From better relationships to less stress: Why being playful as an adult is good for you

From better relationships to less stress: Why being playful as an adult is good for you

There’s an invisible social stigma almost to making light of things. Having fun or literally playing games can even feel like an indulgence, as an adult. Science actually says the opposite! Being playful is both important and beneficial even as adults. Dr Letizia Mugnai, clinical psychologist at OPENMINDS Psychiatry, Counselling and Neuroscience Centre, Dubai says, “Play is an experience that enriches existence, putting us in contact with parts of us that we don't usually use in everyday life, leaving us a space of inner freedom, which favours creativity and self-expression; it relieves tensions, keeps our childhood part alive, the desire to explore, curiosity and creativity.” How do we define it, though? “Playfulness, as defined by Proyer, is an individual differences variable that allows people to frame or reframe everyday situations in such a way such that they experience them as entertaining, intellectually stimulating, and/or personally interesting,” explains Dr. Sreenivasan Vazhoor Ramsingh, specialist psychiatrist at Ahalia Hospital, Abu Dhabi. “To put it in simple terms, it is the tendency to see the bright side of life, to joke with others and not take matters too seriously.” In a 2017 study, René Proyer, psychology professor at Germany-based Martin Luther University, had created