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Did You Have Fun Today? Did you laugh? Did you try something new or silly just for the fun of it? Pine Run Retirement Community is always focused on the seven dimensions of wellness in all that we do: Physical; Emotional; Intellectual; Social; Spiritual; Environmental; and Occupational. One area of wellness that is not talked about enough, especially in senior living, touches all of these. And that is play.

You may think of play as the “work” of children. It’s common knowledge and well-accepted in our society that children learn, grow, and develop social structure through play. As we age, there is less focus on play. Recess typically disappears from schools by sixth grade, crayons come off of the school supply list even earlier. Older kids are encouraged to focus on college readiness and internships, and as we age, our lives are continuously filled with jobs, families, and responsibilities that sometimes leaves little room for play.

There is a growing body of research, led by Dr. Stuart Brown, head of the National Institute for Play, among others, that indicates that play is as basic a natural phenomenon as sleep, and, like sleep, many of us aren’t getting enough of it. Research tells us that a life with too little play can make us more susceptible to health risks large and small, including depression, a decreased immune system, and stress-related diseases. The National Institute of Play also states that a culture devoid of play may even experience higher rates of interpersonal violence and crime. By incorporating more joyful, non-repetitive activities in our lives, Dr. Brown argues, we are able to replace these health and societal risks with a greater sense of well-being for ourselves and our communities.

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