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I’ve been ruminating on play, and it’s role in learning as well as habit formation, while I’ve been adding some pieces to the structural and supportive content within The Magical 21-Day Meditation Experience.
I’ve been aware of this science behind why play is so important for years now, and it’s been ever deepening since. I’ve always acknowledged and accepted its importance… but it wasn’t until mid-late this year that I felt my mind expand so much to the potential uses of play for personal learning, habit formation, and in my case, teaching/sharing my knowledge.
Did you know that we enhance learning and integrate habits better when we incorporate play, and (intentionally) stimulate dopamine?
Playful activities stimulate the release of dopamine, which if you’re not familiar, is the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, reward, and motivation. This positive reinforcement encourages us to repeat the behaviour, making it easier to form habits. We’re creating a positive feedback loop while in a play state.
Not to mention, playful activities are often intrinsically motivating and enjoyable. And when we enjoy an activity, we are more likely to stick with it, increasing the chances of habit formation.
Additionally, when we’re engaged with playful activities, we’re likely not feeling as much stress or anxiety (both of which can inhibit learning and habit formation).
And if you’re an ADHD millennial on the Internet (like me), you may have heard that novelty induces a dopamine release, in many ADHD-related memes.
Well, playful activities often involve novelty and variety, which can also stimulate curiosity and interest. AND the dopamine release in the hippocampus, helps to trigger memory consolidation which boosts memory persistence!
All that sounds good, but how much can play really impact learning?
According to Dr. Karyn Purvis, it takes 400 repetitions to create a new synapse, or 10-20 when done in play; this is how it’s often quoted.
Thanks to Jen Taylor Play Therapy for fact-checking and finding the true quote:
“Now what we know from research is that it takes 400 repetitions of an act or a learning skill, 400 times, to get one new synapse. […] OR, 12 repetitions with joy and laughter and you get a synapse because there's a release of a chemical dopamine."
While there is some difference to what’s typically quoted and what Dr. Purvis actually said; it still stands to reason, since play states would typically happen with joy (and sometimes laughter). And, we also touched on playful states stimulating the release of dopamine — which is what we can see Dr. Purvis points to in her true quote as well.
That makes play, joy and laughter, pretty powerful players!
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I’m fascinated by the brain, neuroplasticity, and consciousness exploration. And I wanted to write about all I was discovering within play research, but I wasn’t quite sure how it fit into The Unseen Realm framework (I shared the 6 sections in my Introduction post)…
At first.
And then, right as I was drifting off to sleep the other night, I was seemingly brought to this image of lion cubs playing.
If you’ve ever seen a nature documentary of lion cubs playing, it really mimics the way adults attack pray (only cuter), doesn’t it?!
And remember Mufasa teaching Simba how to hunt in The Lion King? It’s such a playful scene. Or just look at Simba pouncing on Zazu!
Now, I’m not saying that lion cubs only need 12 repetitions in play to create a new synapse and to reach a true learning; but what does feel clear is that nature uses play-states for learning. As well as to allow animals fine-tuning of their instincts (which are closely related to habits in that both are patterns of behaviour performed almost always automatically or with little or no conscious thought).
Alas, play has become a part of Nature + Cosmos here at The Unseen Realm.
Play felt like such a natural tie in for me, regardless of which section of this Substack this piece of writing ended up in. Especially since two concepts that I consider pillars of, or rather foundational to The Unseen Realm, curiosity and exploration, are part of the play scene as well. Important to note that in the play research it is said that it has to be safe exploration, to be considered play!
This thought about the lion cubs left me curious, and after I had my partner text it to me so I would remember the next morning (since my phone was in my office), I got a bit of sleep before delving into this curiosity.
In doing some research and satisfying that curious itch, I came across so many more examples of animals and how play is used and demonstrated in nature, along with some interesting findings.
The first story I found was based on the work of Norbert Rosing, a German photographer who set out to capture polar bears in the wild. It was the early 90s, in Churchill, Manitoba.
It was thought that a 1,200 pound male polar bear (especially in autumn when he hasn't eaten for months) doesn't make play-dates with an animal from another species…
But Rosing’s photos captured otherwise.
It has been noted that these play signals were recognized by the polar bear in the husky. And the (seemingly crazy) notion that play signals override carnivorous nature was demonstrated in this photo series. Isn’t that wild?! Literally.
Further in my search, there were lots of examples of animals engaging in body play; similar to what we do as children to get ourselves out of relationship with gravity. I found this fun image of goats jumping on a trampoline… and while a trampoline isn’t part of a natural habit, you can see wild mountain goats doing the same thing, even on flat ground.
And we’re not the only species who creates play from the elements. Just look at this Japanese Macaque holding two snowballs!
There were many more examples, but I wanted to share this one other source, and interesting take on what develops through play:
Rough and tumble play, is a great learning medium for all of us.Pre-schoolers for example should be allowed to dive, hit, whistle, scream, be chaotic, and develop through that a lot of emotional regulation and a lot of the other social byproducts — cognitive, emotional, and physical — that come as a part of rough a tumble play. — Stuart Brown MD, as shared in his TEDTalk: Play is more than fun
In Dr. Stuart Brown’s book Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul he so cleverly points out that “the opposite of play isn’t work, it’s depression.”
This rings very true for me, as it’s been the times in my life when I’ve been most disconnected from play, that I’ve been most depressed.
With all that said, I hope you’d agree that play is natural, and powerful! We see play demonstrated in nature over and over again…
And yet, many adults have lost touch with their capacity to play, particularly from my perspective in the western-world, which to me feels like there’s been more of an emphasis on living within this narrative of hustle-culture.
So I think it’s wonderful that research is now being done with the intention to study the impacts of play. I’m sure there’ll be more astonishing findings in the years to come on the importance of play, for those who love the scientific-perspective and data.
While parts of me align with the data-appreciative folks, my more spiritually-minded parts remind me that I’ve also been receiving divine guidance pointing to the importance of play for over a year now…
In doing some of my own inner-work supported by the Akashic Records in October of 2022, I started to receive messages about play. At the time, I was working with a layer of perfectionism and had asked for guidance on practical steps I can take to release that perfectionist layer. The Masters, Teachers, and Loved Ones of my Akashic Records reminded me to have fun, and then said to me: "you know that play is the way".
And I do recognize this as a knowing, like they phrased it. Once I received this message, I felt the embodied memory of the importance of this information!
To this day, I have a sticky note in my office that reads: PLAY IS THE WAY
It serves as a great reminder to all I’ve known and learned surrounding play.
And the message only seems to get more true, the more I learn.
To end, I’ll send you off with the invitation to explore your own capacity for play. Perhaps you’ll even consider finding more ways to bring play into your day-to-day tasks… or better yet, your habit formation and personal learning! 😉
“Play is not the activity but the attitude.
It’s the mindset.”
— Darryl Edwards,
Founder of the Primal Play Method
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