I start this blog
off with a quote from Carl Jung, famous psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. “The
small boy (himself) is still around and possess a creative life which I lack.
But how can I make my way to it” (1). He is referring to his inner child and
recognizes there is an aspect of childhood that gets lost in adulthood. I am
not a 100% sure what exactly gets lost but I think it could be play.
After
listening to Dr. Elisha Goldstein (2) talk about play at the Neuroscience
Training Summit 2017, I became interested to learn more about play in adults.
My research has been quite challenging to find scientific studies on play in
adults. So I will present to you what I have found so far.
I think a good place to start is to
talk about what play is.
At its most basic,
play is an activity performed for pleasure (3). It requires a certain attitude
that influences the perception that an activity is playful (3). Researchers
have been trying to identify the qualities of play. Henriot 1969 identified
uncertainty, illusion and unpredictability as part of play (3). Bishop and
Chace 1971 said exploration, freedom and joy. Ferland 1994 said curiousity,
spontaneity, pleasure and a sense of humour are part of play (1). It appears
that play is something unstructured, unplanned and free. Researchers have found
children engaging in play were less bounded by rules or external constraints
and tended to be more physically active (3). Physical activity was not however
identified as essential to play.
So
why in adulthood do we tend to play less or not at all? One idea put forth was
that we have become too critical (3) of how we “should” behave. If play is
unplanned and unstructured, perhaps our lives have become too planned, with
deadlines and too much structure. Perhaps we forgot about or don’t know the
value of play. I am totally curious what others think.
I did find in one article that play in adults
has been identified as fostering behaviours associated with creativity, role
rehearsal and mind-body connections (3). Most studies of play, looked at play
in the workplace, some benefits were improved morale and increased motivation
(1). What about outside work? Play has the power to de-dramatize which allows
the person some space to deal with problems in a more healthy way, with
practice of course. For me it sounds like play provides us some freedom in the
mind, to roll with the punches or make lemonade from lemons, versus getting
caught in our automatic, usually negative, mode. One researcher even suggested
that play could help individuals with disabilities to adapt and give themselves
new meaning (3).
In the case of
pain, some individuals whom have persistent pain, will stop making plans, they
will reduce social time and activities with friends and family due to pain or
because of the uncertainty if pain will show up the day of their plans. This
then becomes more routine and turns into an unhealthy coping strategy. A better
coping strategy that acts on our bodies physiologically to decrease the alarm
system of pain, is to actually plan “happy activities” and be around fun people
(4). The mind/body loves novelty, moving in interesting new ways, learning
something new. The mind/body also loves when we change our emotional state,
hence why having fun and being around others is so beneficial (4).
Let’s look at an
example of how fun can impact our reaction to something painful. Have you ever
been at a party or family gathering and walked into the corner of a coffee
table? Ouch! You may stop for a moment, think to yourself, “ouch, that hurt or
that will leave a mark” and somehow you just get right back into having fun.
Your brain in the moment assessed the situation, determined you were not in
danger and then shut the alarm off.
Play offers a more positive coping
strategy for re-introducing movement, reducing the alarm system of pain and
putting the mind in a more open, positive state.
Play because of its novelty,
unpredictability and freedom can make us better able to handle change (5). Play
also enhances our physical, social, emotional and intellectual growth (5).
Let’s look a bit at neurobiology of
the brain and hopefully link why play can be valuable in a healing way.
First we have the
pre-frontal cortex which is behind your forehead and is associated with executive function, emotion, action and attention (rational thinking) (6).
There is a left and right difference in the cortex. The right is associated
with negative emotions and avoidance and the left side is associated with
positivity, openness and approachability. The pre-frontal cortex is not wired
when we are born, it develops over the next 20-25 years through experience and use
(7). The good news is that the brain never actually stops growing, so we can use
this part of our brain to our advantage.
Secondly, we have
the amygdala which is the part of the brain that evaluates threats, is
associated with emotional learning, memory, attention, perception and
prediction. It is particularly known for being our fear and negativity center
(6). It also has the ability to over-ride our pre-frontal cortex, meaning it
can override our rationale and make us feel things regardless of what we think.
Individuals whom are depressed or have anxiety tend to have larger amygdalas.
Lastly we have the
insula. The insula is the link between the pre-frontal cortex and amygdala. The
insula is responsible for our visceral/gut feelings and interoception. (Our
ability to sense our inner self).
Ok so now that I
have introduced a few key parts of the brain and their function, let me try to
tie together the so what does this have to do with play. So, if the
amygdala is predisposed to negativity, fear, anxiety and does not respond to
rationale we need a different tool to help us make positive change. What we
need to do is make the brain resilient, re-direct blood flow in the brain and
create new connections, which can also help change our relationship with pain.
Play is one such
tool. It is not the only tool. So how does it work? The amygdala learns through
association: sights, sounds, songs, things in the environment with experience.
If you can associate things in the environment with a positive experience of
play, you can create new neural pairings in the amygdala (7). Through play we
can divert blood flow from the right pre-frontal cortex (away from negative,
fearful, anxious thoughts) to the left pre-frontal cortex, allowing this part
of the brain to be more active (again helpful for being open, connected, social
and positive) (2). What we use grows stronger, we call it neuroplasticity
(fancy word for changing the brain), by using the parts of the brain that help
us feel good, we can slowly start to feel good and this can have positive
impacts on pain.
In the case of
physiotherapy, our goal is to get you moving better, to get you back to
activities you love and improve your quality of life. Understanding the
characteristics of play and how it impacts the brain can give us some clues on
how to structure exercise programs in persistent pain.
To end this blog, I wanted to
share with you how I enjoy play in this short video.
Feel free to comment and
share how play has impacted your life or what you do to let the inner child
out. If you enjoy my content, like our Facebook Page to stay connected or
subscribe to my YouTube Channel.
The Pelvic Health Lady
References:
1. 1. Schaefer, Charles,
E. 2003. Play Therapy with Adults. New Jersey: Jogn Wiley & Sons Inc.
2. 2. Dr. Elisha
Goldstein. 2017. Uncovering Happiness: The
Psychology and Neuroscience of Personal Transformation. Neuroscience
Training Summit.
3. 3. Guitard, P et al.
2005. Toward a Better Understanding of Playfulness in Adults. OTJR: Occupation,
Participation and Health v. 25: 9-22.
4. 4. Butler, David and
Lorimer Moseley. Explain Pain. 2003. Australia: Noigroup Publications.
5. 5. Schaefer, Charles
and Keven J. O’Connor. 1994. Handbook of Play Therapy: Advances and
Innovations. Toronto: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
6. 6. Bateman, Chris and
Lennart E. Nacke. 2010. The Neurobiology of Play. ACM FuturePlay.
7. 7. Pittman,
Catherine. 2017. Rewire Your Anxious Brain:
Strategies for Resisting Anxiety in the Brain. Neuroscience Training
Summit.
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