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Why adults need to work play into their daily routine

Image: Getty
Image: Getty

Sleep deprivation leads to reduced cognitive ability, alertness and a generally bad mood.

And while most Australians are aware of the need to get a good night’s sleep, play deprivation poses another, under-appreciated, threat to workplace performance.

“If you think about the term play deprivation, deprived of play - there are so many links to that,” leading workplace coach and author of new book, MatchFit, Andrew May told Yahoo Finance.

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“Tolerance, passion, lustre - we know that the construct of play is very much linked to curiosity, so there's a connection between curiosity, creativity and expression.”

Children live their lives playing, May added, pointing to play-dates, play-lunch, Play-Do, play-time and even Play School.

“And what do we do as adults? We go to meetings, we send emails, we travel to work and then we get home fatigued and watch the TV, so I really think we can learn so much from kids around that playful disposition and bringing play into our lives.”

In fact, May schedules ‘play’ into many of the CEOs he coaches.

“It sounds a bit forced, but I find with a lot of goal-driven people, if they don't put reminders in their diary it doesn't happen.”

Taking the time to destress and play means you’ll be mentally sharper, in addition to more creative and expressive.

And while many people in the corporate world think they’re “just not creative”, May said this just isn’t true: they’re just not used to exercising their “creative muscles”.

Exiting this data-driven, analytical thinking and entering into imagination and expression - even briefly - boosts brain and mental health.

“Laughter is one of the best therapies, it is the best medicine. You have a cascade of chemicals when you laugh and play,” May said.

“What play does, especially psychologically, it gives us that psychological detachment, because you can't - at a cognitive level - operate at 100 per cent all day.

“You need to have highs and lows, and it's in that break when we play that we recover, we have different brain-wave patterns, laughter, the cascade of chemicals and endorphins that go through the body, you just feel good.”

How do I play?

Image: Getty
Image: Getty

You could be playing without realising it - if you put music on while you cook and dance while the pasta is on the stove, you’re already engaging in play.

But there are other easy ways to incorporate play into your day: an hour of television can be swapped-out for a board game with friends or family. Even taking the time to run around in the backyard with your pet can help you destress and play.

David Beckham builds Lego models to deal with stress, describing it as “very therapeutic”.

“Or it could just be expressive play,” May said.

“Kids are amazing at this: up until the age of five years, I really questioned why I gave my kids presents because ... you give kids a box, it's a police station, a school, a spaceship.

“We all have these wonderful imaginations but we tend to shut them off once we get to the later years of school, we definitely shut them off at university and they're almost non-existent when we're adults in the workforce.

“If you're so tired, you're so fatigued, you've got no colour, no laughter that you walk into a room and the lights go off rather than the lights going on, then you need to bring a bit of play and a bit of energy back to your life.”

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