem solving. Google, Facebook
and Apple all offer on-site yoga classes to their employees, perhaps these
companies would also benefit from offering weekly or daily drop in play
conditioning classes, especially if they desire to continue their reputation
for pioneering cutting edge invention.
The time, for
implementing strategic play conditioning programs, has come. We must reignite our ability to play and
incorporate play into our daily lives. If
not, we are headed for a future void of interpersonal skills, lackluster
relationships, and stunted mental development.
A major shift in value and lifestyle needs to take place. Our culture has made shifts before and can
again. If this sounds extreme, imagine
if we went back in time to our ancestors and informed them after an exhausting
day of hunting and gathering that one day our technology will be such that the
need to hunt and forage our food will no longer be. Food will be prepackaged and - get this -
full of too many calories, and
because of this you will be required to “work out” your body in places called gyms in order to maintain optimum
health. This would sound beyond crazy and unimaginable to them. Perhaps play is no different. Perhaps our technological advancements have
come to a precipice yet again that a major shift in lifestyle to maintain
optimum health is needed. Only instead of
the need to work out our physical muscles in our lives, we now have a need to
incorporate working out our play
muscles.
Conclusion
Given the tremendous benefits play
has on our ability to flourish in all aspects of life, it is imperative that as
a society we educate ourselves on play and begin to give it due value. The alternative is a play deprived culture
void of human connection, and resilient, creative minds. Thankfully, there is a solution. Neuroplasticity now suggests that creating a
more playful state of mind and propensity towards play regardless of age,
predisposition or previous play deficiency, is
possible. Through well designed play
conditioning programs and studios, as easy to attend as your weekly yoga class,
obtaining and maintaining a playful state of mind will be the new “it” workout
and critical to thriving in the emerging world.
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