Completing short exercises to stimulate playfulness may improve wellbeing.
Adult playfulness is a personality trait that has been linked to positive outcomes. Researchers examined the impact of stimulating playfulness on happiness and depressive symptoms. In a randomised controlled trial, 533 participants from mostly European nationalities were assigned to complete one of three playfulness exercises or a placebo-controlled exercise. The playfulness exercises involved adapting online positive psychology interventions and included thinking about three playful things that had happened during the day, using playfulness in a different way or writing about playful experiences that had happened during the day. The placebo activity involved writing about early childhood memories. For all three interventions there were small and short-term improvements in wellbeing and decreases in depressive symptoms. The authors concluded that playfulness can be stimulated through short exercises which may have benefits for improving psychological functioning, but that further research is needed.
https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12220
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