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The Necessity of Playing Games

Playing Games ©: Patrizia Tilly - Fotolia

Most of us adults no longer play games. And when I say play games I am not talking about video games. I’m talking about the ones that require physical actions such as running, jumping, carrying objects, passing and strategy. We does these things when we were kids. But as we get older and become adults we usually trade playing games with responsibilities such as work and career.

Proven Benefits of Playing Games

Playing games are very beneficial to adults that several experts are now suggesting that it is a necessary part of our adult life. Here are the proven benefits of playing games in our lives.

• Social Development

  Playing games such as team sports or anything that requires you to be in a team helps develop and maintain our social skills. This is because playing games is a give and take relationship. We also learn to read gestures and nonverbal communications during games when we execute strategies. Basically we set our communication receptors at maximum when we play games allowing us to listen more and express ideas in a more understandable manner.

• Cooperation and Team Work

  The human race would not have thrive if we were unable to cooperate with each other despite our differences. In playing games we learn cooperation and team work effectively since they are required to succeed in the game. This makes games a very powerful catalyst of beneficial socialization. It helps us learn how to be united as one towards a common goal.

• Emotional Development

  The positive effects of playing games are great in conquering negative emotions. This is due to the physical activity needed to participate in the games which causes the body to release the happiness hormone called endorphins. This helps in turning doubts to confidence and loneliness to happiness.

• Creates Stronger Bonds

  Because we become much better at socializing when we play games we end up creating stronger bonds with other people. This is something that can never be accomplish by just working together in the office. Playing games make us connect with other people in the most effective way possible which is why most friendships are made from this activity, a phenomenon that also occurs to soldiers who fought together in wars.

• Sharpens the Mind

  Physical play is not only good for the body, it is also good for the mind. When playing games our mind becomes sharper since it is forced into a situation that requires you to adapt whether it is a sudden change in your strategies or in your movement to increase the rate of success. It is the mind that tells the body how to move, when to move and where to move.

These are the reasons why adults should never stop playing games. Work should not be a hindrance at all. Employers should also learn about these facts if they want their employees to become effective team players at work.

Ben Kalle is a writer for www.teambuildinggames.org, a great source of information for games that will be great in team building activities of any organization in the world.

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