As you get older, do you ever feel like having fun is much harder to achieve than it once was in your youthful days? Not because you become boring but because life creeps up on you. You equip responsibilities that may involve working jobs you don’t necessarily want to do, looking after individuals you love, or general day-to-day life. That’s when I thought, “Why is having fun so important” to our everyday lives?
Scientific research shows that when we encourage fun with our peers, there is a positive effect on our physical and mental health. Participating in fun activities will also help build trust, develop outstanding communication skills, and improve your friendships with the people who are also partaking.
Although fun can be measured in different ways, we all get similar feelings and benefits when experiencing it. Fun is important; I’ve identified this through my research and want to share my findings with you. In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits you can encounter while providing yourself and others with fun and also some ideas on how to create it.
What are The Benefits of Having Fun?
As you’re now aware, having fun is essential and incredibly beneficial to our mental and physical well-being. To understand more benefits that you can expect to confront while having fun, see below.
Increased Dopamine Levels
For those who don’t know, dopamine or commonly known as the “happy” or “feel-good” hormone in the brain, amplifies when you’re doing something pleasurable.
This molecule is critical for the nervous system and your mental and physical well-being. Having a relatively stable level of dopamine will keep you happy, motivational and alert.
Motivation and reward are correlated with dopamine. Dopamine is emitted when you strive and gain, which provides happiness for the short term visit HEALTH-LINE to gain more insight.
By providing yourself with fun, you’ll see an increase in your dopamine levels. This should be enough for you to remove yourself from a boring situation and start having fun. The benefits are endless and range from helping with weight loss to decreasing the chances of depression.
Enhanced Creativity
Have you ever found yourself lacking ideas after a long hard day of work or school? Participating in a fun activity afterward can help you boost your imagination again. If you have children, you may have noticed this before, but they learn much more when they’re having fun, such as singing songs or playing a game. Although they’re a lot younger than us adults, their brains work exactly the same as ours.
Helps Mental Well-Being
Suppose you’re currently experiencing emotional wounds. Fun can help you gather some positivity back. As mentioned above, dopamine releases a powerful chemical in the brain while having fun.
The chain of events after producing this molecule can significantly benefit those undergoing this situation. It’s also a great distraction if you’re thinking about something that makes you unhappy.
Over time, you’ll be able to view your struggles in a way you never thought possible. However, inspiring yourself to have fun may make you think about the situation. But you’ll be more alert about overcoming your feelings because of the increased dopamine levels.
Better Memory
Memory is vital to all of us, especially for those considered the “older” generation. By keeping yourself active by having fun helps your physical health as well as your mental awareness.
The primary way that fun gains you better memory is that it provides you with presents. Presents around people, so you can physically and verbally communicate with them. Some say that being present is one of the authentic ways to achieve happiness. I understand why, people included in a good friendship group, organizations, or families, generally have more fun which accumulates happiness and wonderful, well-rounded life.
Reduced Stress
Some people used to say that playing each day keeps the doctor away, and they couldn’t be more right. By enjoying ourselves, having fun, and laughing at each other releases hormones within our bodies that make us feel good and relieve a lot of tension.
You may also notice that several health issues will improve that are related to stress, such as high blood pressure, extreme cortisol levels, etc. These health problems are commonly related to stress, and providing that fun can support these issues and decrease their likeliness. It can dramatically reduce the stress they can cause on the body.
Benefits
As you can read from the above, the benefits you can gain from having fun are tremendous and something everyone should achieve. These are just a few examples of how encouraging pleasurable moments benefit our mental and physical well-being, but the list is much further in-depth than the one shown. In this next section, we discuss creating fun with DIY backyard activities.
How to Fun with DIY Backyard Activities
Want to be inspired by new creative ideas that will provide unlimited fun? We love DIY games and, even better, enjoyable games for all ages. Below you can see our favorite DIY activities for having fun.
DIY Tire Swing
This type of swing was one of the main highlights of my childhood and offered me endless amounts of fun. I remember all the children in the neighborhood, including myself, who wanted to play with it learn how to make a simple tire swing here.
The enjoyment was exciting and something hard to match. Even as an adult, although I don’t physically play on the tire swing, I use it for relaxation. It’s placed under a tree in my back garden, which offers me a tranquil feeling and provides me with a location to process and gather my thoughts.
Pool Noodle Toss
Little did we know that pool noodles can create bundles of fun even when they’re not used for their purpose. Anyone can play this activity as they’re lightweight and won’t damage a soul.
But nevertheless, another activity that I loved as a child and still to this day. Competitiveness is the main reason this game has stuck around in our family for a long time.
Balloon Darts
Have some leftover balloons from a special event? Why not create a game out of them that everyone can enjoy? This game is a simple concept but something that can be greatly appreciated by everyone who is involved.
If you can, use different color balloons or alternatively write on them and create a scoring system. For each balloon you pop, you’ll receive points and will battle it out between each other to become the ultimate king or queen in balloon darts.
Thank you for this article. It is important to know that you should be flexible up to old age. Playing with children is fantastic. But you’re never too old to play in the garden. Hammocks are also great for balance. There are so many ways to stay flexible and fit. Scientists have found that pensioners who play a lot with their grandchildren get less Alzheimer’s than people who have no contact with little children. So reason enough to play more.
Monique
Thank You for your wonderful feedback, Monique. Interesting about those pensioners and play with children reducing Alzheimer’s I’ll most definitely look further into this.
Many Thanks
J W RIDDELL -THE FUN HUB
In my own words, having fun is good for us because physiologically, it helps to balance out our stress and feel-good hormones, preventing diseases long-term. It helps to boost our creativity, energy, productivity, and overall cognition.
Thank you very much for this interesting read. The list of benefits was particularly helpful! You have gained a follower.
Super-Duper is fantastic, Ann. So glad another follower but more importantly when someone says you having too much fun or starts making everything so serious you can point out the benefits of having fun. Social fun will keep us happy and curb belts of depression for so many. This is the reason for this website to share fun backyard activities with everyone and encourage therapeutic fun.
Many Thanks
J W RIDDELL -THE FUN HUB
Hi there,
Your impressive article has bring my mind more closer to making time for fun. You know we think more of making ends meet, increasing our pay through different skills we acquire. After the whole period of the day, stress sets in and we go resting. That continues to cycle till fun is completely omitted.
Most things we engage ourselves in as an adult, benefits are first checked. In this article, achieving good health (better memory, reduced stress etc) is very major as fun benefit and everyone needs that. I must create To Do list and fix my loop hole in having fun too. I will share this article.
“Thank you so much for reading this. I’m glad that it helped, and now I can’t wait to see what other loopholes are in my life! Sometimes the best moments happen spontaneously and when we least expect them- which is why fun time should be a priority.”
Sending many momments of Joy to you Nsikan
Thank you for reminding us the importance to having fun!
It is important, because when we grow up we tend to work and always busy with something. By the time you have time for fun you usually pass out. That is why a person needs to schedule their time and ensure they balance everything. Not too much fun, but also not over worked.
By doing that you will see you health will improve and your stress decrease. Plus you will feel more in control of your life.
The importance of having fun is so underrated in today’s world and business. Often seen as a disruption or just plain pesky, I think there may be more value than meets the eye when it comes to moments where you focus differently.
Whether that means laughing off impossible challenges with your team during a difficult time at work; finding ways for internal motivation through play (eek!);
Enjoying life outside projects by going out clubbing every-now-and-then.
There is something about getting involved in fun activities that release hormones that put us in a good mood because we are all social beings. This is why we should get involved in fun activities that are so good for our health both mentally and phsically. Thanks so much for sharing a helpful post that reminds us of engaging in clean fun.
Thanks, Norman. You need a break from the routine and stress of life. You can take that someplace fun, like an outdoor activity!
Our bodies are our most valuable possession – they’re also one of the most significant parts of what makes us unique as individuals on this planet, so treat them well by exercising regularly or going outdoors once in a while; it will do wonders for your mood too.