HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE

The Importance of Play

by DR TAINA TURCASSO, ND RM

We can all appreciate the value of playing simply from an enjoyment perspective. Most kids count the minutes until recess, after school, the weekend, play dates; any opportunity to get out there and practice some free play with little to no structure. We know they enjoy it, possibly (hopefully) even enjoy it ourselves from time to time, but do we fully appreciate how important free play is and how useful it can be as an intervention? Probably not. Thankfully, play is having a sort of renaissance after decades of implementation of more structured learning models for kids starting from a very young age. While kids benefit from the structure of preschool, elementary school and so on, they also clearly benefit from having regular free time, both alone and with their peers to just experiment, play, interact with their surroundings, and allow their imagination to take over and guide their freestyle play. While physical activity is clearly good for all of us for a variety of reasons, open play is something entirely different.

Free, unstructured play happens when your child isn’t following any rules or guidelines, like when they are busy building forts, finger painting, or engaged in role play. It helps to cultivate independence, imagination, creativity, and problemsolving skills. It can also help them deal with stress and anxiety and play therapy has become an effective tool for therapists to use with their young population. From a neuroscience perspective, free play is fundamental to every type of learning and it physically changes the shape of the brain, forming neural pathways that change the brain globally, affecting both the sensory and motor cortex. Neuroplasticity is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. These changes range from individual neuron pathways making new connections, to systematic adjustments like cortical remapping. There are two main types of neuroplasticity: structural, where the brain is able to change its physical structure in response to learning, and functional, where it moves functions from a damaged area to an undamaged area. Typically, our potential for neuroplasticity is greatest when we are younger, as seen in babies who learn how to crawl or walk so quickly, or a toddler who can become fluent in another language. These types of skills are gained through the use of free, unstructured play and exposure to new things coupled with the remarkable neuroplasticity of their young brains.

It is very easy to give babies and toddlers unstructured play time because really, it’s all they do other than eat and sleep but as they get older we tend to try to create more of a structure through school, sports, family activities, etc., which are all beneficial but sometimes we forget to simply include letting them just play independently, either by themselves or with a sibling/friends, and have no structure or distraction. The same is true for adults. We try to have so much structure and/or are constantly stimulated by our devices that it doesn’t allow us to experience free play. Thankfully there are a lot of little ones

Krista Turcasso Photo

“...as we move into another school year, try to schedule some regular ‘free play’ time for your family and see what comes of it.”

around that we can get on the floor with and participate in some physical or sensory free play time.

Neuroplasticity does tend to decline as we become adults and age but it doesn’t end. Historically (even as recently as when I was going through my training), we believed that once neurons die, they don’t get replaced and that the brain cannot grow and change once we have reached early adulthood. Part of this belief came from the observation that most people who suffered significant brain trauma were unable to recover but more recent studies have demonstrated that the brain is able to rewire itself following damage and that it continues to create new neural pathways and alter existing ones in order to adapt to new experiences, learn new information, and create new memories. This has been an exciting finding because it has opened the door to new therapy options for people who have suffered from a stroke or traumatic brain injury as well as those suffering with dementia. In patients suffering from dementia, play therapy can help to maintain their skills, elevate mood, enhance their sense of peace, improve sleep, optimize their adaptive functioning, and decrease some of the adverse behavioural features of dementia.

While clearly there is much more that has been uncovered than the scope of what one article could include around the utility of play for people of all ages and how it relates to brain elasticity and there is certainly even more yet to be uncovered, it is clear that true unstructured, independent, and free play benefits people of all ages. Beyond that, it is just freeing to let yourself be uninhibited and dance freely, paint without an attachment to the outcome, and crawl around on the floor with your baby. We are all so busy with our lives and we tend to put the same pressure on our kids to be “busy” so as we move into another school year, try to schedule some regular “free play” time for your family and see what comes of it.

Stay safe and stay cool!

The purpose of the Communities of Interest Advisory Initiative is to foster dialogue and communication between the four coal operations and community representatives within their area of influence.

A Child’s Development is in Your Hands.

Play, attachment, and affection are all very important for young people and other humans! Check out this new website from the BC Healthy Child Development Alliance for videos and other resources: www.feelingsfirst.ca

www.evcnpvoice.com

Remember what it felt like to climb a tree with reckless abandon? To paint with no care of what others thought of your work? To sing at the top of your lungs like no one was listening? To lose yourself in a made up childhood game? As kids we were so good at playing. Really, it was all we wanted to do. I remember growing up in a small town knowing that that I needed to come inside when the streetlights turned on. Until then we would ride our bikes on the street and through the fields around our house, play hide and seek, cops and robbers, and any other game our little creative minds could come up with. It really was the best. Where does this go as we age? What gets in the way of the pure joy of just playing, being silly, and being in the present moment with our friends? As we have grown older, and taken on adult jobs, some of us have forgotten to make play a priority. To say “Yes” to a random adventure, to be reminded to set our phones and worries aside, and to indulge in a moment.

I am not entirely sure why we stop but I do know that the science is clear, play is really good for you. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play stated that our sense of play, how we play is very individual however we are all wired to do it, in fact we need it in order to develop skills, find joy, and improve our creative capacities.

We often think of play as adults in terms of what we do with kids, or in the sports we play but we also need to consider play just for ourselves. When was the last time you made something out of Lego, built a snowman, or had a water fight with other adults? Perhaps more importantly, can you remember how good these activities made you feel? This is because according to Brown when we play all the good endorphins are released in our brains which can lead to improved brain function. Both of these also reduce stress in our lives. His research also suggests that play can positively impact our brain’s capacity for creativity, emotional intelligence, and improved competency in our work and leisure activities.

You may be thinking, “when do I have time for play with my work, family, friends, exercise?” I will be honest about this, “I do not have time” theory never really flies with me. Turn off Netflix and play a board game with your friend. Put the drink down and plan a scavenger hunt for you and your partner. Make dinner into a game where you break into teams to race through the grocery store to find ingredients and then race to prep the meal. Eat that meal with spatulas and tongs instead of cutlery. Leaving a nerf gun at the front door after a long day with a note for your roommate to come find you and see if you have the same type of toy. Play does not have to be a massive project. It can be as simple as tuning up the music really loud and just dancing your heart out. Do not worry about looking silly, in fact embrace looking silly and remember how good it felt to just be in the moment and play with only one objective - to find pure joy in life.

Go Play

by TYLA CHARBONNEAU

Submitted Photo

The content provided in this article is for information purposes only. It is not meant as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you find yourself in distress, please reach out to your local physician who can provide mental health resources in your community.

PC Mover

by KEVIN MCISAAC

Recently I wrote about things to consider when purchasing a new laptop computer. What I want to write about this month is how to migrate the settings, files, and applications from your old computer to your new computer.

Back in Windows 7 days, there was an application built into Windows that let you connect to another computer and migrate. That application was privatized and taken over by LapLink. You now have to pay a fee for the same functionality. That isn’t great, but if you’ve ever tried to migrate from one computer to another over your local network or using an external drive, you’re probably eager to pay a small fee and have that process automated.

PCMover is an application from LapLink. There are a few versions, but the best one to get is PCMover Professional, available at Staples. It usually costs $49.99, but it is regularly on sale for $39.99.

As always, before you start, make sure you have a backup of your files. Make sure you create an identical user with the same name on the new computer, so PCMover knows to move your user settings to there. If it doesn’t exist, PCMover will create a new one.

In order to transfer files, you’ll need to install PCMover on both the old and new computers.

Both computers should be connected to your network, either with ethernet cable or WiFi.

On both computers, you should disable any virus scanner, backup software, or firewall you have running.

Close all other applications.

Make sure you disable any screensavers or power-saving options. It’s important that the computer doesn’t shut down in the middle of the transfer. PC Mover does remind you of all this before you start.

Starting with the old computer, choose PC to PC Transfer.

Then choose the WiFi or Wired option.

Now PCMover will scan your computer (this will take a while).

I skipped the email notification.

Now on the new computer.

Choose PC to PC Transfer again.

Choose New Computer and WiFi or Wired Transfer.

You should get a screen now with the name of the old computer, but if you don’t you can enter the IP address of the old computer.