Top 10 Reasons to Play

by Jon Paul Dyson View Bio

Jon Paul Dyson

Jon-Paul C. Dyson is Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and Vice President for Exhibits at The Strong museum in Rochester, New York. The Strong welcomes more than 550,000 guests annually and has the world's most comprehensive collection of playthings, including more than 60,000 video games and related artifacts on the history of electronic gaming. JP writes and speaks widely on the role of play and video games in society, past and present. He is the former editor of the American Journal of Play, has a PhD in American Intellectual and Cultural History, and loves play and games of all types. You can follow him on Twitter at @jpdysonplay.

Play is a vital and important part of our lives. It’s good to do and good for you! That probably explains why play is universal across all human societies. It helps us develop when we are children but remains essential in keeping us strong, agile, mentally healthy, and vibrant as adults.

At The Strong National Museum of Play we celebrate the importance of play and publish the latest scholarly research on the subject through our peer-reviewed publication the American Journal of Play. Based on that research here are ten reasons why you should make play a part of your everyday life.

1. Play Strengthens You
2. Play Makes You Smarter
3. Play Helps You Solve Problems
4. Play Boosts Creativity
5. Play Reduces Stress
6. Play Helps You Make Friends
7. Play Enhances Attractiveness
8. Play Builds Resilience
9. Play Promotes Discovery
10. Play is Fun

Now if you want to delve deeper to learn about the research that supports these statements, check out these articles in The Strong’s American Journal of Play that provide further exposition, exploration, and information:

1. Play Strengthens You – Play builds physical strength, but it also increases mental, emotional, and psychological capacities. For a good discussion of how play strengthens us, see Scott G. Eberle, “The Elements of Play: Toward a Philosophy and a Definition of Play.”


2. Play Makes You Smarter -- When we play, we solve problems, overcome obstacles, and engage in tasks that are fun because they are challenging. All this play work builds our brains. There are many ways to be smart, but Robyn Holmes, Sharon Liden, and Lisa Shin explore some of the connections between play and success in school in “Children’s Thinking Styles, Play, and Academic Performance.”


3. Play Helps You Solve Problems -- Life is full of surprises, obstacles, and challenges. It’s impossible to predict everything that will happen to you, and play makes us more adaptable and responsive to the curveballs life throws at us. Read about this in humans and animals in “How Play Makes for a More Adaptable Brain: Comparative and Neural Perspectives,” by Sergio M. Pellis, Vivien C. Pellis, and Brett T. Him.


4. Play Boosts Creativity -- Pretend play is the soil out of which creativity grows in childhood. The flexibility and free-spiritedness of play in adulthood keeps creativity thriving for grownups. Learn more about the connections between creativity and play in Sandra Russ and Claire E. Wallace’s “Pretend Play and Creative Processes.”


5. Play Reduces Stress -- Not all stress is bad. Sometimes we need stress to be productive, but too much stress not only makes us unhappy but also can damage our health, relationships, and ability to think clearly. Play offers a respite and a chance to renew ourselves; our recreation can be an important means of re-creation. For more, see Paula Thomson and S. Victoria Jaque, “Visiting the Muses: Creativity, Coping, and PTSD in Talented Dancers and Athletes.”


6. Play Helps You Make Friends -- Watch kids on a school year and you’ll see that play is the glue that cements friendships. Bill Corsaro has explored this beautifully in his many books and in an article drawing on his experience studying children in Italy and the United States.


7. Play Enhances Attractiveness -- Play is universal in part because it serves a biological imperative, the search for a mate. For an exploration of the link between romance and play, see “Play and Mate Preference: Testing the Signal Theory of Adult Playfulness” by Garry Chick, Careen Yarnal, and Andrew Purrington.”


8. Play Builds Resilience – The capacity to bounce back from setback is crucial to success. Some call it grit. But how do we develop these habits of tenacity? Play has a role as Steven Siviy explores in his article “Play and Adversity: How the Playful Mammalian Brain Withstands Threats and Anxieties.”


9. Play Promotes Discovery -- Discovery is the product of exploration, and exploration and play go hand-in-hand. Terry Marks-Tarlow’s “The Fractal Self at Play” offers a unique meditation on this process.


10. Play is Fun -- Everyone knows that play is fun, and this shouldn’t require any scholarly exploration! But if you’re interested in learning more about the neuroscience that explains why play IS fun, see Louk J. M. J. Vanderschuren, “How the Brain Makes Play Fun.”

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