Grow Up And Be Kids

As you will be aware if you know me well or read my posts regularly, I’m really passionate about wellbeing and getting people looking after themselves better.  Our lifestyle choices such as eating habits, exercise and sleep hygiene all have an impact on both physical and mental wellbeing, as does the way we spend our time; for instance, working, being with loved ones and partaking in leisure activities.  I believe that by educating people from a young age about the impact of all these factors on health & wellbeing, we can potentially make a significant reduction in the number and severity of people requiring the use of mental health services and generally experiencing emotional distress.  

The coming series of posts will each focus on a different aspect of lifestyle and the impact of this on wellbeing.  This one looks at the benefits of releasing the inner child and having a bit more fun.  

As noted by Stephanie Davies in her highly recommendable book Laughology, babies and toddlers laugh up to 300 times a day, whereas for adults the average figure is just 17 times.  She states that this could be largely a result of coming to care too much about what others think, plus the increasing pressures and stresses we find ourselves under as we get older and take on more responsibilities.

Just because we have more responsibilities and things to worry about as adults (although most of us probably do a disproportionate amount of worrying, myself included!) this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take the time to have fun.  Why is it that as adults it becomes less socially acceptable to play, to have fun, to laugh?  There are actually a lot of benefits to doing these things, both physically and cognitively.

As I learnt from Laughology the physical benefits of laughter include the following:  It both tones and relaxes muscles, makes us feel happier and more alert, is good for the immune system and even helps to alleviate pain and other symptoms of illness.  Allowing time for play can also be good for our physical health if we decide to devote more time to a sport or other physical activity.  What I find more fascinating though is the impact of play on cognition and the wider implications of this on day to day life. 

In a recent article in The Psychologist, editor Jon Sutton proclaims that there is a crisis in the way in which children are expected to learn and grow up these days.  Play is vital in learning as it allows us to problem solve, take control of situations, be reflective and recognise the positives in things not going to plan.  We try something, it doesn’t work, so we try something else, that might not work; but eventually we succeed.  It seems obvious, but children aren’t being encouraged to learn in this way in as the fact-storing and examination culture in schools grows.  Not only is this stressful for children in itself, but it means they do not build a tolerance to failure, leading to a lack of resilience in later life. 

Another benefit to unleashing the inner child, as noted by Stephanie Davies, is its ability to make us think more creatively and less restrictively, therefore improving our ability to think outside the box and come up with new concepts and ideas.  Think of the way a child speaks and all the questions they ask; they haven’t yet had all the restrictions engrained into them that we apply to everyday life.  Thinking in this way as adults can have real benefits in intellectual and creative arenas, leading potentially to improved outcomes in professional and personal aspects of life.  In other words, work and play should not be compartmentalised and kept separate, as it so often is the case. 

The benefits of this child-like thinking style in achieving outcomes is also recognised by NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), which is all about using your thinking and behaviour to achieve excellence (or, at least, the outcomes you want).  As the author of 5-Minute NLP states, “Curiosity and experimentation increase choice.  They were part of your behaviour when you were a child and you had an open mind towards the world.  When you want to know more and try new things, you are more likely to succeed, as more choices of action will be open to you”.  

I’ve adopted the technique of having more fun in my own life to positive effect over the last couple of weeks:  I was getting pretty stressed and decided to take a load of pressure off of myself and spend more time doing fun stuff that I want to do.  So, I’m taking a break from my cycle racing and top-end training, spending more time with family & friends and starting to go climbing again, which I love but haven’t done for ages.  The result is that I feel far happier and more relaxed, as well as more ready and willing to tackle tasks such as writing my blog and taking productive and practical steps towards other projects I want to start up.  In other words, releasing the inner child really does work and you should try it!

In summary, allowing yourself to have more fun and be more child-like has a range of benefits, both for your wellbeing and for achieving favourable outcomes in life.  If you let your hair down a little more often, try new things and free yourself of the belief that play is for children only, you are likely to enjoy life more, feel happier and healthier and achieve better results in your work or study.  I'll wrap up by quoting two songs by one of my favourite bands, The Cab:

 'We're all just kids who grew up way too fast', so let's 'Grow Up And Be Kids'!!! 

References:

Boyes, C. (2013). 5-minute NLP. London: HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

Davies, S. (2013).  Laughology. Camarthen: Crown House Publishing Ltd. 

Sutton, J. (2014).  'Play' is not a four-letter word. The Psychologist, 27(6), 393.