As well as being fun, play is a biological necessity. Here’s what’s actually happening in your brain when you play – and why it matters more than most people realise…
For many of us, play gradually slips into the category of things that are nice to have, but not essential… Something belongs to childhood, or to rare moments of downtime, rather than to serious work or adult life. We also think of it as optional.
But neuroscience offers a rather different perspective…. Over the past few decades, researchers have found that play is more than a cultural habit or a leisure activity: it’s part of the brain’s basic hardwiring – as fundamental, in a way, as systems for fear, parental care or social bonding. In other words, it’s not an arbitrary thing that people invented, but something we are born to do.
One of the most influential figures in this field, neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp (1943-2017), identified what he described as a primary PLAY system in the mammalian brain*.
This system sits in the midbrain, an evolutionarily ancient region associated with instinctive behaviours and core emotions. Its presence suggests that play is a biological drive rather than a learned behaviour.
In children, this drive is easy to observe. Play helps to develop neural pathways that underpin emotional regulation, social interaction and cognitive ability. What is less often appreciated is that the same system remains active in adults. It does not disappear; it simply tends to be used less.
And, like most aspects of the brain – and a bit like a muscle – it responds to use, so it strengthens when engaged and becomes less accessible when neglected.
When people enter a truly playful state – that is, when it’s something they’re doing voluntarily and a find genuinely absorbing and enjoyable – there are a number of observable changes in the brain:
Play appears to activate different neural pathways from those used in routine, task-oriented work. Instead of following familiar patterns, the brain begins to make new connections and explore alternatives.
This is one reason playful activities often feel slightly unpredictable. They encourage people to test ideas, to switch perspectives and to respond in the moment, rather than simply following a predetermined plan.
In practical terms, this tends to support what psychologists call cognitive flexibility – the ability to adapt thinking, generate ideas and approach problems from multiple angles.
Play is also associated with the release of endorphins and a reduction in stress responses.
This has important consequences for how we think. Under pressure, the brain typically narrows its focus, prioritising efficiency and speed over creativity. While that can be useful in certain situations, it is not ideal for complex problem-solving or learning.
By contrast, when stress levels fall, attention broadens. People become more open to new information, more able to make connections, and more willing to experiment. This helps to explain why ideas often emerge more easily in playful or relaxed settings than in highly pressured ones.
Another consistent finding is that play activates areas of the brain involved in social interaction.
Even simple games require people to read one another, respond quickly, and coordinate their actions. This engages systems linked to empathy and cooperation.
A striking thing is the speed at which this can happen. Because play is spontaneous and difficult to fake, it often bypasses the more formal, guarded behaviours we adopt in professional settings. As a result, people tend to build rapport and trust much more quickly than they would just by talking or having formal meetings.
At its most engaging, play can lead to a state known as flow, first described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
In the flow state, attention becomes fully absorbed and time seems to pass differently, with actions feeling effortless yet also highly focused.
From a neurological perspective, this is a particularly effective mode of operation. People are stretching their abilities, but without the strain or anxiety that often accompanies effortful work. Creativity and performance all tend to improve under these conditions, and we learn more quickly, too.
Taken together, these effects help to explain why play can have such a noticeable impact, not just on individuals but on groups.
Modern working environments tend to emphasise structure and efficiency,and focus heavily on measurable outcomes. While these are clearly important, they can also narrow the range of thinking and interaction available to teams, particularly when the work itself is complex or uncertain.
Play, however, introduces a different mode. It creates a space – sometimes literal, sometimes psychological – in which hierarchy is changed or removed and experimentation feels safer, and where people engage more fully with one another.
Within that space, the kinds of outcomes organisations often spend significant time and money trying to generate will emerge quite naturally.
For example:
In more familiar business terms, this shows up as better problem-solving, stronger collaboration and more energetic and resilient performance.
Or as we like to call it: ingenuity, belonging and vitality.
One of the more interesting aspects of play is that it tends to work best when it is not overly instrumental.
If an activity is too tightly controlled, or too obviously designed to produce a specific outcome, it can lose the qualities that make it effective in the first place. People become self-conscious, and the brain shifts back into a more evaluative, performance-oriented mode.
This is why most definitions of play include three elements: it should be voluntary, it is enjoyable, and it is undertaken for its own sake.
Paradoxically, it is precisely this lack of overt purpose that allows it to produce valuable outcomes.
At Sharky + George, we often describe play as serious business, because we believe its effects for people and organisations really can be significant.
Neuroscience backs this up…But more than that, if play is part of our basic wiring, then the question is how we choose to make space for it in our lives generally, and especially in organisations where better thinking, stronger relationships and sustained energy are incredibly valuable.
See also The Magic Circle: Why we need a separate space to think differently and Flow at Work: Why losing track of time makes you more productive
Read more about these ideas in our free white paper The Transformational Power of Play.
